WT/MIN(22)/ST/101  
12 June 2022 
(22-4541) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 12 -15 June 2022  Original: English  
 
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. MR UDO PHILIPP  
STATE SECRETARY AT THE FEDERAL MINISTRY FOR  
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS AND CLIMATE ACTION  
GERMANY  
It is both an honour and a pleasure  for me to speak to you on behalf of Germany.  
 
It is a pleasure for me, because – after such a long time – Trade Ministers again are able to meet at 
a Ministerial Conference  – and in person !  
 
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank DG Dr. Ngoz i and the whole Secretariat for the 
excellent planning and preparation.  
 
However, our Conference is overshadowed by a bleak geopolitical situation.  
 
The brutal, unprovoked and illegal attack on Ukraine  has shown the fragility of the international 
rules-based order.  
 
Beyond the suffering in Ukraine, the war also poses the danger of a serious global food crisis  
with possibly devastating impact on the weakest and the poorest of this world.  
 
And let me be very clear: It is the Russian aggression on Ukraine, the destruction of agricultural 
facilities and the blockage of grain shipments, which is the sole root cause of this looming food crisis.  
 
And – last, but not least – we all have suffered and are continuing to suffer from the devastating 
effects o f the Covid -19 pandemic:  The loss of friends, neighbours and loved ones. Apart from that, 
the pandemic has strongly affected our economies and global supply chains – and continues to do 
so until today!  
 
Against this gloomy backdrop, the world is now looki ng at us for answers – also in the field of 
trade policy.  
 
Indeed, the WTO can offer answers – to old and new challenges.  We just need to make proper 
use of the WTO!  
 
Firstly:  Any breach of international law underlines the importance of multilateral coop eration 
and the need of a rules -based system.  An international system based on the concept “might is 
right” will only know losers – in particular among developing countries.  
 
That is why MC12 needs to be the starting point for a meaningful reform process for an 
organization that is at the centre of global rule -setting . We need to give the WTO the 
necessary tools to properly exercise its functions – be it the negotiating, monitoring or dispute 
settlement function.  
 
Therefore: We need more WTO, not less.  
 
Secondly: We need to address the looming food crisis.  Here, again, cooperation and increasing 
trade are the essential parts of the solution – not protectionism and export restrictions to the 
detriment of others.  WT/MIN( 22)/ST/ 101 
 
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  The same is true for the negotiations on fishery subsidies.  Only if we are able to agree on rules 
to curb illegal fishery and overfishing, we can save the world 's fish stocks for future generations. If 
we cannot do this now, after 20 years of negotiations,  then when?  
 
Thirdly:  We need the right trade policy answers to the pandemic : We need to facilitate trade 
with health -related products, not restrict and limit it. Cooperation, again, is key.  
 
This is what all stakeholders  – be it states, citizens or the bu siness community – have to keep in 
mind. We need to provide the best possible health care for all, while keeping in place incentives for 
developing the very products needed to provide this care. First and foremost, this requires a reliable 
framework to pro tect intellectual property rights.  
 
Dear Colleagues, today is also the time to look beyond this Ministerial Conference.  Our citizens 
rightly want us to give answers to global challenges such as climate change, social 
exploitation and loss of biodiversity.  
 
If we want to keep the WTO relevant, we need to send out the message: The WTO is not part of 
the problem, but part of the answer to address those global challenges.   
 
It is therefore crucial to align the global trade rules to the global governance of sust ainability 
standards , such as the Paris Agreement, the ILO Core Labour Standards and the Convention on 
Biodiversity.  
 
Global trade and trade rules should be a driver for sustainability . Economic development and 
sustainability need to go hand in hand.  
 
Ultimately, this also affects a central issue of any responsible trade policy: Safeguarding a level 
playing field and fair competition  for any products and services which comply with global 
sustainability standards.  
 
We should therefore use the Multilatera l Trading System to improve sustainability across the globe.  
 
There are already a lot of initiatives underway on which we can build:  The discussions on 
plastic pollution, on curbing fossil fuel subsidies or facilitating trade with environmentally -friendly 
goods and services.  
 
And, last but not least: The WTO should be the platform where we should discuss the trade -related 
aspects of the fight against climate change.  
 
Here again, we should be guided by the principle of cooperation . We can only fight climate 
change, if we fight together!  
 
And that is why we are promoting the idea of an inclusive and open “Climate Club” that 
incentivizes all nations to cut their emissions, while taking into account the perspective 
of developing countries and LDCs . 
  
Dear Colle agues – yes, the current backdrop might be bleak. However, we can make this 
Ministerial a moment of hope  – if we regain our belief, that we can make this world a better 
place , based on the principles of the primacy of law  and multilateral cooperation . Prin ciples 
that are bound to reject the brutality of a power -based system – to the benefit of all of us.  
 
__________