RESTRICTED  
  
TN/C/M/42  
 
21 December 2021  
(21-9543) Page: 1/53 
Trade Negotiations Committee  
19 November 2021    
 
 
MINUTES OF MEETING  
HELD IN THE CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD ON 19 NOVEMBER  2021 
Chair person : Dr Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala  (Director -General)  
Contents  
 
1   INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON  ................................ .....................  1 
2   REPORTS BY THE CHAIRPERSONS OF THE BODIES ESTABLISHED BY THE TNC  ..........  2 
3   STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRPERSON  ................................ ................................ ..........  10 
4   STATEMENTS BY PARTICIPANTS  ................................ ................................ ..............  13 
5   CONCLUDING SUMMARY BY CHAIRPERSON  ................................ .............................  50 
 
 
1  INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON  
1.1.  The Chair  welcome d delegations to the forty -second formal session of the Trade Negotiations 
Committee  (TNC)  and to the Informal Heads of Delegation  (HoDs)  meeting. She thank ed the 
delegation of Oman and  the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB)  Chair – H.E. Dr. Athaliah Molokomme  
for the flexibility in concluding Oman's trade policy review  ahead of th e meeting and avoiding a 
clash. She congratulate d Oman upon its successful conclusion of its third trade policy review.  
1.2.  She noted that Members  had a weekend  left before  transmit ting through the General Council 
the product of their work for Ministers' consideration at MC12.  Ten days – counting the weekend – 
remain ed before the start of  the Twelfth Ministerial Conference ( MC12 ). Capitals were preparing to 
come to Geneva, and Members had  to be  ready. This meeting therefore served  as the endgame 
conversation. She asked delegations  to bear this in mind as they engage d. 
1.3.  Following the  questions she had received from some Ministers concerning the format of MC12 , 
she clarified that MC12 remain ed an in-person meeting. She therefore request ed all delegations to 
relay this message to their respective capitals.  
1.4.  She also wish ed to raise the issue of "credentials", which was a requirement that was distinct 
from, and additional to, "registration " for MC12. The deadline for submitting the hard copy of original 
signed credentials was on Tuesday, 23 November. Although this was only a few working days away, 
a number of Members appear ed to still not have contacted the Secretariat with their credential s. It 
would be therefore appreciated if relevant Members got in contact with the Legal Affairs Division at 
their earliest convenience. For more information on preparing and submitting credentials, she 
referred delegations to  the information note that had b een circulated in September in document 
WT/MIN (21)/INF/1 . TN/C/M/42  
 
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  2  REPORTS BY THE CHAIRPERSONS OF THE BODIES ESTABLISHED BY THE TNC  
2.1.  The Chair  recalled that, s ince Ministers' instructions to Members in 2017 to advance 
negotiations on all remaining issues, work ha d continued at varied levels. To better situate where 
Members we re, she suggest ed that agenda Item 2 concerning  the reports by the Chairpersons of 
the bodies established by the TNC  be taken up first .  
2.2.  Written reports ha d been circulated in the following offi cial documents:  
a. Special Session of the Committee on Trade and Development – TN/CTD/35;  
b. Special Session of the Dispute Settlement Body – TN/DS/32;  
c. Special Session of the Council for TRIPS – TN/IP/30;  
d. Negotiating Group on Market Access – TN/MA/34;  
e. Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services – TN/S/42; and,  
f. Special Session of the Committee on Trade and Environment – TN/TE/26.  
2.3.  Given that the Fisheries Subsidies clause -by-clause negotiations were still on -going – including 
after this meeting, and work continue d in Agriculture as well, Ambassadors Wills and Peralta ha d 
informed her that they w ould issue their respective written reports after th is TNC meeting  in 
documents TN/RL/34 and TN/AG/50 , respectively . Members  would therefore only  hear their oral 
reports on the state of work as it currently st ood. Any further updates w ould be reflected in the 
written reports for onward transmission to Ministers.  
2.4.  Ambassador Alfredo Suescum (Panama), Chair of t he Special Session of the Council for TRIPS  
(TRIPS SS), reported  that, his  predecessor, Ambassador Dacio Castillo (Honduras), and he had held 
many informal consultations and open -ended meetings over the past three years, to gather 
delegations' thoughts and  suggestions on how to fulfil the mandate of the TRIPS SS. From th ose 
meetings and consultations, he conclude d that there ha d been very little or no evolution in Members' 
positions on either substantive or procedural issues on the geographical indications (GI) register 
negotiations, and very little appetite to restart them.  
2.5.  He had tried to encourage movement from long -held inflexible positions by asking delegations 
to reflect on how, when and where they could  address the other side's concerns without neces sarily 
conceding or agreeing to them, and to reflect on new approaches to achieve their own objectives. 
To his knowledge , no delegation h ad engaged with the other side on th ose specific suggestions, and 
no novel ideas had been  put forward on how to advance  the substantive work of the Special Session.  
2.6.  On procedural matters, some delegations had stood by their proposal for linked and parallel 
negotiations on three TRIPS issues, namely GI register, GI extension, and TRIPS -Convention on 
Biological Diversity ( CBD). Other delegations had repeated that the Special Session's mandate 
should  be respected.  
2.7.  There had been  new developments outside the WTO, including multilateral, bilateral and 
regional agreements, and domestic systems on GI protection. Some delegations  had indicated their 
readiness and willingness to share information and experiences on these developments, thinking the 
exercise could  suggest possible new avenues for taking up negotiations. Other delegations had been  
sceptical that this work would be useful, or thought it duplicate d work at the World Intellectual 
Property Organization ( WIPO ). 
2.8.  Additionally, in the last months, most of t he principal delegations had considered the 
negotiations and preparations for MC12 to be a much higher priority.  
2.9.  After reflecting the overall situation, he believe d there w ould be no appetite to take up the 
negotiations in the TRIPS S S until at least after  MC12. Even then, as a threshold matter, significant 
efforts w ould be necessary on the part of all delegations to overcome persistent disagreements on 
the mandate and the substance of these negotiations.  TN/C/M/42  
 
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  2.10.   Ambassador Leopold Samba (Central African Republic), Chair of the Special Session of the 
Committee on Trade and Environment  (CTE SS) , noted that the WTO was not an environmental 
protection agency,  yet it nevertheless remain ed a place where fundamental role s for environmental 
protection should  be respected. Regarding the work of the CTE SS , there ha d been no new 
developments. Having said that, he was  pleased to note renewed interest, especially in the past two 
years, on issues crosscutting trade and the envi ronment, even though delegations  could  have chosen 
to have more in -depth discussions on this topic in other forums. He noted in this respect the work 
done by the Committee on Trade and Environment  (CTE) , Trade  and Environmental Sustainability 
Structured Di alogue (TESSD) discussions, the Informal  Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and 
Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (IDP) and the discussions on fossil fuel subsidy reform.  
2.11.   Moreover, in this period leading up to MC12 , he had been keen to lend his suppor t to the 
inclusion in any draft ministerial declaration of a strong reference to trade and environment issues, 
including climate change and the recognition of the crucial role played by the WTO in making 
much -needed progress in this domain. There was also the issue of the economic definition  of 
environmental matters  which  should be brought up in future discussions. It was essential that this 
matter of defining  in the interest of the environment was respected by all, especially by  least 
developed countries ( LDCs). 
2.12.   Lastly, he continue d to be involved in the work of LDCs on environmental issues. With the 
support of the Secretariat, he had decided to hold an information session for this group of countries 
on trade and environment issu es. The purpose of this session had been to update delegations to 
enable them to make a meaningful contribution to the various discussion s and negotiation forums 
that were dealing with trade and environment issues, and to allow them to prepare themselves a s 
best as they c ould for the Ministerial Conference. This session had taken place just before th is TNC 
meeting. As always, he remain ed at the disposal of all delegations to assist in any way he could on 
this matter.  
2.13.   Ambassador Didier Chambovey (Switzerland ), Chair of the Negotiating Group on Market 
Access  (NGMA) , said that he had not taken the floor for a long time in this body as  the non-
agricultural market access ( NAMA ) Chair. However, this being the last TNC before MC12, he thought 
it was important to give this Committee an overview of the work done in NAMA since MC11 and his 
assessment of the current situation in these negotiations.  Since December 2017, he had  prepared  
two reports for the TNC : one for its meeting of 7 May 2018 (TN/MA/32) and the other for its meeting 
of 24 July 2018 (TN/MA/33).   
2.14.   To recap, it was recalled that the last proposal to be submitted to the NGMA had been  in 
2017. The proposal had been  discusse d in the Group and then transmitted to Ministers in the form 
of a draft Ministerial Decision entitled "Ministerial Decision on Transparency of Regulatory Measures 
for Trade in Goods". However, no progress on this draft had been  possible during  the Eleventh  
Ministerial Conference ( MC11 ). 
2.15.   Following MC11, on 13 April 2018, he held consultations with the proponents regarding next 
steps but was advised that their intention was to pursue this proposal in other fora.  Since that date, 
no other proposal, paper or co ntribution ha d been presented to the Negotiating Group, and in light 
of this situation, the Group ha d not met formally or informally during this period of time.  
2.16.   He had also consulted informally on different occasions with a number of delegations to test 
the waters for an eventual resumption of work in NAMA. Following these discussions, his assessment 
had been  and continue d to be that Members were not ready to re -activate the NAMA negotiations 
under the current circumstances.  
2.17.   Having said this, it was also his view that the situation could  change depending on 
developments that could  occur in international trade relations, including progress in negotiations 
taking place under the aegis of the WTO.  As noted on prior occasions, he was  more than willing to 
conven e a meeting of the Negotiating Group in the event that a proposal or contribution was 
submitted.  He noted that his  oral report was largely based on his written report circulated in  
document  TN/MA/34.  
2.18.   Ambassador Kokou Yackoley Johnson (Togo), Chair of the S pecial Session of the Dispute 
Settlement Body  (DSB SS) , noted that his written report had been  circulated in document  TN/DS/32. TN/C/M/42  
 
