. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(03)/ST/58
11 September 2003
(03-4803)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fifth SessionCancún, 10 - 14 September 2003Original:  Spanish
HONDURAS
Statement by H.E. Mr. Norman García
Secretary of State, Departme nt of Industry and Commerce
On behalf of the Government of Honduras, whic h I have the honour to represent, I wish to
express my deep gratitude to the people and Government of Mexico for hosting this Ministerial
Conference and for the warm hospitality extended to us in this beautiful city of Cancún.
We also wish to associate ourselves with the expressions of appreciation and congratulations
addressed to the Director-General and the WTO Secretariat for their services;  their work deserves the
recognition of each and every one of us.
In 1990, Honduras embarked upon a far-reaching economic and institutional reform.  Part of
this initiative involved the decision to accede to the GATT in 1994 and we hereby reaffirm ourcommitment to a rules-based multilateral trading system.  We do, however, feel that imbalances and
asymmetries are present in the system, although we trust that these negotiations, which form part of
what is aptly known as the Development Round, will manage to establish rules designed to achieve
fairer and more balanced trade for all countries.
Honduras is of the opinion that special and differential treatment provisions must be an
integral part of the WTO Agreements so that the interests of developing countries are properlyreflected in the commitments under this Round.
For my Government, the issue at the heart of these negotiations is agriculture.  Our obligation
must be to establish modalities for further commitmen ts in the very near future, including special and
differential treatment provisions pursuant to the Doha mandate.
On this occasion, as we are gathered together here to review the work conducted since the
Doha Ministerial Conference, we would like to propel  the negotiating process forward in this sector in
order to achieve a balanced framework agreement which meets the needs of all Members of this
Organization, in particular the more vulnerable among us.  In this respect, special and differentialtreatment will have to be translated into concrete legally-binding measures.  One way of putting
special and differential treatment into effect and, at the same time, of rectifying to a certain extent the
imbalances stemming from the Uruguay Round, is to exempt low-income and highly-indebted
countries from tariff reductions on their most sensitive agricultural products.  My country would find
it difficult to accept reductions in domestic support and the elimination of export subsidies notprovided for in the near future.
My Government considers the inclusion of strategic products without tariff reductions and the
special safeguard mechanism to be key elements which will have to be taken into consideration in any
agreement approved at this Ministerial Conference.WT/MIN(03)/ST/58
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Honduras welcomes the substantive work which has been carried out in the negotiating group
on market access for non-agricultural products.  In this respect, and in order to keep up the positive
work on establishing modalities in this sector, a framework agreement adopted at this Ministerial
Conference will have to include concrete elements on special and differential treatment, as provided
for in paragraph 16 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, in particular with regard to paragraph 3(b) ofArticle XXVIII bis of the GATT 1994.  To this end, we urge Members to give positive consideration
to the initiative tabled by a number of developed countries so that IDA-only countries do not have to
undertake any further tariff reduction commitments in this sector.
With regard to service sector negotiations, we reiterate the need for the sectors and modes of
supply of interest to developing countries such as Honduras to be included in this new round of
negotiations.  Likewise, we exhort Members to rectify the existing imbalance between negotiations onmarket access and those on the regulation of the Agreement itself.
Turning now to the issue of TRIPS and Public Health, we welcome the decision on the
implementation of paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health,
which will ensure access to certain pharmaceutical products for countries facing specific healthproblems and the production capacity of which is insufficient or non-existent.
As far as negotiations on the Dispute Settlement Understanding are concerned, we welcome
the fact that their deadline has been extended, thereby enabling us to discharge the mandate of
clarifying and amending this Understanding.
Whilst we acknowledge the effort which has gone into the work on special and differential
treatment, we feel that Members must show greater flexibility so that positive results can be achieved
in this area.  We endorse the idea of a framework agreement on special and differential treatment and
encourage Members to pay full attention to this issue since it encompasses not only implementation-related concerns, but also development issues.
Honduras stands ready to work constructively on the Singapore Issues provided that our
interests and needs, in particular in the agricultural sector, are taken into account in the overall
outcome.
We believe that each individual issue should be analyzed separately and that modalities
adopted by explicit consensus should pay particular attention to cooperation, technical assistance and
capacity-building and be clear as regards the coverage, scope and structure of the negotiations.
To conclude, may I take this opportunity to convey the firm belief of the Government of
Honduras that this Ministerial Conference affords a valuable opportunity for us to find collective
solutions so that the needs and interests of developing countries, in particular the poorest among us,
are taken into consideration in these negotiations and a fairer and more balanced multilateral trading
system achieved.
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