WT/MIN(22)/ST/13  
12 June 2022 
(22-4449) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 12 -15 June 2022  Original: English  
 
 
STATEMENT BY H.E.  MR VILLE SKINNARI  
MINISTER FOR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION  
AND FOREIGN TRADE  
FINLAND  
This meeting was originally planned to take place in Kazakhstan, two and a half years ago, during 
the Finnish  Presidency of the European Union. Instead, we are meeting in Geneva in the summer of 
2022.  
 
We are gathering  under difficult circumstances. We ar e barely emerging from a global pandemic, we 
are in the shadow of a war, facing a world food crisis, and trying to combat man -made climate 
change. There is a real sense of urgency for our meeting . This cannot be business as usual.  
 
We strongly condemn Rus sia's illegal and unjustified invasion  of Ukraine. It is an attack on 
the rules -based international order of which WTO is a part and a violation of the UN charter. Besides 
large-scale human suffering and destruction, it has also caused serious negative eff ects on 
international trade and the functioning of the WTO.  
 
The Russian war of aggression is the main source and reason of market distortions and the 
looming food crisis . It is their blockade of the Black Sea ports that is risking famine world -wide. 
We de mand an immediate right of passage for all Ukrainian grain exports.  
 
We also call for removal of export restrictions on food, transparency on trade measures and stocks, 
and exempting World Food Programme purchases from export restrictions. All nations sho uld stop 
restricting export of staple foodstuff and fertilizers.  
 
Finland is enhancing food security  via the "School Meals Coalition " together with France and the 
World Food Programme and other partners. We seek to ensure a healthy school meal for every c hild 
by 2030. We are over sixty nations, and our numbers are growing. I call on every nation to take 
part in our coalition.  
 
Finland is a strong supporter of the WTO and the multilateral trading system.  The benefits 
of this system are visible, concrete and beyond dispute. Common rules enhance predictability and 
transparency , fostering trade, economic growth and well -being among all WTO Members.  
 
My fellow Ministers; WTO system is in need of reform . We n eed rules that address the challenges 
of the 21st century. We need a system that welcomes plurilateral agreements. We need a dispute 
settlement system  that makes us uphold the rules. And, we need negotiations to deliver. As we find 
the system valuable, we must make the reforms happen. I call us all to walk the talk.  
 
The pandemic has been straining global trade immensely. WTO World Trade Report spoke of the 
vulnerabilities of interconnected economies. But it also spoke of the resilience of global supply 
chains, and the speedy recovery of countries that are well -integrated into world trade. We know that 
trade can make a positive difference. We need multilateral solutions.  
 
The pandemic  calls for easier access to vaccines, more transparency, less export rest rictions, and 
sufficient global production . We owe the advances in Covid treatment to innovations developed under 
protection of intellectual property rights. IPR are not a problem , they are a key part of the solution.  
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  One hugely important topic is sustai nability . It is the only way to address our greatest challenge: 
the climate change. We need to put a price on carbon. We need to reduce our dependence on fossil 
fuels. We need to turn to renewable energy and we need to make our economies more circular. 
Trade can help us along the way.  
 
We fully support further WTO work on trade and environmental sustainability . We should 
commit to negotiations to liberalize trade in environment -friendly goods and services. We should 
look how to make transition to circular e conomy faster via trade.  
 
We must also make sure that our work contributes to sustainable development goals (SDG). That is 
the best way to guarantee  the relevance of the WTO. As supporters of the multilateral trading 
system, we owe it to the organization.  A good place to start is concluding the fisheries 
negotiations .  
 
My fellow ministers; we are living  in a more and more digitalized world . Data transfer is growing 
at enormous speed. Its economic benefits are immense and its potential is beyond measure.  
 
The share of digitally delivered services in global services exports is over 50 percent and rising. As 
we have all seen during the pandemic , digital services are key to making the economy work even 
under challenging circumstances.  Digital trade needs enab ling.  
 
The WTO should not move  backward in rulemaking. We damage our fragile recovery by raising 
barriers to digital trade. That is why I want to underline, in the strongest terms possible, the 
importance of maintaining the e -commerce moratorium .  
 
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