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  He would therefore simply give a brief update to underscore what had been  reflected in his report. 
There ha d been no major changes in the work of the Special Session since the last report he had  
presented to the TNC in July. He continue d to believe that delegations believe d a discussion to clarify 
and improve the Memorandum of Understanding as part of the work o f the DSB  SS would not likely 
be productive at this moment  – as matters regarding operation of the entire Dispute Settlement 
System which arose as part of the debate on the operations of the Appellate Body ha d not yet been 
settled. He was  aware that the co nsultations on these matters were underway as part of preparations 
for MC12. At this juncture he did not foresee any immediate actions to be taken by the Special 
Session. That said, he would  be guided by Members and st ood ready to hear their views as part of 
their work for the Special Session.  
2.19.   Ambassador Zhanar Aitzhanova (Kazakhstan), Chair of the Council for Trade in Services in 
Special Session  (CTS SS) , said that she had circulated a written report to the TNC in view of the 
Ministerial Conference  contain ed in document  TN/S/42. That report contain ed two sections. The first 
one capture d the most recent state of play for MC12. The second section provide d, for information, 
an overview of discussions in the Special Session since MC11. The whole report was submitted under 
her own responsibility.  
2.20.   In her oral report, she would  solely focus on the current state of play ahead of MC12. On 
25 October, she had informed Heads of Delegation that she had heard a good level of support for 
having a paragraph on trade in services in the MC12 outcome document, in the context of the Special 
Session. Three text proposals had been  submitted by delegations, and Members had engaged in 
discussions to try to develop text, including with the expert assistance of Ambassador Pimch anok 
Pitfield of Thailand, who she had  asked to assist her as Facilitator. Ambassador Pitfield ha d accepted 
to devote a lot of her time to assist the Membership and the organization in this busy period and 
she extend ed her gratitude to her.  
2.21.   In the end, des pite various discussions taking place over the past weeks, and constructive 
efforts, Members had not been able to agree on text for this TNC meeting. At an informal meeting 
that she had  convened the previous  evening, she had heard that, with the Facilitato r's assistance, 
Members could generally converge on language in relation to the growing economic importance of 
services trade, the impact of the pandemic, the importance of services for recovery, and the need 
to increase the participation of developing cou ntries and LDCs in global services trade. However, 
Members had not been able to converge on language to characterize discussions since MC11 in the 
Special Session and post -MC12 work.  
2.22.   This was unfortunate, as she felt that convergence on language should not  be out of reach, 
and that discussions on services under the umbrella of the CTS SS c ould carry value for all Members, 
especially in the current trade environment.  She remain ed at the disposal of the TNC, and in the 
TNC Chair's hands in terms of  next steps . 
2.23.   Ambassador Kadra Ahmed Hassan (Djibouti), Chair of the Special Session of the Committee 
on Trade and Development  (CTD SS) , recalled that, a t the informal Heads of Delegation meeting of 
25 October, she had  reported on the discussions that had taken place at the informal meeting of the 
CTD SS on 24 September. She had, in particular, highlighted the fact that divergent views remained 
among Membe rs on the ten Group of Ninety ( G-90) Agreement -specific proposals on special and 
differential treatment ( S&DT ). Progress in the CTD SS  had been  proving challenging, due to a lack 
of engagement on the substance on the ten proposals.  
2.24.   She had also reported o n the informal bilateral meetings that she had  subsequently held in 
the first half of October with interested delegations. As w ould be recalled, she had  sent out an open 
invitation to all Members for this purpose. Her objective in holding these bilateral m eetings was to 
explore how progress could be made in the discussions in the CTD SS in the time remaining until 
MC12, and what elements would need to fall in place for an outcome on S&DT at MC12 to become 
possible. Although the bilateral setting had been conducive to a frank and open sharing of views, 
Members' positions on the G -90 proposals remained broadly unchanged.  
2.25.   After the bilateral consultations, she started a process of informal consultations in small 
groups. The objective was to facilitate an exchan ge of views between interested delegations and the 
G-90 on how Members could arrive at an outcome on S&DT at MC12, and what this outcome could  
look like.  TN/C/M/42  
 
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  2.26.   Shortly after she began this small -group process, the G -90 made a submission, in the form 
of draft Min isterial text on S&DT. A proposed paragraph had been  submitted to the General Council 
Chairman for inclusion in the MC12 outcome document. Subsequently, on 3 November, the G -90 
circulated a draft Ministerial Decision on S&DT in documents JOB/TN/CTD/1, JOB/ TNC/100 and 
JOB/GC/280.  
2.27.   The proposed language by the G -90 reaffirm ed S&DT as an integral part of existing and future 
WTO Agreements. Recalling paragraph 44 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, the proposed language 
instruct ed the CTD SS to expeditiously co mplete the review of the ten G -90 proposals and report to 
the General Council, with clear recommendations for a decision, at the next Ministerial Conference.  
2.28.   This language proposed by the G -90 formed a large part of the discussion in the small -group 
consul tations that she had held. In these consultations, the G -90 had explained that, given the short 
time remaining until the Ministerial Conference, they had adopted a pragmatic approach and were 
no longer aiming to have agreement on their proposals by MC12. R ather, they were seeking 
instructions from Ministers to continue the work on the G -90 proposals after MC12, on the basis of 
the original mandate given at Doha.  
2.29.   Reactions from other delegations to the proposed language by the G -90 had been mixed. 
While all delegations recognized the importance and significance of S&DT as a fundamental pillar of 
the multilateral trading system, some of them raise d concern with the reference in the proposed 
Ministerial text to paragraph 44 of the Doha Declaration, as well as t he instructions to continue work 
on the G -90 proposals in the CTD SS. On the other hand, a number of delegations fully supported 
the proposed G -90 text and said that this was a good basis to make progress in the CTD SS.  
2.30.   Some delegations felt that it would be important to have a broader and forward -looking 
discussion on development and S&DT after MC12. The G -90 also indicated that they would be willing 
to have such a discussion in the future, but stressed that a distinction should  be made between such 
a disc ussion, and the mandate in paragraph 44 of the Doha Declaration, which the proponents 
believed still needed to be fulfilled.  
2.31.   In spite of these different perspectives on what an outcome on S&DT at MC12 could  look like, 
it appeared that all the delegations t hat participated in the small -group consultations at least 
remained open to consider the possibility of a forward -looking outcome on S&DT. Furthermore, it 
was recognized that the stalemate in the CTD SS was not healthy for the work in other areas, and 
for the organization as a whole. She had  therefore encouraged delegations to continue their 
discussions. She had indicated that she remained available to convene any further meetings or  assist 
in any way that she could in her capacity as Chair of the CTD SS, i n order to help move the process 
forward.  
2.32.   As she underst ood it, consultations in this area were continuing at the level of the General 
Council Chair, and possible language that could  be acceptable to both sides was being actively 
considered. She was  hopeful that the discussions among Members w ould help lead to an 
understanding on how work on S&DT in the CTD SS c ould continue after MC12. As she had said 
before, it was only by tackling the difficult issues relating to S&DT and working together creative ly 
that Members w ould be able to find the much -needed solutions.  
2.33.   She would  be maintaining close contact with delegations, and with the General Council 
Chairman, to keep informed of how the discussions were progressing, and how this could  be 
translated into  language for the MC12 outcome document. While she stood ready to facilitate any 
further discussions that could  be required, she wished to stress once again that it was ultimately for 
Members to show the necessary flexibility and political will to collabor ate, so as to collectively 
determine how to arrive at an outcome on S&DT at MC12.  
2.34.   Finally, as Members  enter ed the last phase before MC12, she wished to share a few thoughts 
with Members. In her view, it was largely because of a lack of political will and t rust that discussions 
in the CTD SS ha d not been able to advance. Since she took over as Chair two years ago, she had 
heard delegations repeat their positions many times. She had also heard frustration expressed by 
all sides, but she had not seen readiness  to engage in actual negotiations on the proposals on the 
table. This was regrettable, because the work of the CTD SS remain ed important to this organization. 
Furthermore, any progress that was made in the CTD SS c ould have a positive impact on other TN/C/M/42  
 
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  discussions in the WTO concerned with issues relating to S&DT.  
2.35.   In that regard, the opportunity provided by MC12 had not to be missed. She believe d that 
what w ould be required to make progress in the CTD SS w ould be for Ministers to send a clear and 
strong political signal of their willingness to conclude these negotiations. This would set the stage 
for a more positive, substantive and constructive discussion after MC12, where delegations 
embrace d the process of n egotiations, without prejudice to the outcome. Ultimately, it  was for 
Members to work together to determine a commonly achieved outcome to these negotiations. 
Members  were living in exceptional and challenging times, and this outcome should form part of th e 
much -needed multilateral solutions in a post -COVID -19 era – for all Members , and in particular for 
developing countries and LDCs who were the most vulnerable.  "Where there  is a will, there is a 
way." 
2.36.   Ambassador Gloria Abraham Peralta (Costa Rica), Chair of the Committee on Agriculture in 
Special Session  (CoA SS) , recalled that, f ollowing the last TNC meeting, she had  held a CoA SS 
meeting at the Heads of Delegation level on 28 October to get political guidance and indications on 
possible compromises on the issues where gaps remained.  Following the CoA SS meeting, she had 
further intensified her consultations in various formats with a view to testing possible landing zones. 
These included bilateral meeti ngs, small group consultations and meetings with Group Coordinators.  
2.37.   She had also encouraged the continuation of consultations between various groups of 
Members and had invited them to work on possible compromise suggestions to feed into her process.  
She did not intend to describe in detail the remaining gaps in the different negotiating topics. Her 
report to the last CoA SS meeting held on 15 November ha d been circulated to Members in document 
JOB/AG/223.  
2.38.   In her consultations, she had  aimed to look for a b alance between Members' interests, 
positions and sensitivities. While these consultations had been  helpful in shedding further light on 
Members' positions on the various negotiating issues, she was frank in saying  that they were not 
very helpful as Members  had stuck to their entrenched positions and had not ma de any significant 
efforts to achieve convergence on these issues.  The reality was that the gaps on domestic support 
and public stockholding for food security ( PSH), as well as on market access to a lesser extent 
remain ed as wide as ever. Positions on the remaining issues were yet to converge also, although 
with a little bit of effort , they should be able to close the remaining gaps.  
2.39.   She still believe d that with flexibility on all sides, it  could be p ossible to identify possible 
landing zones. She therefore invite d Members to actively seek compromises in the following 48 
hours, otherwise to her regret and that of many Members, she would have no choice but to circulate 
a slimmed -down version of her text which would mean further lowering the level of ambition overall.  
2.40.   Members  needed to take urgent decisions. They did not have a lot of choices so they needed 
to move as quicky as possible to identify the potential landing zones. A lot of work ha d been put i n 
by Members so it w ould be regrettable if they ended up not having any substantive outcome at 
MC12.  She still fel t that they were very close if they could find solutions for PSH and Domestic 
Support. They needed to be imaginative and find language which e veryone c ould live with. But this 
would require bold moves by Members to narrow the remaining gaps. The modalities w ould be 
negotiated in the new year, so Members should not feel this was the last chance for them to reflect 
their views in the text.  
2.41.   It was Members'  collective responsibility to present to Minsters a text that was manageable. 
They could not present to them a text with too many strong divergences and expect them to do in 
few days what they had not been able to do in several months. There w ould be many opportunities 
in the new year for them to do so when negotiations on modalities start in earnest.  
2.42.   Going forward, she intend ed to hold a series of intensive consultations with various Members  
following this meeting and over the weekend to gather the ir final comments and inputs before 
finalizing her draft revised text.  She would also be convening a CoA SS meeting on 24 -25 November 
to provide Members an opportunity to comment on the revised draft text and prepare the ground 
for Ministerial discussions on the outstanding issues.  But as she had stressed on many occasions, 
she was only a facilitator and not a magician. It was their duty as Members to collectively identify 
the possible landing zones for the various negotiating issues. She remained ready  to assist them TN/C/M/42  
 
