The following is from a 19 September 2012 speech by Pascal Lamy of the World Trade Organization.
Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech at the WTO-MOFCOM-OECD-UNCTAD Seminar on Global Value Chains in Beijing on 19 September 2012, said that “the high level of import intensity in export production has created an unprecedented level of inter-dependency among countries engaged in supply chains. It is no longer just about exports. Imports are essential to export. It is no longer just about ‘them’. It is about ‘us’.
This speech is available in its entirety at:
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/sppl_e/sppl245_e.htm