Britain to play influential role in WTO

British International Trade Secretary Liam Fox vowed on Friday to establish his country as "a credible, influential and creative WTO (World Trade Organization) member."

In a speech at British think tank Policy Exchange, Fox shared his vision for Britain's place in the global trading system after Brexit.

"Our first port of call has to be the WTO -- the home of the rules-based international trading system that underpins our prosperity," he said.

Fox described 2019 as a significant year for both Britain and the WTO.

"The UK is leaving the European Union. The WTO is facing many challenges to the ruled-based multilateral trading system," he said.

He listed some steps Britain would take to emerge as an influential WTO member, including establishing schedules for Britain's own independent General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), accession to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), and to bolster the rules-based multilateral trading system, among others.

"In 2019 our work at the WTO will move forward apace,"said Fox.

He also said that fundamental changes in the world economy had created an entirely new trading environment.

"The global economic center of gravity is shifting, from North America in 1990 to China and the Far East in 2050," Fox said. "The growth in the East represents a huge opportunity for Britain to establish new, and grow existing, trading relationships."

"It will involve updating our global institutions so that they reflect the realities of the 21st century," he said.