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  and w ould do everything possible to help them in that regard.  
2.43.   Ambassador Santiago Wills (Colombia), Chair of the Negotiating Group on Rules  (NGR) , 
report ed on the activities of the Negotiating Group in the fisheries subsidies negotiations since  the 
last TNC meeting in October. As  it was less than two weeks away from the start of MC12, and 
Members in the Negotiating Group ha d a great deal to do to prepare the ground for Ministers to take 
the final decisions that w ould produce an outcome after 20 years of negotiations, the present 
meeting represent ed a key moment, and he hoped the final turning point, for these negotiations.  
2.44.   As he had  reported to the TNC in September and October, following the 15 July formal virtual 
TNC at Ministerial level to discuss fisheries subsidies, the NGR had been working  intensively 
throughout the fall based on a two -phase programme of work aimed at in creasing convergence on 
all of the issues that remained open. As Members  would recall, on 30 June he had  circulated a 
revision of the negotiating text that he had introduced in May. The June revision, in document 
TN/RL/W/276/Rev.1, presented his first draf t of possible landing zones in a number of areas. The 
suggestions that he had  put forward in the Rev.1 text had drawn on all of the focused work of 
Members, based on successive draft texts, that had taken place since early 2020, and that had made 
great pro gress despite the difficulties and constraints imposed by the COVID -19 pandemic. It had 
been the Rev.1 text on which Ministers had commented during the 15 July meeting, with some – 
albeit from different sides and with different interests and perspectives – calling for a rebalancing of 
certain parts of the text. There also had been  widespread support to continue working on the basis 
of the Rev.1 text to address these questions related to a perceived imbalance.  
2.45.   To that end, the Negotiating Group ha d been pur suing a two -phase programme of work since 
it had  reconvened following the summer break. The first phase had been  to address so -called "macro 
issues" that had been identified in the Rev.1 text by various delegations and groups that had been  
seeking a rebala nced text. The timing as initially announced had been  to try to collectively improve 
the draft text for about four weeks and then move, in mid -October, to the second phase, namely 
clause -by-clause negotiations on the basis of a further revised text.  
2.46.   As he had previously reported, the focus of much of Members'  work during September had 
been on the overcapacity and overfishing pillar, including the provisions related to S&DT , addressing 
the perception of imbalance that had been raised by some Ministers during  the 15 July meeting. In 
addition, Members  had also discussed the disciplines relating to subsidies to fishing or fishing related 
activities in areas beyond national jurisdictions; notifications and transparency; whether non -specific 
fuel subsidies should be within the scope of the disciplines; and some issues regarding the illegal, 
unregulated, and unreported ( IUU) fishing pillar with an emphasis on IUU determinations as a trigger 
for the subsidy prohibition, including the so -called automaticity of such a trigger. In addition to the 
work in plenary sessions, he had continuously been engaged in bilateral consultations and in 
meetings with groups of different configurations on different topics.  
2.47.   Although the NGR had intended to move to clause -by-clause negotia tions by the week of 
11 October, it had become clear that Members needed more time for their work on the "macro 
issues", as the discussions had not generated concrete results, while at the same time, it appeared 
that some bridging solutions could  emerge from Members' own work. He had  therefore decided to 
prolong the time allocated to Members' consultations, and he later extended this further. He had 
encouraged delegations to use the time to work with one another, particularly across divergent 
positions, to try to identify common ground. In parallel, he continued his own consultations and 
other work with a large number of delegations and groups.  
2.48.   On 8 November, having heard back from some Members about the product of their work with 
others, and taki ng into account all of the issues raised, all proposals, and all textual suggestions 
made during the first phase, he issued a second revision of the negotiating text, in document 
TN/RL/W/276/Rev.2 . Accompanying this revision was document TN/RL/W/276/Rev.2/ Add.1 
containing his explanation of the changes made from Rev.1.  
2.49.   As explained in that note, the changes that he had introduced in the Rev.2 document took 
into account in one way or another all of the work that preceded it. Even if not every suggestion had 
been incorporated in the manner in which it had been suggested, he aimed to address directly or 
indirectly all of the important issues that had been identified. Put another way, with the Rev.2 
document he had  tried to come as close as possible to what he had seen – based on all of the TN/C/M/42  
 
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  discussions of Rev.1 and the textual suggestions submitted during the first phase – as the possible 
final landing zones for these negotiations. Thus, while some of the changes were of a relatively 
technical nature, others add ressed the most substantive and contentious areas of the text. Also, as 
emphasized in the Add.1 document, where language had not been changed from the Rev.1 text this 
had not been intended to imply that that language had been  agreed. It was clear that noth ing was 
agreed until everything was, and the very purpose of a clause -by-clause reading of the text was to 
ensure that every provision was fully considered and debated in the context of the Rev.2 document. 
This was particularly important given the many int erlinkages among different provisions of the text, 
such that a change to one could  necessitate a change to another and so forth.  
2.50.   In the Rev.2 text, as explained in the Add.1 document, the main substantive changes were 
to various elements in the IUU fishing  pillar, the overcapacity and overfishing pillar, and in the 
notifications and transparency disciplines. In presenting these changes, he had  noted that they 
reflected his best attempt to find an overall balance in the entire text. He had thus strongly 
encouraged Members to consider the text in a holistic manner rather than focusing on particular 
elements in isolation.  
2.51.   When preparing the text, it had been  his assessment that three areas – Articles 1.2, 10 and 
11.4 – required further technical discussion bef ore they would be ready for consideration in the 
clause -by-clause process. As anticipated in the Add.1 document, he had  therefore asked three 
colleagues – Ambassador de Boer of Canada, Ambassador Molokomme of Botswana, and 
Ambassador Tan of Singapore, resp ectively – to assist him as Friends of the Chair on those 
provisions. Th ose Friends had held bilateral consultations and small group meetings, with the aim of 
identifying convergent language that could be brought back to the plenary for consideration in th e 
clause -by-clause discussions. Each of them had reported back to the Negotiating Group  on 18 
November , and they would be turning to those issues during their plenary discussions over the 
weekend.  
2.52.   Immediately after the Rev.2 text had been circulated, Members begun the clause -by-clause 
discussions of all provisions of the text other than those assigned to Friends of the Chair. All Members 
had indicated that this text represented a good basis for this phase of the work and the discussions 
had been very a ctive. He then recall ed the purpose of these clause -by-clause discussions : to produce 
a clean text, or at least a text that was as clean as possible, for Ministers to consider beginning ten 
days from the present meeting . To produce such a text through the collective work of 164 Members 
require d both self -restraint and a pragmatic approach from each delegation. Simply, for each 
provision each delegation need ed to ask itself, "Can I live with this?", and to keep its alternative 
suggestions to the minimum nece ssary for it to be able to say "yes". Without this sort of approach, 
Members  would not be able to produce the much cleaner text that Ministers were expecting.  
2.53.   This was not to imply that their discussions thus far ha d been unproductive. To the contrary, 
he wanted to express appreciation for how delegations were participating – the discussions ha d been 
focused on the text and on concrete suggestions for amending  it. This was a positive development, 
as delegations were no longer delivering prepared speeches on  general points. Instead, they were 
engaging on the spot in presenting textual suggestions and making textual amendments to those 
suggestions, in a constructive manner. This ha d led in several areas to growing convergence as a 
particular suggested formulat ion ha d evolved in the room.  
2.54.   While this was positive, it was not enough. Although some issues ha d progressed in this way, 
there were too many areas where progress remain ed elusive, with a large number of textual 
suggestions often going in opposite directi ons and some implying a restructuring of entire Articles. 
Given the interlinkages of issues in the text, major proposed changes in one area would require 
corresponding changes in other areas of the text. This could end up destabilizing the entire text and 
Members  were almost out of time. So he  reiterate d his call for delegations to remain focused, 
pragmatic and disciplined.  
2.55.   As for where they were in the clause -by-clause discussions, Members  had completed the first 
reading of all provisions of the text, except those assigned to Friends of the Chair, where they 
received their reports on 18 November . They would  be continuing  their discussions after the present 
meeting and during the weekend by revi siting the provisions that they had already discussed and 
taking up the provisions that had been  assigned to the Friends of the Chair. In all cases, the goal 
was to develop convergent formulations that c ould be introduced into the text as clean provisions.   TN/C/M/42  
 
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  2.56.   While Members hoped that this c ould be the case for every provision of the text, he was aware 
that there were a few issues that were particularly sensitive for some Members, and which probably 
would need to be sent to Ministers to resolve. They would need to find a clear way to reflect these 
issues and the decisions to be made in the text, for example through the use of brackets and in 
some cases alternative formulations. To have a chance of achieving an agreed outcome at MC12 
after so many years of work,  the issues of this kind had to be very few, and needed to  be presented 
as cleanly and clearly as possible.  
2.57.   This next phase of Members'  work was to collectively produce the cleanest possible text to go 
to Ministers. And they only ha d a couple of days to d o this – even though they would use most of 
the hours of those days. His intention was to circulate a new version of the text early the following  
week, while the General Council was in session, so that it c ould be included with the other 
documentation bein g sent to the Ministerial Conference. Accompanying the text w ould be a 
document explaining to Ministers all of the provisions and identifying the questions that they were 
being asked to decide.  
2.58.   He therefore ask ed all delegations to be prepared for an inte nse process. Even more 
importantly, he called on delegations to come to each of these sessions with full instructions and the 
authority to take decisions on the spot. He wanted to remind everyone that in July, WTO Ministers 
had empowered their Geneva Heads  of Delegation to negotiate compromise solutions so that the 
Negotiating Group c ould create the clean text that Ministers need ed and expect ed. Having the ability 
to connect their Capital -based officials by Interprefy should only reinforce their ability to react and 
decide quickly so that they could produce such a text. Now was the time to do this.  
2.59.   While Members  were going to work hard over the weekend and while his intention was to 
send a text to the General Council the following week, that w ould not signal the end of their pre-
MC12 work. Instead, he anticipate d continuing to work in different configurations during the 
remainder of the week after the General Council, in an effort t o further narrow any remaining 
differences. He therefore expect ed to send a supplemental report to Ministers depending on the 
outcome of that further work.  
2.60.   In closing, he recall ed that these negotiations ha d been running for 20 years. Members we re 
one year  overdue on the deadline in  the Sustainable Development Goal  (SDG) Target 14.6, while 
outside Geneva ever -more attention was being focused on sustainability issues, including those 
affecting the ocean. He said this not with the intention of making anyone f eel bad – to the contrary, 
he thought  they had grounds for feeling optimistic. Success was within their grasp if they really 
fought to deliver on the many commitments of their Ministers and Leaders over the years to deliver 
an outcome in these negotiations . By now, positions, views and interests ha d been identified and 
thoroughly examined and debated, and they were coming closer to a mid -point of convergence. 
While the process was sometimes painful and always lengthy, they were continuing to make progress 
toward the possible landing zones on all of the open issues.  
2.61.   He gave  credit to all of the delegations for the significant change in how they were engaging. 
Their work was increasingly focused and text -based. While views and thus textual suggestions 
continue d to show divergences, many delegations were also putting forth compromise suggestions 
for closing issues so that they could move forward. Members  had crucial few days ahead of them to 
progressively consolidate compromise solutions in a s many areas as they could, such that only very 
little, if anything , was  left for Ministers to decide. He was confident that they could get there  – 
delegations had the information and the technology to do so. What they needed was the willingness 
on all sid es to take decisions and clear as many issues as possible. Their Ministers ha d given  
delegations  the green light  and he urged them to get it done. 
2.62.   The Chair invite the  TNC to take note  of the reports by the Chairs of the Bodies Established 
by the TNC and to agree to transmit  the reports to the General Council for onward transmission to 
Ministers.  
2.63.   The Trade Negotiations Committee so agreed . TN/C/M/42  
 
