'Free trade deals can speed up WTO process'

Associated Press, Singapore

Singapore, a country that has been aggressively seeking bilateral free trade pacts with other nations, said Friday that such deals can speed up the World Trade Organization process.

"WTO negotiations are cumbersome because of its (the WTO's) huge membership," Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry said.

Free trade agreements, on the other hand, are deals between economies "who may be prepared to move at a faster pace," the ministry said in a statement responding to media queries about its trade policies.

There are 144 member economies in the WTO, accounting for 97.6 percent of international trade.

Singapore recently completed two-way free trade deals with New Zealand and Japan, and is also working on pacts with the U.S., Australia and Mexico.

Some other countries have expressed worries that the country's pursuit of numerous bilateral agreements could hinder attempts at larger, multilateral free trade arrangements such as the WTO.

But Singapore says bilateral trade agreements help pave the way for bigger pacts by showing the benefits of free trade.

Two-way agreements "push the envelope for trade liberalization and generate new ideas which can catalyze the WTO process," the ministry statement said.

Singapore, a wealthy Southeast Asian city-state with 4 million people and no natural resources, depends heavily on manufacturing and exporting high-tech goods, and is a strong proponent of global free trade.

The country, used to years of booming economic growth, is currently in the worst recession in its 36-year history, and the government expects the economy to contract this year after growing 9 percent in 2000.