18 October 2001
Transcript: USTR Zoellick on APEC, Terrorism, WTO Round
(He views trade negotiation as tool against terrorism) (740)
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick says the Asian-Pacific group
of markets seems committed to fighting terrorism and to launching a
World Trade Organization (WTO) round of negotiations.
Emerging October 17 from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
trade ministers' meeting in Shanghai, Zoellick reiterated that the
United States appreciates the support offered by Malaysia since the
September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
He said he viewed a WTO round as part of the fight against terrorism.
"One has to go at the hearts and minds of this issue, which means
economic and political support," Zoellick said. "That takes us right
back to the launch of this round."
Following is a transcript of Zoellick's exchange with reporters:
(begin transcript)
Question: [Not recorded]
Zoellick: You sense from the session that there is a strong sense of
countering the effects of the acts of terrorism; and second, on the
issue of trade there was a overwhelming sense of commitment to work
together over the next three weeks to launch the new global trade
round and to work together to counter the effects of the economic
slowdown on all the economies of the region.
This is a region that represents two thirds of U.S. trade. It is a
very important one for us economically. And I re-pledged our
commitment in terms of global, regional and bilateral efforts to
promote trade liberalization.
And I was delighted from the sense coming from that room. It gives us
something to work from, heading off from the trade ministerial.
Q: Was there any discussion of counter-terrorism measures?
I think that's going to be in a later part of the discussion, and this
was very much focused on the WTO and the way the APEC economic system
relates to that.
There were some very nice statements of support for the United States,
in terms of the effects after September 11. And also a point that I've
made and also Minister Rafidah [Malaysian Minister of Trade Rafidah
binti Aziz] has made is how the response has to be economic and
political as well as military. That's one reason why the meeting comes
at a good time.
Q: Is there a sense that Indonesia and Malaysia are not as on board as
other members of APEC [in terms of counter-terrorism]?
>
Zoellick: Let me say both on counter-terrorism and the round. On
counter-terrorism, as I said in Malaysia, we've gotten the sense of
some very good support from the Malaysian government. And we know that
[Prime Minister] Dr. Mahathir is dealing with some very difficult
straits. And as I said when I was there, and as President Bush said,
we appreciate the support we have been given, which I must say has
been quite considerable.
I will also say that I very much agree with the view that Dr. Mahathir
gave to me, based on his experience in dealing with terrorism. One has
to go at the hearts and minds of this issue, which means economic and
political support. That takes us right back to the launch of this
round. And on that I've been very pleased with the comments Minister
Rafidah has made today and other days. And we'll work closely
together.
On Indonesia, as you may know, I had an opportunity to stop and see
President Megawati in August. The President asked me to see her and
her new cabinet. She is a formidable leader. She has many challenges
ahead. But the success of democracy in the largest Islamic country in
the world is absolutely fundamental. And we certainly want to do what
we can to support it.
Q: [Not recorded]
Zoellick: I'm delighted with two points that came out of this session.
One is that there is a very strong sense of determination to try to
combat the acts of terrorism. Something we very much support. Second,
a very strong commitment by everyone in the room to try to launch the
global trade round -- the WTO round. And it is important to get the
world economy going in a time where the economic slowdown has been
exacerbated by the acts of September 11. We had a good sense of unity
in that room.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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