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  3  STATEMENT  BY THE CHAIRPERSON  
3.1.  The Chair placed on record her gratitude to all Chairs of Negotiating Bodies and the Facilitators 
on various issues on fisheries subsidies and on services for their intensive efforts in facilitating 
Members'  work towards mutually acceptable outcomes.  Members  had heard the C hairs' reports. In 
some areas, little, to no progress ha d been made since Ministers' last meeting in 2017. In the areas 
where attention ha d been focused over the past weeks and days – that was, agriculture, fisheries 
subsidies, services, and S&DT  – Members  had not yet reached clean texts for Ministerial action.   
3.2.  While understandably this ha d led to frustration and fatigue, on a positive note, to echo 
Ambassador Santiago Wills, Members were finally negotiating on a textual basis in nearly all areas. 
Members ' collective determination, perseverance and hard work over the past few weeks and days 
kept up the hope that success at MC12 was still within reach. Her general perception was that 
Members  stood a chance of having a decent MC12. They stood a chance of sen ding their Ministers 
home with something accomplished.  
3.3.  As a matter of fact, she had been receiving many calls from Ministers during the week and they 
all want ed to gauge where delegations were. This was the question. Ministers ha d been asking her 
to update them about how she felt about the progress of these discussions. They ha d told her that 
they want ed to make sure that when they came to Geneva, they w ould be able to close some areas, 
if not all, and take something home. She had the feeling that Ministers were conscious that these 
were different times.  
3.4.  Different times require d different responsibilities . The world ha d been watching the UN 
Conference of the Parties ( COP)26. The world was watching what w ould come from the World Hea lth 
Assembly negotiations which w ould be going on at the same time as MC12. Ministers all want ed to 
give the signal that they want ed to take something home. She thought  that w ould depend very 
much on continuing the good work that ha d been going on.  
3.5.  She had sat in several negotiating sessions to get a feel for what was going on. And she had 
seen Members working hard. But as they had heard, they needed more flexibility and dedication to 
get there. The amount of time and effort that they had put into all processes was a  strong 
demonstration that they had heard loud and clear the calls of Leaders, Ministers, and stakeholders 
to deliver meaningful outcomes for the people that they were there to serve. And she thank ed them 
for that.   
3.6.  She was no t however trying to hide from the fact that a lot of work remain ed to be done in all 
areas on which Members  wished to have outcomes at MC12. They were not yet there, as they had  
heard from the Chairs, but at least they seem ed to be somewhat on the right pa th. While only ten 
days remain ed before the opening session of MC12, what was clear was that resolving the current 
divergences was not a question of time nor need for further technical input, but one of political will. 
She was reminding Members of this for  those that fel t that perhaps they should give it three more 
weeks, five more months, one more year. They had given it 20 years on some of these issues and 
had not moved. So,  it was a question of political will to echo some of the Chairs.  And that politic al 
will seem ed to be manifesting. She was simply  trying to encourage Members  to keep it going.  
3.7.  She recalled that she  had reported in all the previous meetings about the strong support from 
Leaders and Ministers – from all regions of the world – to have a successful MC12. She was 
encouraged that some of them ha d gone the extra mile to reach out to their fellow Trade Ministers 
to facilitate convergence building. She did not  know if Members  were aware of that, but there was 
a lot going on among the Ministers. Several of them were calling each other . They were trying to 
understand each other's positions, check -in on each other's feelings as they were checking and also 
asking her about her assessment of progress. Th at was a pos itive development.   
3.8.  As time dr ew near, so did the stakes for  delegations  in Geneva. If their Ministers were doing 
this, she knew that delegations  in Geneva we re also doing the same , bilaterally. Many Ambassadors 
were engaged in bilateral  and small group  discussions with each other with and without facilitators 
and she fully  welcome d that because it mirror ed what Members  needed to do.  All of them bore huge 
responsibility. In the ten days left, they had to do their best. Whatever language or outcome that 
would be presented for deliberation by Ministers depend ed on them, Permanent Representatives,  
and delegates.  TN/C/M/42  
 
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  3.9.  On the fisheries subsidies negotiations, she, and all Members , had heard from the Leaders and 
Ministers across all regions of the Membership their desire and commitment to conclude these 
negotiations at MC12. They had  heard directly from Ministers four months ago, and she was  hearing 
from them now. Whil e she did not want to put words in the mouths of any delegation or Minister or 
pretend that she knew exactly what they want ed, she could only convey to them what she felt – 
that there was a will from so many delegations to conclude the fisheries subsidies negotiations.  
3.10.   Memb ers realized that after 20 years , they would be delivering something concrete for millions 
of fisherwomen and men and add ing to that the success of a multilateral instrument which w ould 
demonstrate that this instrument still work ed at the WTO. She wanted that to sink in. If Members  
wanted to insist that this organi zation was about working multilaterally, they needed to show that 
this instrument work ed. If after 20 years they could not  deliver anything multilaterally then it begg ed 
the question why they were telling anyone that this was a multilateral organi zation and that this was 
an instrument that work ed. She wanted Members  to reflect on it because it  was a contradiction in 
terms of them saying the WTO  was multilateral  yet the one instrument they had to prove it, they 
had not been able to do anything for the past 20 years . She asked Members to reflect  on the 
contradictions that they deliver ed from this organi zation sometimes.  
3.11.   She thought that Members  stood a very good ch ance to show at MC12 that they were not 
contradictory. They could not  say that  they were multilateral  and that they should do everything 
multilaterally while turning around and not allow ing a multilateral instrument to deliver. That d id not 
mean that Membe rs would simply  give in and have low levels of ambition. No . That was not what 
she was saying. She was simply  trying to buttress that request for a fighting chance. Many of them 
knew that without this multilateral instrument many of their countries would not make it. They were 
small . There were some that were smaller and rich, but still, they need ed this. There were many 
that were small and poor . They need ed this. Even the big ones need ed this. She therefore appealed  
to Members  to think about that. If they wanted a multilateral organi zation, they should  prove that 
they had a multilateral instrument.  
3.12.   On 13 November , COP26 had reached consensus on the Glasgow Climate Pact composed of 
a wide -ranging set of decisions to tackle the c limate crisis. She knew that there had been  feelings 
at the end that perhaps  this was much less than perfect, and she had listened to that. She had been 
there  in-person  in the beginning  and had listened to the end of it. But much as it might not be 
perfect , the world had come together to deliver on something huge, larger than fisheries subsidies. 
Therefore , if they could do it for one area of sustainability, Members  should  try to do it for another 
one. The world was watching. As every minute was precious , she asked delegations to listen to 
Ambassador Wills ' strong approach.  
3.13.   Likewise, in agriculture , Ambassador Peralta ha d been working hard with her team. This was 
an area of high political and systemic importance to all Members. The food security of billions of 
people across the globe as well as the livelihood of numerous small -scale farmers and their families 
were at stake and all this had been exacerbated by the  current pandemic.  Members  could not come 
out of this with Ministers saying that they had not been able to put together a minimum package to 
take home to all these farmers from MC12 .  
3.14.   Intensive work was on going  in CoA SS in all areas.  Members had heard  the commitment in 
Ambassador Peralta's voice. They needed to use the remaining few days listening to all and try ing 
to find the requisite congruence between those areas that they could find congruence. She had also 
heard a lot from the cotton -four ( C-4) and other cotton producers. Therefore , she added a word of 
encourage ment to  them. Members  heard them and if they could not succeed on one side, the 
subsidies side, she urged them to  keep working through the development side  of cotton . She referred 
to an event on the development side of cotton  that w ould support the work that  the C -4 was doing,  
and she was looking forward to that.  
3.15.   On a more systemic note, Members  needed to address  S&DT . Ambassador Hassan had 
reported on discussions in the CTD SS. Members were considering how to also reflect this in the 
outcome document as she had mentioned, and they were also looking at considerations for several 
LDC issues under Ambassador Castillo's chairmanship. She strongl y urge d Members to come to the 
requisite language as these we re important areas to many of the poorer Members  and they should 
show them that they matter ed. TN/C/M/42  
 
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  3.16.   Members needed to find at MC12 a mutually acceptable path on S&DT. T he space exist ed for 
that with r equisite political will and flexibility on all sides. All Members knew that t his was key to 
unlocking the WTO's capacity to deliver multilateral outcomes. If all  Members  affirm ed the 
importance of S&DT in WTO work – which she believe d they did – then they should  seriously work 
on this matter so that Ministers c ould agree on a path forward.  
3.17.   Members had also heard from Ambassador Aitzhanova on the work on the  CTS SS . She 
thanked Ambassador Pitfield for her tireless efforts in helping Ambassador Aitzhanova in this area. 
She was however disappointed to hear that an MC12 text on Services in the CTS SS could not be 
presented at this meeting . She had been looking forward to seeing this because services trade was 
key to the future of world trade and of this organi zation. This was the direction in which trade was 
moving in many senses of the word.  
3.18.   As Ambassador Aitzhanova had  said, discussions on services under the umbrella of the CTS 
SS could carry value for all Members especially in the current trading and digital trade environment.  
She hoped that Members w ould reflect further in the coming days in order to find an acceptable 
solution and language. She was surprised that in this area which everyone kn ew was key , Members 
had not been able to come to a mutual ly agreeable language. She offered her good offices in 
consultation with the CTS SS Chair and the Facilitator to assist in any way.  
3.19.   Other Negotiating Group Chairs ha d likewise reported on their work. It would be equally 
important to reach a common underst anding at MC12 on how to address what was within these 
areas after the Ministerial Conference. This was something Members  needed to speak about, and 
she thank ed these Chairs who ha d been waiting and were ready to take up work.  Members  needed 
to think about whether they wished to continue with these areas or not.  
3.20.   Aside from the negotiations, MC12 c ould not be successful without a meaningful response to 
the pandemic. She referred to the Facilitator -led process under the auspices of the General Council 
on the WTO Response to the Pandemic as well as discussions at the TRIPS Council on the intellectual 
property ( IP) Waiver.  She had remained in contact with Ambassadors Castillo, Sørli and Walker, and 
underst ood that a lot of gaps remain ed to be bridged. This was concerning. In fact, in the case of 
IP, Members  were not moving. Vaccine equity remain ed an international concern. An inequitable, 
possibly K -shaped, global economic recovery was looming if Members  did not do something now.  
She therefore strongly appeal ed to all delegations to bear these factors in mind and close as many 
gaps as possible.  
3.21.   She remain ed convinced that if Members  showed some flexibility and d id not  take extreme 
positions , they could find pragmatic solutions, not only to the "Walker " text but also to the IP aspect . 
Members  could find a sensible middle ground. The world was looking at the WTO  in this area.  She 
knew that Me mbers knew it. She also  strongly appeal ed that under the able leadership of the General 
Council ( GC) Chair, Ambassador Castillo, as well as Ambassadors Walker and Sørli, Members  should  
try to come to a sensible conclusion.  They still ha d a fighting chance to get things done on the 
pandemic response. She was ready to assist as needed. As she had  said earlier, MC12 c ould not be 
deemed successful in the eyes of those Members represent ed without a concrete outcome in this 
area. 
3.22.   Still with processes under the auspices of the General Council, she had  noted the discussions 
on WTO Reform happening in the outcome document process led by the GC Chair. She commend ed 
Ambassador Castillo  for his effo rts in this regard.  WTO Reform was an important political matter 
given the challenges that this organization ha d been and continue d to face. It was Members'  
collective responsibility, including at the highest level, to ensure that the WTO function ed effect ively 
to respond to all Members' needs and to contribute to addressing the most pressing issues of the 
world. Delegations  in Geneva ha d a responsibility to properly prepare Ministers' discussion on this 
critical area for the organization.  
3.23.   Given that the Ge neva process was in the final stretch, she said a  few words about the process 
at MC12. MC12 – both the process and outcomes – depend ed on how far Members  went in Geneva 
in the  ten days left. Her understanding was that work in some areas would finish t here while others 
would need to continue after the General Council and during the Ministerial Conference itself. In this 
regard, she was having conversations with the Chair of the Conference and the GC Chair on how 
best to structure that work.  She had also had conversations with some of the MC12 Vice Chairs and TN/C/M/42  
 
