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Trade Policy Review of Norway
October 22nd 2008
Statement by the Republic of Korea
Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
I would like to extend a warm welcome to the delegation of Norway for its fifth trade policy review and to especially thank Mr. Dagfinn SORLI for his informative presentation. Let me also express my thanks to H.E. Ambassador Manuel Teehankee for his valuable contribution as the Discussant, and to the Secretariat for its comprehensive report.
Mr. Chairman, Korea is pleased to participate in the fifth TPR of Norway.
Korea and Norway have always enjoyed excellent bilateral relations over the years.
Recently, this relationship was further strengthened by the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement in 2005 under the umbrella of the Korea-EFTA FTA. Since September of 2006 when the Korea-EFTA FTA was put into effect, bilateral trade figures have grown briskly to the 2 billion dollar level in 2007, and this year we are poised to surpass the 3 billion US dollar level. Korea is pleased with the results thus far, and looks forward to further strengthening of bilateral ties in the years to come.
In reviewing the Report by the Government of Norway and the Report by the Secretariat, there is one word that pops in the mind; “envy.” It is a word that, as a matter of fact, has also been used by the Secretariat in its Report in describing the strong performance of the Norwegian Economy over the past four years.
Clearly, not only has Norway greatly benefited from the higher price of hydrocarbon products witnessed over the past four years, but it has managed the accrued wealth very wisely. Many Members in this Body are endowed with natural resources, but I believe not too many have managed it to the degree of perfection as Norway has. In this context, I believe Norway offers a case-book example of national wealth management which I hope it could share with the rest of the Body in a future occasion.
Mr. Chairman, I could go on and on with words of kudos to Norway, but given that I am the 19th speaker, and time is running-out fast, I will stop here.
But before I conclude, I would like to ask the Norwegian delegation for their views on what I believe to be an interesting characteristic of Norway: the extensive intervention of the State in the Norwegian economy. In this day and age, state enterprises are synonymous with inefficient dinosaurs, and calls for privatization are prevalent.
However, Norway seems to be steadfast in its view that state enterprises have an important function in the economy, and thus have chosen to retain control over the economy through various state enterprises.
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Given this different approach, I believe it would be worthwhile to hear Norway’s view on why it chose this path, and what concrete measures it has taken to ensure that the state enterprises do not fall into the “inefficiency trap.” I believe the views of Norway on this subject matter offer the possibility of enriching the discussions on this very important issue.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, please allow me to express my appreciations to Norway for their pro-active role in the current DDA negotiations; their active participation has enabled us to progress forward on a number of issues. Both Norway and Korea share similar views and common interest in a variety of areas, most notably in Agriculture and Anti-Dumping, and Korea looks forward to continued cooperation in these and other areas in the future.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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