Trade has played a remarkable role on different fronts over the last decades as part of a virtuous circle of growth and development, a harbinger of opportunities unimaginable not so many decades ago, and as an agent of greater social harmony. The rise of international supply chains has deepened and broadened opportunities arising from international exchange. When we think about trade in an economically more rational way – that is, in terms not just of flows of goods and services but rather in terms of the contribution of different nations in joined up production relationships – we begin to appreciate the true nature of the common interests that join us together.
WTO must address traditional issues of long-standing vintage such as tariffs, non-tariff measures, services and agriculture. At the same time, in our increasingly integrated world, other policy issues require attention, including investment, competition, subsidies and the management of public policy in trade-friendly ways. The premium on avoiding incoherence and fragmentation in policy design and management will grow. Therefore, WTO must search for constructive compromise on fundamental issues relating to the balance of rights and obligations among its diverse membership, especially in a world of shifting influence and power among nations. Better accommodation is needed between preferential trade agreements and the multilateral trading system.
二、將下列短文譯為漢語(50分)
The adoption of the Millennium Declaration in 2000 by 189 States Members of the United Nations, 147 of which were represented by their Head of State, was a defining moment for global cooperation in the twenty-first century. The Declaration captured previously agreed goals on international development, and gave birth to a set of concrete and measurable development objectives known as the Millennium Development Goals. Spurred by the Declaration, leaders from both developed and developing countries committed to achieve these interwoven goals by 2015.
The Millennium Development Goals are the highest profile articulation of the internationally agreed development goals associated with the United Nations development agenda, representing the culmination of numerous important United Nations summits held during the previous decade, including summits on sustainable development, education, children, food, women, population and social development.
Our challenge today is to agree on an action agenda to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. With two years to go to the target date of 2015, the prospect of falling short of achieving the Goals because of a lack of commitment is very real. This would be an unacceptable failure from both the moral and the practical standpoint. If we fail, the dangers in the world — instability, violence, epidemic diseases, environmental degradation, runaway population growth — will all be multiplied.
Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals remains feasible with adequate commitment, policies, resources and effort. The Millennium Declaration represents the most important collective promise ever made to the world’s most vulnerable people. This promise is not based on pity or charity, but on solidarity, justice and the recognition that we are increasingly dependent on one another for our shared prosperity and security.