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  had met with their Geneva representatives . She had also  held her coordination meetings with the 
Chairs of Negotiating Bodies, including on 17 November  – and had been in touch with some of them 
bilaterally on their processes.  
3.24.   Given that work would  need to continue on some areas, the MC12 Chair and herself were 
thinking of possible thematic Ministerial sessions as reflected in the Tentative Schedule of Meetings 
which had been  circulated to all Memb ers in document  WT/MIN(21)/INF/8. This format was similar 
to that followed in Nairobi and Buenos Aires.  These sessions , which would depend on how far 
Members went in Geneva, could include issues such as – Pandemic Response – the TRIPS Dimension, 
Fisheries Subsidies, Agriculture, Development  and WTO Reform, among others. This d id not preclude 
the possibility of having sessions in other areas should it be deemed necessary .  
3.25.   With the MC12 Chair, she would be requesting some Ministers, possibly including the MC 12 
Vice Chairs, to act as Facilitators for some of these discussions to try and move the work forward to 
some outcomes or clearer understanding for work post -MC12.  These Minister -Facilitators w ould work 
closely with the respective Chairs of Negotiating Gro ups, the General Council Chair , the MC12 Chair 
and her as TNC Chair and Director -General. The Secretariat w ould be on hand to assist all processes. 
The exact details of these sessions w ould be communicated soon.  
3.26.   Other than th is, and the formal sessions, t he process at MC12 w ould be fluid – with different 
discussions happening in parallel. This was not ideal – but was the natural consequence of the state 
of play in Geneva.  The intention was to have at least three informal HoDs meetings during MC12 on 
Tuesda y 30 November, Wednesday 1  December and Thursday 2  December.  
3.27.   The first informal HoDs on 30  November w ould provide Ministers a concise, clear overview of 
the main issues that they w ould be confronted with in the week, which would need further Ministerial 
guidance before reaching an outcome. T his was why it was critical that delegations in Geneva  closed 
as many gaps as possible ahead of the Conference so as not to overload Ministers' agenda. They 
needed to bear in mind that Ministers were scheduled to have only three  working days.  
3.28.   The other two informal HoDs w ould be devoted for transparency – and there, similar to what 
happen ed in meetings such as this one – Minister Facilitators w ould report to all Ministers on their 
work. They would also hear from other Ministers their assessments of how things were progressing. 
As she had already said – these meeting s would be open -ended – open to all Ministers to ensure 
transparency and inclusiveness.  
3.29.   With the limited time left before MC12, Members  needed to make every second count. The 
time for wishing was over. The time to show all cards  had arrived . Members  needed to act quickly if 
they were serious about achieving meaningful outcomes at MC12 . She however clarified that w ork 
would  not stop at MC12. In this regard, she joined the GC Chair in saying that, for those areas that 
they knew would not be resolved at MC12, Members  needed to find ways to address them in a 
manner that would open up spaces for discussions after the Ministerial Conference.  
3.30.   At the same time, people were waiting for results. Given that they were living in a "once in a 
generation" period where the  world was suffering from the COVID -19 pandemic amid a battered 
global economy, a climate crisis and the persistence of developmental challenges of food security, 
poverty, inequality, and unemployment, among others – Members owed it to the world to make 
MC12 a success for all their citizens.  
3.31.   The Trade Negotiations Committee took note  of the Chair's statement . 
4  STATEMENTS BY PARTICIPANTS  
4.1.  The Chair of the General Council  noted that  intensive work was taking place on several different 
fronts in this final stretch of preparations before MC12. On 17 November , he had  provided an update 
to the Membership on the ongoing process on elaborating Part I of the MC12 Outcome Document, 
and he intend ed to report a t the General Council meeting the following week.  
4.2.  A room document had been  made available to all delegations on  17 November , with the symbol 
RD/GC/17, containing the draft text for Part I as it currently st ood, and a placeholder for Part II. He 
stress ed that the current draft text in Part I was the result of many hours of deliberations, reflection TN/C/M/42  
 
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  and hard work, striking a delicate balance in attempting to recognize the different interests and to 
address the various concerns of Members. Work was still ongo ing, including on the weekend in the 
representative group format, and he asked delegations to continue to talk to each other, to address 
each other's  concerns and to bridge as many gaps as possible – and leave as little as possible for 
their Ministers to r esolve.  
4.3.  He thank ed all delegations and group coordinators for their positive and tireless engagement 
and active participation. Delegations ha d engaged in good faith and in a true spirit of convergence -
building. It was essential  that Members  continue d working in good faith and respect for each other, 
and he called on all delegations' pragmatism and flexibility in this final stretch ahead of the 
Conference.  As signalled on 17 November , he was  also continuing consultations on the Work 
Programme on Electronic Commerce, where Members continue d to have divergent views, in 
particular with respect to the moratorium.  This item w ould also be on the agenda of the General 
Council, and he would provide a  report at that point.  
4.4.  This was crunch time. MC12 was ten days away. The General Council the following week w ould 
be the marking point where all work w ould be taken into account for onward transmission to 
Ministers. Members  had the chance to ensure an impa ctful message from the Ministerial Conference 
– one that would provide the much -needed positive signal that the WTO and the multilateral trading 
system continue d to play a key role for the global economy and for the well -being of the people. 
Members should  redouble their efforts in all areas to ensure this message would get  across clearly. 
The Director -General and he had been working in close coordination and with all Members and  
remain ed there  to assist.  
4.5.  The representative of Uruguay , speaking as Coordinat or of the Informal Working Group on 
Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) , recalled that the Group had finalized its Ministerial 
Declaration on 24 September. The Declaration had been  circulated in document WT/MIN(21)/1.  He 
announce d that Cambodia ha d informed him of its decision to sponsor the Declaration and the Group 
was waiting to hear from several other Members.  
4.6.  The Ministerial Declaration state d the Group's commitment to address ing challenges facing 
MSMEs seeking to trade internationally. It recognize d the negative impact of COVID -19 on small 
business and the need for a global coordinated response to help MSMEs recover from the pandemic. 
It also t ook stock of the Group's work since it had been established at MC11 in Buenos Aires in 
December 2017, including the adoption of a package of six recommendations and declarations in 
December 2020 and the launch of databases on MSME references in regional trade agreements 
(RTAs) and trade poli cy reviews ( TPRs). 
4.7.  He invite d all interested  Members to sponsor the Ministerial Declaration. As he had  already 
mentioned on previous occasions, the more Members would support the Declaration, the stronger 
the message w ould be that they cared about small bu sinesses – and about their economies.  Should 
any Member  be interested, he asked them to reach out to the Group  before 26 November as the 
Group intend ed to circulate a revised version with the names of additional co -sponsors before the 
start of MC12 .  
4.8.  The G roup planned three events for MC12. First would be a  meeting with Minister s on 1 
December from 1.30pm to 2.30pm in Room D, open to all Members, during which the MSME 
Ministerial Declaration w ould be endorsed. A convening notice w ould be circulated shortly.  There 
would be the possibility to connect remotely for those who c ould not attend in person. This meeting 
would also be the opportunity to present the Trade4MSMEs platform to Ministers. The platform aim ed 
to link MSMEs and government officials to existing  online trade information and resources in one, 
easy to navigate location making trade information more accessible to traders and policymakers.  
4.9.  Content was being finalized, including short guides for MSMEs to provide basic information 
about what they need ed to know to trade internationally, and guides for policymakers that provide d 
an overview of key policy issues relevant for MSMEs and link to useful studies on these topics . He 
invite d all Members to come and listen to the presentation of this useful tool , which illustrate d the 
spirit in which the Group work ed – a spirit of pragmatism and a solution -oriented mode to help 
MSMEs trade internationally across economies at all levels of development.  TN/C/M/42  
 
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  4.10.   The second meeting w ould be dedicated to the  presentation of the Trade4MSMEs platform to 
the private sector during the Business Forum on 2 December from 1 .00pm to 1.40pm in Espace 
Jeanne Hersch at the CICG. It w ould be a hybrid meeting.  The third event w ould be an online 
ceremony to announce the win ners of the Digital Champion for Small Business initiative launched in 
cooperation with the International Trade Centre ( ITC) and the I nternational Chamber of Commerce  
on MSME Day 2021 to encourage projects to help MSMEs go digital. More than 100 applicatio ns had 
been received. Four awards w ould be granted.  Last but not least, the Group  planned a press 
conference on 1 December at 3.00pm.  
4.11.   The Group ha d been active over the past two years. In addition to the December 2020 
package of recommendations and declara tion, it ha d launched several concrete tools to help MSMEs 
and policymakers working on MSME issues. As he had often said, the MSME Group was both a think 
tank – i.e. an incubator of ideas – and a "do tank". The MSME initiative was about inclusiveness. It 
was about people. It was about helping those who make the heart of  economies beat. The COVID -
19 pandemic ha d had a devastating impact on many small businesses around the world, making the 
WTO's  support for MSMEs more important than ever. Members  could not let them down. He therefore 
invite d all Members  to endorse the Ministerial Declaration and to attend the meeting on 1 December 
at 1.30pm in Room D.  
4.12.   Speaking on behalf of Uruguay , on agriculture, Uruguay ha d made  its positions  known  on the 
different negotiati ng issues in this area and r eiterate d its support in the CoA SS Chair's  efforts to 
achieve results at M C12. Uruguay  regret ted that persistent divergences ha d delayed the submission 
of a revised text, which it would  study carefull y once it was published.  It seem ed clear that, to the 
dismay of several of Members , MC12 would not be the moment where resounding or definitive results 
would be  achieved on any of the main issues in the agricultur e negotiations.  
4.13.   This however did not  mean t hat nothing c ould be achieved nor that Members should  passively 
accept a scenario with no results. Uruguay  reiterate d its commitment to achieving a meaningful and 
credible outcome in agriculture at MC12, and w ould continue to work towards that goal until t he 
end. That said, in the current situation , any outcome in agriculture had to be balanced, and that  
balance should  be found within and not outside of the agricultur e negotiations.  
4.14.   MC12  should be a step forward in agriculture reform under the Article 20 mandate. MC12 
should provide the opportunity to at least  establish certain parameters and principles that w ould 
guide the negotiations on the different issues starting next year – including the fundamental pillars 
of domestic support  and market access. MC12 should not result in a setback of the disciplines agreed 
in the Uruguay Round . Uruguay therefore reiterate d its call to all Members and Groups, especially 
the largest and most influential, to show the necessary political will and engage in negotiations to 
overcome existing blockages and achieve convergence.  
4.15.   With regard to the WTO's response to the COVID -19 pandemic, Uruguay support ed the 
process led by Ambassador Walker  and hoped that he could  present a revised version of document 
JOB/GC/279 at the next Gen eral Council.  As a net importing country of vaccines and medical 
supplies, Uruguay noted several concepts that should be reflected in any response. A multilateral 
declaration  was vital  in this area . The credibility of the WTO was at stake and Members shoul d be 
able to address the concerns of their people over the past year and a half. Any other type of result, 
or the lack of one, w ould be considered a  failure.  
4.16.   The declaration should  convey a clear political message to all people  with exporting countries 
showing significant efforts in this regard – especially since t he beneficiaries of this declaration would 
be the developing world  particularly  those  without  productive capacity.  Members' c ommitments 
should  convey a clear message on export restrictions and tra nsparency issues. If they could not 
have a strong statement  on these issues, they should put  the process aside and accept the fact that 
Members were  not capable of doing this work.  
4.17.   As has been mentioned, issues related to intellectual property should be ad dressed in the 
TRIPS Council and what w ould be  agreed in that forum c ould be included in this process.  With regard 
to food s ecurity , Uruguay did not  understand the link between the response to the pandemic and a 
topic widely discussed in the  CoA SS. Urugua y remain ed ready  to continue working on the basis of 
JOB/GC/279 to achieve a tangible and meaningful result  in this area.  TN/C/M/42  
 
