[Tentative Translation]

Keidanren's Basic Stance towards the Singapore Ministerial Conference of
the World Trade Organization(WTO)

Priorities

1. The Japanese business community fully supports the maintenance and strengthening of the multilateral free trade system and the WTO, which was established in order to safeguard the sound functioning of that system. We expect that the political momentum of the Singapore Ministerial Conference of the WTO will further advance the global free trade system.

2. In order to increase the credibility of the WTO and strengthen its capacities, it is essential that each member country steadily implement their Uruguay Round commitments. Certain countries have taken measures which appear to go against the WTO Agreement and the spirit of multilateral free trade. We are seriously concerned that such measures exist, and that they have become a barrier to business activities. The top priority of the Singapore Ministerial Conference is a reconfirmation by the Ministers of their commitment to steadily implement the Uruguay Round Agreement.

3. We call upon the leaders who will gather in Singapore to firmly implement the Built-in Agenda including negotiations and talks on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the WTO Anti-dumping Measures, Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), and other important areas slotted for consideration under the WTO Agreement. Specifically, the Japanese business community is strongly concerned that discretionary implementation of anti-dumping measures by certain countries will damage the spirit of the free trade system, which is the overall consensus of the members of the WTO, and thereby accelerate trends toward protectionism in the world.

4. In order to ensure greater future development of the free trade system, the Japanese business community calls for the following actions within the WTO.
   1. The initiation of talks of "trade and investment"
   2. A review of rules on WTO-consistency of regional economic integration and a strengthening of inspection capacities
   3. Strengthening of rules on WTO Anti-dumping Measures
   4. Strengthening of the dispute settlement mechanism

5. We strongly support the early accession to the WTO by the People's Republic of China.