[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 118 (Monday, September 13, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10785-S10786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRATULATING DR. SUPACHAI PANITCHPAKDI

 Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I congratulate Dr. Supachai 
Panitchpakdi of Thailand on his selection to serve as Director General 
of the World Trade Organization. Dr. Supachai, Thailand's Deputy Prime 
Minister and Minister of Commerce, has been an unfailing advocate for 
the principles of free trade and is an excellent choice to lead this 
organization. I am very pleased that our faithful friend and ally, the 
Royal Kingdom of Thailand, will have one of their citizens guiding an 
international organization.
  The agreement reached will split the next term between Dr. Supachai 
and Michael Moore, the former Prime Minster of New Zealand. As many of 
my colleagues know, the process for selecting a new Director General 
was at a standstill for months. Renato Ruggerio of Italy, the first and 
very successful Director General, finished his term and stepped down at 
the end of April. Despite the fact that his departure was known well in 
advance, no consensus on a successor was formed and the post remained 
vacant at a critical time--the Seattle round of trade talks being on 
the immediate horizon. Most of the countries of Europe and Asia have 
been united in their support of Dr. Supachai while the administration 
has supported Mr. Moore. The agreement reached by the member nations 
will permit Mr. Moore to serve a three year term to be followed by a 
three year term for Dr. Supachai.
  For those of you unfamiliar with Dr. Supachai's work, as Deputy Prime 
Minister and Minister of Commerce, his most pressing responsibility has 
been developing policy to guide his country through their current 
economic challenges. This included taking a significant role in 
shepherding important banking and regulatory reforms through the Thai 
Parliament that are important to the sound economic foundation of his 
country. The IMF has reported good news for Thailand on the economic 
front. After experiencing an economic contraction of 8% in 1997, their 
economy is expected to grow this year by 2-3% with an expected growth 
rate of 5% in 2000. Their currency, the baht, has stabilized and the 
government has rebuilt reserves to higher than pre-crisis levels. This 
is very good news and a positive sign for an economic recovery for all 
of Asia.
  Dr. Supachai was also one of the architects of the economic policies 
that led his country to merge as a dynamic economic engine in Asia and 
experience several years of phenomenal economic growth. As Minister of 
Commerce he has been active in opening the business sector to foreign 
participation and improving transparency. He helped create the 
country's Export-Import Bank and has worked very closely with the 
countries of Southeast Asia in creating the ASEAN free trade zone. In 
Thailand, he was a strong voice in forging public acceptance of the 
Uruguay round of trade talks and guiding ratification of the treaty 
through the Parliament. Throughout the economic crisis, Dr. Supachai's 
support for free trade has not waivered. His credentials on the issues 
important to leadership at the WTO speak volumes.
  I believe it is important that an individual representing Asia and a 
developing economy has an important role in a prominent international 
organization, as Dr. Supachai will have. There are over 400 million 
people living in Southeast Asia alone, this region will soon be the 
second largest market for our exports. This region and all of Asia are 
growing in importance to our economy and security. A strong voice 
representing the Asian economies is overdue.
  The economic collapse in Asia, Russia and other nations did not 
simply stifle growth of U.S. exports, it put millions of people out of 
work in these countries, exacerbated the poverty level and in some 
cases led to social upheaval. Unfortunately, it caused policy makers in 
many foreign nations to question the pace of globalization and in some 
cases question the wisdom of globalization. Many countries believe that 
they have little to gain through

[[Page S10786]]

expanding trade and everything to lose and that their stake in trade 
negotiations is limited. I do not agree. Increasing fair trade has 
contributed greatly to improving the standard of living of Americans 
and sustaining the growth of our economy and it holds the same 
potential for our trading partners.
  While this is an unfortunate development, it is not one without a 
solution. The solution is working with individuals like Dr. Supachai 
who believe in expanding trade and working to improve the role and the 
economies of developing nations. Rather than being an after thought, we 
must begin to work with more nations if more are to believe that they 
have a role in globalization. For the global trading structure to 
succeed and prosper, all countries must have faith in the trading 
system and faith that trade deals are being reached to the benefit of 
all member nations rather than just the most powerful. Dr. Supachai is 
uniquely suited to facilitate such change and his increased role in the 
international stage is a very positive development for the World Trade 
Organization.
  Finally, I believe the people of Thailand could have been treated 
better by the United States in this process. They are our good friends 
and faithful allies. We on the other hand were slow in selecting a 
candidate and did not do a good job in forging a compromise. Despite 
Dr. Supachai's strong advocacy of the principles of free trade, we 
actively worked against him. Fortunately, groups such as the US-ASEAN 
Business Council and companies like Boeing were outspoken on Dr. 
Supachai's strong record on trade issues. This lack of leadership does 
not enhance the credibility of the WTO and needlessly strains 
relationships with our friends. But I am confident that the new 
leadership, Mr. Moore and Dr. Supachai, can overcome these obstacles 
and look forward to working with them on these issues.
  So once again, I congratulate Dr. Supachai on his appointment. He is 
very strong on promoting expanded trade and I am confident that a 
leadership role for a representative of a Southeast Asian nation is a 
positive development for the World Trade Organization. I would like to 
commend the people of Thailand for their persistence and not backing 
down in their support of their candidate. I would also like to 
congratulate Mr. Moore and wish him the best; he is taking control of 
the organization at a critically important time. I look forward to 
working with both of these gentleman on the issues that are important 
to advancing free and fair trade around the world.

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