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  4.18.   The representative of India raised concern over some serious issues relating to the conduct 
of the Conference itself particularly regarding the Swiss COVID certificates. First, Swiss COVID 
certificates had been mandatory for access to all MC12 venues on the basis that all vaccinated with 
World Health Organization ( WHO) approved vaccines would be able to get that certificate. The 
guidelines circulated by the Secretariat however noted that only those with European Union ( EU) 
approved vaccines could get the certificate and others would n eed to do the test every 72 hours, as 
there was no clarity on whether others vaccinated with WHO approved vaccines would be able to 
get the certificate or not.   
4.19.   On the WTO Response to the Pandemic, there had been intensive engagement under this 
process an d Members needed to focus on a balanced response that was not skewed in favour of a 
few. Members should refrain from approaching this as a market access issue, from taking away 
available policy space and imposing cumbersome obligations that served to benef it a few. While 
there was need to work on supply chain bottlenecks, doing away with the legitimate policy 
instrument of export restrictions, aiming for making temporary elimination of tariffs a permanent 
measure or calling for stringent transparency obliga tions should not be regarded as a panacea.  
4.20.   It was likewise  deplorable that despite over a year of discussions and debates there ha d been 
no movement on the TRIPS Waiver proposal. The co -sponsors ha d tirelessly engaged with everyone . 
They had shown flexibil ity and pragmatism. But opposition by a couple of Members on an issue of 
paramount importance to more than half of the WTO Membership was testing the credibility of  the 
multilateral trading system. While the world was watching Members with great expectatio ns to 
deliver solutions to the exigencies of the pandemic, th ey had ensured that the solutions remain ed 
elusive. It was difficult to envisage a deliverable at MC12 on the WTO's response to the pandemic 
without an outcome on the TRIPS Waiver proposal.  
4.21.   While  Members were one year overdue on fish, they were four years overdue on PSH because 
they had  agreed to deliver something by MC11. The p andemic 's adverse impact on  the food security 
of poor and vulnerable population s was beyond explanation and their food se curity was another 
critical and mandated issue for this organization. A simple, efficient and permanent solution on 
extending PSH for food security purposes  to new program mes and new products was therefore a 
key deliverable. The recent proposal of expanding the Bali Peace Clause to LDCs and developing 
countries was encouraging . This expansion should  however  be on the same terms as  the Bali 
Declaration without imposing additional condition s on dev eloping countries. Any outcome at MC12 
without addressing this core issue w ould not enhance the WTO's credibility.  
4.22.   There were five instances where India's  answer was 'no': (i) policy space for 25 years in Article 
5.4; (ii) carveout up  to exclusive economic  zone ( EEZ) for resource poor, livelihood fishing; (iii) 
added responsibility on distant water fishing nations for 25 years; (iv) non -specific fuel subsidies to 
be part of scope ; and (v) supremacy in territorial water scope  in Articles 1.5, 4  and 10. 
4.23.   The s ustainability of the ocean 's marine resources was at the core of the disciplines being 
negotiated and it  was a shared responsibility for all. Keeping in line with this understanding, India 
had tabled its proposal in document RD/TN/RL/147 suggesting the prohibition of the subsidies 
provided by distant water fishing nations as this type of fishing was the most harmful and c ould not 
be continued without huge subsidies either for construction of large industrial vessels or allowing 
these vessels with subsidized  fuel to exploit the high seas and waters of other countries. This 
prohibition w ould be the real step towards sustainability in line with the principle of "Polluter Pays " 
and "Common but differentiated responsibility ". The prohibition of subsidies for dist ant water fishing 
was a redline for India. 
4.24.   Effective and appropriate S&DT was an integral part of these negotiations. This should  ensure 
the developmental and future policy space needs of developing countries and LDCs to develop their 
fisheries sector and to provide equitable opportunities to harness fisheries resources in all geographic 
zones, including in high seas. India 's compre hensive proposal in document RD/TN/RL/147 on 
Article  5 was in line with  the demands of developing countries and LDCs on S&DT in this regard. 
Further, there was a need for S&DT in the form of carveouts for subsistence, artisanal and small -
scale fishermen up  to coastal Members EEZ – 200 nautical miles. India w ould work towards the  
conclusion of these negotiations at MC12 if the subsidies for distant water fishing were prohibited in 
its real sense and demands of developing countries and LDCs on S&DT for future  policy space to 
diversify and develop the fishing sector sustainably, including in the high seas, and further, with 
effective and appropriate S&DT for subsistence, artisanal and small -scale fishermen were accepted.  TN/C/M/42  
 
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  4.25.   India support ed the WTO reform agenda an d, together with the African Union and Cuba, had 
submitted a WTO reform paper in December 2020.  India was therefore  ready to support a decision 
by the Ministers to initiate that reform process. That process should however  be inclusive, 
transparent and stic k to certain basic principles which need ed to be spelt out before the Ministers 
agree d to initiate the process.  An issue as important as WTO Reform, that c ould potentially have a 
lasting impact on the functioning of th e organization , needed to be led by th e General Council and 
not by any Working Group.  
4.26.   Finally, t he MC12 outcome document needed to be well balanced and stay clear of Members' 
well-known  redlines. MC12 should  deliver on critical areas such as PSH, TRIPS waiver, a balanced 
outcome on fish eries subsidies and a transparent process for WTO Reform. A balanced outcome at 
MC12 would reflect the true multilateral character of this organi zation and w ould also ensure that 
the WTO w ould be seen as part of the solution during a pandemic year.  
4.27.   The representative of Singapore  noted that Members had reached a critical juncture on the 
road to MC12. Figuratively speaking, it was five minutes before midnight and it was timely for all 
Members to  ask themselves a simple question, "Do we seriously want a successful MC12?" As a 
Member -driven organization, it was up to all of Members to define success and determine the 
outcome of MC12.  
4.28.   Members should deliver. There were at least three critical delive rables for MC12. One, it was 
imperative that Members delivered a meaningful outcome on the WTO response to the pandemic. 
Despite the best efforts of Ambassador David Walker, Members still had some way to go to reach 
agreement on a credible WTO response to the pandemic. As Members had repeatedly emphasized, 
the COVID -19 pandemic was the crisis of a generation, and if the WTO was unable to formulate a 
credible response to the pandemic, it would reflect poorly on all of them. It was also imperative to 
conclude  the fisheries subsidies negotiations. After more than 20 years, the time had come for 
Members to deliver, especially given the mandate from global leaders to conclude the negotiations 
as part of the Sustainable Development Agenda.  
4.29.   It was equally imperati ve that Members extended the moratorium on custom duties on 
electronic transmissions. At a time when the COVID -19 pandemic had accelerated the adoption of 
digitalization, it would send a wrong signal if the WTO failed to renew the moratorium. Some 
Members had expressed concerns over the adverse impact of the moratorium, including the fear of 
possible revenue losses due to technologies such as 3D printing. However, these concerns arose 
more out of fear stoked by superficially persuasive information rather th an reality. For example, 
according to a recent study by St. Gallen University, any foregone revenues would be less than five 
days of government spending in LDCs. When juxtaposed against the more substantial economic 
costs if the moratorium were to lapse, w hich an OECD study had estimated to be close to a billion 
US dollars, it was clear that SMEs and women entrepreneurs in developing Members would end up 
being the biggest losers if the moratorium were to lapse.  
4.30.   Members should begin to negotiate seriously a nd sincerely. They were barely five working 
days, excluding the weekends, away from MC12. If they were to have any chance of securing 
meaningful outcomes for MC12, Members should be ready to lay their cards on the table, exercise 
flexibility and find landi ng zones. The time had passed for Members to play to their domestic gallery 
or engage in megaphone negotiations. Equally important, Members should seriously consider 
whether taking a winner -takes -all approach would end up making all of them losers. This wa s a 
serious question because unless Members exercised self -restraint and refrained from pushing their 
hobby horses, especially in the various outcome documents, there was a real risk that they would 
end up without any credible MC12 outcome.  
4.31.   Members needed  to position the WTO for the future. Whatever the outcome of MC12, they 
should secure an unambiguous Ministerial mandate to undertake WTO reform in a systematic and 
structured way. Since the WTO's inception 25 years ago, the world had undergone significant  geo-
political, economic and technological changes. The world had not stood still and neither could the 
WTO. In fact, the pace of change would only accelerate in the future and unless the WTO updated 
itself, it risked being marginalized and becoming irrele vant. Naturally, "WTO reform" meant different 
things to different Members and the process of reform would not be painless. But it was imperative 
for Members to lift their fingers from the "pause button" and press the "refresh button". In order to 
achieve m eaningful WTO reform, they should set clear targets and checkpoints to ensure that they 
kept moving forward in the right direction and on the right path.  TN/C/M/42  
 
