17 October 2001

USTR Zoellick on APEC, Terrorism, WTO Round

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:

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.

Question: 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.

Question: 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.

Question: [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.