WT/GC/W/882  
 
15 June 2023  
(23-4090) Page: 1/2 
General Council  Original: English  
 
WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCES  
COMMUNICATION FROM  BRAZIL  
The following communication, dated 14 June 2023, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Brazil.  
 
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1.  In 2022, Brazil tabled the proposal JOB/ GC/310 for a  Decision to the effect that the Ministerial 
Conference shall meet once every year.  
2.  As the highest decision -making body of the WTO, the Ministerial Conference is mandated by the 
Marrakesh Agreement (Article IV:I) to meet at least once every two years. This  periodicity, however, 
has not been consistently maintained. Approximately four years lapsed between MC11 and MC12 
and between MC6 and MC7.  
3.  A long interval between high -level meetings tends to: a) weaken ministerial oversight and 
strategic drive, diminishi ng the Organization 's responsiveness to urgent global challenges affecting 
international trade (such as food security, climate change, the need for sustainable development, or 
the shifting landscape of agriculture and industrial subsidies); b) create a bac klog of work on 
different negotiating fronts awaiting Ministerial -level direction; c) and generate unnecessary strain 
on the multilateral trading system.  
4.  The WTO is the only multilateral institution holding the necessary mandate, expertise, universal 
reach , and capacity to lead on the multiple dimensions of international trade discussions. With this 
understanding, Brazil underscores the need to enhance the Organization 's political guidance and to 
strengthen its responsiveness to the international trade feat ures of old and new global challenges.  
5.  A yearly meeting of the WTO Ministerial Conference - as practiced in other international fora, 
such as the IMF, the World Bank and the UNFCCC - would not necessarily deliver yearly negotiating 
packages with a new set of commitments. Convening sessions for deliberation would enable Ministers 
to build trust, develop a shared understanding of global trade, explore solutions to emerging and 
long-term challenges, and imprint strategic guidance to the WTO.  
6.  Yearly ministerial  meetings would also make the WTO more inclusive and open to the interests 
of developing and particularly least -developed Members, as frequent interaction and debate among 
Ministers should lead, over time, to a better and more nuanced comprehension of the needs and 
expectations of those countries regarding the multilateral trading system. Mindful of the need to 
ensure full participation in the Ministerial Conference, Members should explore ways to assist least -
developed countries in managing the financial b urden associated with attendance on a higher 
frequency of high -level meetings.  
7.  Building upon extensive consultations, particularly with developing countries, Brazil proposes a 
General Council Decision to the effect that, after MC13, meetings of the Ministe rial Conference be 
convened once every year until 2027. At that date, Members will assess the results and reevaluate 
the periodicity of Ministerial meetings.  
 
  WT/GC/W/882  
 
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  DRAFT GENERAL COUNCIL DECISION  
 
The General Council,  
 
Having regard to paragraph 1 of Article IX of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade 
Organization;  
 
Recalling that the WTO Agreement provides that the Ministerial Conference shall meet at least once 
every two years;  
 
Recognizing that long intervals between meetings of the M inisterial Conference negatively impact 
on ministerial oversight and guidance for the work carried out in the WTO;  
 
Acknowledging that trade -related urgencies and challenges often disproportionally impact 
developing countries, especially least -developed co untries, and that more frequent meetings of the 
Ministerial Conference would contribute to a better understanding of the needs and expectations of 
specific developing countries regarding the multilateral trading system;  
 
Considering that the Ministerial Co nference can provide critical guidance on current and emerging 
challenges to the multilateral trading system, which may not be timely addressed by ongoing 
negotiations at the WTO;  
 
Taking into account the need to ensure the participation of developing and particularly least -
developed countries in the meetings of the Ministerial Conference;  
 
Desiring that the WTO respond in a timely manner to trade -related urgencies and challenges as they 
arise;  
 
Decides as follows:  
 
Following the thirteenth Ministerial Conference (2024), the Ministerial Conference shall meet once 
every year. Members at the sixteenth Ministerial Conference (2027) shall carry out an evaluation of 
this periodicity.  
 
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