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  4.32.   The time was nigh for action rather than talk as D -Day, or Delivery Day, was upon Members . 
As Walt Di sney once said, "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." Singapore 
stood ready to do whatever it could to contribute towards a successful MC12 and to strengthen the 
WTO.  
4.33.   The representative of Chad, speaking on behalf of the  LDCs, suppor ted the call for realism 
and flexibility.  The LDCs were responding to this call, notably through their interim  graduation 
proposal. The LDC  Group maintain ed a strong sense of responsibility and urgency to respond to the 
concerns of the most vulnerable Members. Success at MC12 would therefore require  concrete 
progress on issues specific to LDCs  – notable in three areas.  
4.34.   The first area consist ed of i mplementing  Ministerial Decisions on LDC issues which were 
subject to follow -ups in various WTO bodies . The Min isterial Conference had  taken important 
decisions in the past such as on duty free, quota -free ( DFQF ) market, preferential rules of origin and 
the LDCs services waiver . Their implementation continue d to be reviewed in the relevant WTO bodies  
– which w ere essential for understanding the ir impact on the development trajectory of LDCs.  
4.35.   The second area concern ed some specific proposals that the LDC Group ha d recently  tabled . 
One of the main priorities of the Group was to obtain a result on the smooth transition of Graduated 
LDCs at MC12. The Group was  encouraged by what it had  heard at the  5 November  meeting where  
many Members had found its proposal for an interim arrangement on LDC G raduation to be 
pragma tic – demonstrat ing openness and flexibility in the process  as they search ed for a solution at 
MC12 and thereafter.  The Group was  convinced of the importance of ensuring a smooth and 
sustainable LDC graduation.  
4.36.   As in other areas of negotiation, the main challenge was the level of ambition. The LDC Group  
had taken  a positive step in this regard  with its new submission.  The initiative to propose  an interim 
approach was taken in order to reach  a successful outcome fo r MC12  – focusing it on preferential 
treatment  already provided  for LDCs  in existing models . The Group therefore  count ed on Members'  
willingness to ensure a result  in this area  at MC12.  
4.37.   The LDC Group thanked the Director -General f or her valuable remarks at the Joint WTO -
Enhanced Integrated Framework ( EIF) event on 10-11 Novembe r – where she had  under scored  the 
importance of achiev ing results for LDCs at  MC12 . The Group also  thank ed Deputy Director -General 
Xiangchen Zhang for highlighting  the importance of scaling up technical assistance and capacity 
building for LDCs in order to support their participation in WTO work. The Group  commend ed the 
organization of the event headed  by Mr. Shishir  Priyadarshi , Director of the Development Division , 
and his entire team within the LDC Unit, as well as the EIF in helping LDCs conceptualize the 
implications of the ir reclassification.  
4.38.   The third area involved  other outcomes envisaged for MC12  where LDCs should receive S&DT . 
LDCs needed a meaningful respo nse to the pandemic which ha d brought about multidimensional 
challenges. It was important to tackle supply chain issues for vaccine production and deal  with export 
restrictions, excessive customs procedures and access to inputs.  Building resilience in the face of 
the current and future pandemics should be one of  the main priorities. This c ould only be achieved 
when everyone around the world  had access to vaccines. This was particularly important for LDCs 
as their immunization rates ha d remained low.  
4.39.   The LDC Group support ed the idea of a Ministerial Declaration on the WTO's response to the 
COVID -19 pandemic.  The LDC Group thank ed Ambassador David Walker for his efforts in finding 
landing zones in this area . The Group  recognize d the evolving nature of the  Facilitator -led process 
and urge d all Members to ta ke into account  and incorporate the priorities outlined by the LDCs  in 
document WT/GC/211 and in the LDC Ministerial Declaration adopted on October 19.  
4.40.   Regarding the draft MC12 outcome document, the LDC Group commended the General Council 
Chair for his leadership in the process . The LDCs however expressed concern that some of the 
matters  highlighted by LDC Ministers in the ir Declaration on reaffirming and operationalizing 
previous decisions taken in favo ur of LDCs ha d encountered opposition  or had been diluted in the 
process. The Group therefore reiterated the need to strengthen the implementation of previous 
Ministerial Decisions on LDC issues . TN/C/M/42  
 
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  4.41.   Regarding the negotiations , on fisheries subsidies, which LDC concerns ha d more or less been 
taken into account , the Group hoped that the remaining shortcomings w ould not be insurmountable. 
Ambassador Wills ' revised draft text should deliver results  on this area  at MC12.  On agriculture , a 
path need ed to be charted with specific objectives comprising of  domestic support, including cotton, 
PSH, special safeguard mechanism ( SSM) and transparency.  
4.42.   The stakes were high. Status quo would not benefit the LDCs.  Members, particularly the LDCs,  
needed concrete results at MC12 to strengthen the multilateral trading system. They could not  afford 
to have zero results at MC12.  The world was watching.  In this regard, t he LDC Group reaffirm ed its 
commitment to work with all Members to make MC12 a success  and to the fu ndamental principles 
of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO.  
4.43.   The representative of Colombia  address ed four specific points, fundamental for Colombia, 
related to the ongoing negotiations on which it hoped to have positive results for MC12, without 
prejudice to its commitment to other issues . First, and a priority for Colombia, as it should also be 
for the Membership, was an ambitious and definitive agreement on fisheries subsidies . This was 
fundamental and necessary. Work ha d been intense  in this ar ea. It require d flexibility from M embers 
and understanding the defini ng moment in which the Negotiating Group and the organization f ound 
themselves.  
4.44.   Colombia  asked the NGR Chair  to maintain the momentum of the negotiations and present a 
text that would reflect the progress  which w ould form the basis of Ministers' work. Members  had ten 
days until the start of MC12 . The time to fulf il the Ministerial mandate and the SDGs and to 
materialize political commitment and show flexibilit y had arrived.  The time had come to  show that 
multilateralism was the answer to global challenges  – necessitating Members to act at the level that 
the current situation demand ed from them.  
4.45.   Second, in agricul ture, the domestic support pillar  remained a priority for Colombia . With one 
week left before MC12, the most sensible thing to do was to agree on the fundamentals: limit and 
reduce distorting support . The current text of the CoA SS Chair  provide d important  elements that 
include d all the views of the Membership without including specific modalities  – which was sensible. 
In this regard, Colombia awaited for the revised text.  
4.46.   Third, on the e -commerce  work program me and moratorium,  Colombia  encourage d the 
Membe rship to extend the moratorium for practicality  purposes in addition to the good underlying 
reason s that there ha d always been to maintain ing it. Now that the moratori a on TRIPS non -violation 
and situation complaints and on e -commerce were no longer linked, Colombia  was concern ed with 
the possibility that this time the e -commerce moratorium w ould not be renewed and, in two years, 
in the next Ministerial  Conference , the other  one would follow suit . It was a much better balance to 
have both  than to have neither . Colombia  encourage d everyone to re new both, and re -link the two . 
4.47.   Regarding joint initiatives, Colombia  congratulate d the progress made in the  joint statement 
initiatives ( JSIs) on E-Commerce, Investment Facilitation for Development a nd Services Domestic 
Regulation. The concrete outcomes  that w ould be presented at MC12  were the result of the collective 
effort of the JSI Participants and a n example that the WTO could achieve the goals that it had set . 
Colombia  recognize d the leadership of the co -conveners and facilitators of those three JSIs, in 
particular, Mr.  Jaime Cog hi of Costa Rica, who , as Coordinator of the JSI on Services Domestic 
Regulation , had successfully guided the process until its conclusion.  
4.48.   Fourth, regarding the outcome document, Colombia consider ed it necessary to have a text 
that gather ed and reflect ed the Membership and provide d specific guidelines on work in the coming 
months. It should recognize the enormous challenges posed by the pandemic and the need for clear 
rules to avoid restrictive measures that limit ed efforts to overcome it and address its economic and 
social consequences.  Colombia regret ted that consensus ha d not been reach ed for a paragraph on 
the work of the C TS SS and urged Members to reconsider their position in search of a balanced and 
factual text.  
4.49.   As part of th e outcome document , Colombia consider ed that WTO  Reform  was fundamental  
for the relevance and the future of the rules -based trading system, and should be a tangible 
deliverable at MC12 . Colombia  support ed the use of an inclusive and open structured mechanism  
that report ed to the General Council  and ma de suggestions for its consideration to improve the TN/C/M/42  
 
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  functioning  of the WTO. A frank and focused  dialogue was required to advance this process which 
should put the WTO at the forefront of global trends in trade matters and avoid further lag in the 
development of rules.  The outcome document should likewise re flect the i mportance of reaching a 
pragmatic solution for the two-tier dispute settlement mechanism.  
4.50.   The representative of Mexico  noted that  less than ten days were left before  Ministers met for 
the first time in four years . Although all  Members  sought  to include both their offensive and defensive 
interests, it was time to be realistic in what c ould be presented to Ministers. After listening to the 
report s, it was clear that Members had  to move from whatever level of optimism they had to having 
faith th at they would have  a satisfactory  MC12 . They should therefore be  careful and avoid 
presenting issues that were not necessarily mature enough, in terms of discussions and technical 
negotiations, for a Ministerial Decision . They had already tried this path i n the past and kn ew the 
results.  
4.51.   On agriculture, given that positions ha d not only been maintained  but had further polarized, 
the possibility of agreeing on a detailed work program me for each issue was increasingly distant 
despite the efforts  of the CoA SS  Chair. Even though Ambassador Abraham  Peralta  was not a 
magician, she had the talent and attributes to be one since she  had lived in Mexico for fifteen years.  
The nature of some of the  issues  made it unfeasible to present them  separately. Members could no t 
expect a solution on PSH without one on domestic support, nor could they think of achieving a 
solution on SSM without  a breakthrough in market access . Mexico would not  support presenting 
Ministerial texts on any of these issues without them being sufficiently clea n. It was clear however 
that n o issue ha d the degree of convergence sufficient to  be discussed by Ministers. In this regard, 
Mexico reiterated that a ll Members  had an obligation to contribute to a solution.  
4.52.   On fisheries subsidies , with the limited time left, Members had to be realistic  about their 
proposals and clear about the difference between what they wanted and what they could  live with. 
This should be a principle that govern ed everyone an d not just a few . Only then c ould Members  
achieve the objectives that they had been working towards  for the past 20 years. They could not 
afford another Ministerial Conference without results on this issue and even more so when they had 
already exceeded their mandates from SDG 14.6 and from MC11 . Mexico  relied on the commitment 
of the Membership and the flexibility and pragmatism of all of them on an issue of vital importance.  
4.53.   On Trade and Health, Mexico  had reiterated that the WTO should  contribute  to addressing  the 
adverse effects of the current and future pandemics. Mexico  support ed and appreciate d the efforts 
of Amb assador  Walker for looking for areas of convergence. Mexico  hoped that the small group 
discussions w ould have positive results in the hou rs that followed  so that other Members c ould, on 
that basis, seek the necessary consensus.  
4.54.   It was likewise  important that the discussions on how to make the organization more efficient  
be formally integrated into Members'  work. The best way to do this was through a body under the 
auspices of the General Council which would  constantly provide feedback on the result of its 
deliberations.  Time was running out. I f Members  would  not change their positions, they needed to 
at least provide  a narrative that would e xplain  to the world why they could not agree on a work 
program me in agriculture or a r eaffirmation  of a mandate in services.  Like the Director -General, 
Mexico was disappoint ed that a text ha d not been agreed  on services. The text tabled was descriptive 
and neutral that it was unintelligible how some delegations w ould object to it.  
4.55.   It had been expressed that a decent MC12 would require  exercise of political will . While s uch 
already existed , some  had exercised them in a negative manner by ensuring that things would not 
happen in certain areas . Their engagement was premised on Members accepting their  propos al in 
full – nothing less.  A disappointing MC12  would not do anything good to the WTO's credibility nor 
would it  attract positive  attention from Minist ers and respective sectors . Members should therefore 
avoid propos als that h ad proven , time and again,  not to achieve consensus . It was time to build 
bridges and be constructive  – and Members could c ount on Mexico  to do so.  
4.56.   The representative of Argentina  said that MC12 would test Members'  ability to agree to 
achieve results that contemplate d in a balanced way the vision s of all Members and put the 
multilateral trading system at the service of an inclusive economic recovery that would address in 
particular t he challenges fac ed by  developing countries.  Argentina  referred to three issues that, due 
to their economic impact, historical importance  and political significance were central to the TN/C/M/42  
 
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  Ministerial Conference: fisheries subsidies negotiations , agriculture and the WTO's response to the 
pandemic.  
4.57.   On the  fisheries subsidies  negotiations, Argentina, as a coastal country with a wide maritime 
coastline, reaffirm ed its commitment to continu ing to make  its best efforts so that Members  could 
conclude a  multilateral agreement that would establish  specific prohibitions on subsidies in relation 
to IUU fishing,  overfish ed stocks and those that affect ed overcapacity and overfishing. A large part 
of these subsidies support ed fleets that fish ed on the high sea s, particularly in distant waters, and 
mainly in the areas adjacent to the EEZ, with negative consequences for the sustainability of the 
oceans, seas, marine resources and the development of the affected country.  
4.58.   For Argentina , it was necessary for the tex t of the future instrument to contemplate aspects 
that were considered sensitive for Members with regard to territoriality claims or the delimitation of 
maritime jurisdictions. For this reason, Argentina consider ed it highly relevant that the text ha d a 
clear and specific safeguard in this regard. The hybrid format ha d led Members to a text that was 
based on the actions of certain organizations outside the WTO . It was therefore necessary that the 
instrument contain ed language that would make  it clear what S tates were bound to and the ir impact 
with other instruments.  
4.59.   On agriculture, a chieving concrete results in the negotiations was essential since it was the 
most distorted sector in the international market and had the most delay in showing substantial 
progr ess. For developing countries, producers and exporters of agricultural goods, advancing the 
reform of the agricultural trading system would be an important tool for the reconstruction of their 
economies in the post -pandemic  era. 
4.60.   Argentina  regret ted that no progress ha d been made in the substantive negotiations on the 
three pillars. Faced with this scenario, it consider ed it a priority to achieve results through a 
program me to reduce domestic support that involve d all aspects of Article 6 of the Agreement on 
Agriculture, and obligations for all Members according to the principle of proportionality, which also 
include d a specific reduction objective a nd a precise implementation timeframe.  
4.61.   Argentina  consider ed it essential to also advance in the market access pillar, for which as co -
proponents , it had developed a broad and inclusive consultation process. Argentina  maintain ed its 
predisposition to continue working to accommodate the objectives of all Members to achieve  a result.  
Regarding the World Food Programme proposal , Argentina value d the work carried out by the WFP  
and reaffirm ed that such a  decision should  be in line with Article 12 of the Agreement on Agriculture.  
4.62.   On the WTO's response to the pandemic, Argenti na did not believe that it was realistic to 
expect that Members  could resolve in such a short time the profound conceptual differences that 
existed with respect to each of the elements that should be part of this response.  Argentina  
underst ood that they sh ould recognize that these issues, obstacles and challenges exist ed – from 
export restrictions to intellectual property – and that their approach c ould not be left out either as a 
proposal for immediate action or a commitment to t ake them up  after M C12 with specific objectives 
and defined deadlines. The Declaration and Action Plan that the Facilitator ha d proposed as an 
outcome structure offer ed the necessary path and platform to channel this discussion. Argentina 
urged Members to  be pragmatic  as the WTO's silence on such an important issue was inadmissible.  
4.63.   In ten days ' time,  Ministers w ould arrive in Geneva with the intention of reaffirming before 
the world and before their own citi zens that international trade was a tool to improve their daily 
lives. It was therefore up to delegations in Geneva  to advance work as much as possible so that  
their Ministers could meet that goal  at MC12 .  
4.64.   The representative of Japan  noted that, o n fisheries subsidies, Members  had reached the final 
stage of th e negotiation s. With efforts by the NGR Chair, Ambassador W ills, and the Friends of the 
Chair, Members ha d been engaging in the negotiation s in a solution -seeking mode  – and Japan  
recognize d that the gaps in Members ' positions in some areas have begun to narrow down. To deliver 
a meaningful and effective outcome at MC12, Members had to continue to find landing  zones on 
various issues over the remaining days. Japan hope d that the new disciplines, together with possible 
capacity -building efforts, w ould lead to the enhancement of global fisheries management. Japan 
would continue to participate constructively in th e negotiation s to reach an agreement.  TN/C/M/42  
 
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  4.65.   On the pandemic  response , it was crucial for the WTO to deliver a concrete outcome on its 
response to COVID -19. At MC12, Members  should agree on a meaningful Ministerial Declaration on 
Health that holistically include d important factors, in particular, trade facilitation, export restrictions, 
production expansion of COVID -19 vaccines and therapeutics, and intellectual property. Members  
needed an outcome that respond ed to the expectations being placed on the WTO two year s on from 
the outbreak of the pandemic. Japan expect ed to deliver such an outcome through Members'  further 
work based on the current Facilitator 's text.  
4.66.   On agriculture, despite continuous efforts to narrow gaps in various formats, Members 
continue d to mai ntain different positions on several topics in this final stage of the negotiation s. To 
avoid repeating their experience at MC11, Members needed to adjust their level of ambition and to 
prepare an overall, concise and well -balanced work program me. While di fferent Members ha d 
different priorities and sensitivities, in order to find a possible landing zone, such a work program me 
needed to be balanced in terms of the degree of specificity among topics, framed in a manner where 
all Members engage d in and contri buted to the negotiations, and not try to prejudge the outcome of 
future negotiations. Japan w ould continue to engage in the negotiations to ensure a realistic and 
balanced outcome . 
4.67.   On the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, Japan bel ieved that  the 
moratorium should be renewed at MC12. Failing to do so, when the importance of digitalization ha d 
been highlighted at present more than ever by the pandemic, would seriously damage the certainty 
and predictability of e -commerce and internati onal trade.  
4.68.   On WTO Reform, including dispute settlement, and the Ministerial Declaration, MC12 needed 
to be an occasion for Ministers to bring momentum to the promotion of WTO Reform. Particularly, 
Ministers should provide clear guidance on engaging in di scussions toward s restoring the proper 
functioning of the dispute settlement system.  Japan  appreciate d the General Council Chair 's efforts 
to develop a Ministerial Declaration  and would  continue to support his process to achieve consensus 
on the Declaratio n.  
4.69.   The representative of Mauritius , speaking on behalf of the  African Group , asked whether on 
the TRIPS Waiver it was a question of one winning and one losing. The African Group had made it 
clear that it was not an ego fight. It was rather a question of showing a humanitarian response to a 
situation which had arisen globally and it  was also a victory for solidarity if Members were able to 
agree on the TRIPS Waiver. That should be made clear because the African Group was anxiously 
waiting to see what outcome there would be on the TRIPS Waiver.  
4.70.   On agriculture, beyond  Article 6.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture, Members should also 
redouble their efforts on SSM, Cotton, LDC issues , net food importing developing countries ( NFIDCs ) 
and PSH. The African Group  agree d with India that there had been  an agreement to find a final and 
permanent solution  on PSH.  Had Members found such permanent solution,  the Africa n Group would 
not have been  looking for an interim solution as the Group would have  been covered under this 
scope. The African Group  therefore regret ted this and hope d to find an agreeme nt on this  matter . 
4.71.   On fisheries  subsidies , the positions were well -known from de minimis  to Alt 2  of Article 3 .3 
– as well as respect for territorial sovereignty , LDC issues, support for transparency without overly 
burdensome notifications and an adequate transition period for countries above de minimis.  
4.72.   On e-commerce,  the African Group had already  articulated  its position.  The Group saw  e-
commerce and services going hand -in-hand in  addressing broader issues such as  the digital divide , 
clarifying issues around the moratorium and revitali zing the work programme.  
4.73.   On trade and environment, the African Group ha d always supported addressing climate 
change  issues , sustainability and environmental preservation. The Group however did not suppo rt 
and did not want to see  disguised trade barriers under this guise being brought to the fore.  
4.74.   On WTO R eform, the African Group would  continue to engage in dedicated sessions under the 
purview of  the General Council. The Group highlighted two elements in this regard.  The first one 
concerned the process. The Director -General  had mentioned that t here would be more smaller 
groups meetings as Members drew closer to MC12.  Therefore, a ll Chairs needed to ensure that in 
these smaller groups, all interests would b e taken care of and the African Group should not be  TN/C/M/42  
 
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  excluded from any of the processes given its interests across the board. The second matter that the 
Group wished to caution again st was stopping the clock. Like the Director -General , the Group  was 
pleased  that Members  did not have to end everything on 3 December  at midnight . However, if  the 
clock were stopped – the Group wished to point out that most Ministers were scheduled to leave on 
Saturday morning and delegations would not be in a position to take decisions once Ministers were 
out of the Room . The African Group therefore asked the Director -General to  bear this in mind.  
4.75.   The representative of Nepal  associated  his delegation  with the statements of the LDC Group, 
the land l ocked developing countries ( LLDCs ) and the Article XII Members. He said that, a s Members  
were in rush to finalize a good package of MC12 outcomes by integrating all of their interests and 
concerns in a balanced and inclusive manner, the updates shared by the Chairs indicate d how difficult 
the task was. Showing flexibility was therefore necessary to achieve desired the outcomes . 
4.76.   LDCs, representing about 13% of the world's population, needed to have a just share of the 
outcomes Members would  achieve  – taking into account their limited capacity to assess their own 
needs. In addition, being a landlocked country  multiplied the challenges it faced given the  
impediments  imposed by such circumstance . Members should take note of  how difficult it was for 
LDCs and LLDCs to  participat e in global trad e due to the various challenges  they faced  including 
remoteness,  lack of sea access, distance from international markets and high transit cost, among 
others. Wide and wise actions from the M embership to integrate the interests of these groups  and 
take care of their concern s were therefore  required.  
4.77.   As a global target , all Members had a common responsibility with regard to LDC Graduation . 
In this regard, Nepal expect ed concrete outcomes in  ensuring  Members' smooth transitio n after  
graduating from the LDC Category . The LDC Group ha d shown flexibility by submitting an interim 
arrangement to be decided at MC12. Categorizing recently graduated LDC s in a separate group 
rather than mixing them with the developing country group wou ld be appropriate for the 
sustainability of their graduation in the long -run.  
4.78.   On the service s negotiation s, Members  needed to take into account  the severe impact of the 
COVID -19 pandemic in LDCs such as on the tourism, transport and other  sectors , and should have 
outcomes on global collaboration and partnership s for the speedy recovery of the services sector.  
On agriculture , although it was  a sector of comparative advantage for LDCs , their competitive 
advantage ha d been shifted to somewhere else d ue to high subsid ies and domestic support. Leve lling 
the playing field in the agriculture sector through gradual elimination of trade distorting support and 
subsidies within  the de minimis l evel for all Members ha d therefore become essential.  
4.79.   On access to vaccin es and medical supplies, which was important to end both the health and 
economic cris es, Members needed to ensure in the WTO's response that vaccines and health supplies 
would reach countries that need ed them the most, particularly low and lower midd le-income 
countries. Establishing a mechanism within the WTO through which the supply of essential products 
such as medicines and medical equipment would be ensured not only during this pandemic but also 
in future ones was important . 
4.80.   On WTO Reform, Nepal  was in favour of making ne cessary reforms in the WTO's  functioning 
with a view to ensuring a rules-based, predictable, transparent and fair multilateral trading system 
by bridging existing gaps both in laws and practices such as those  between founding and acceded 
Members in the level of commitments and obligations as well as in making the dispute settlement 
mechanism functional, among others. The WTO should likewise  collaborate with other international 
organizations to support LDCs in their economic recovery  through the provision of trade finance, 
access to credit, capacity building in entrepreneurship, e -commerce and innovation in business 
operations to help in building back LDC and LLDC economies better in the post -COVID -19 era.  
4.81.   Special and differential treatment was an integral part of the multilateral trad ing system  as 
reflected in the Marrakesh Agreement. This aspect need ed to be given due consideration.  The 
adoption of the draft decision submitted by the G90 would be necessary in this regard.  The whole 
world was watching the WTO  with huge expectation s from MC12. Nepal  stood ready to show 
flexibility and engage with the Director -General  and the M embership in the process that should lead 
to meaningful outcomes at MC12.  TN/C/M/42  
 
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  4.82.   The repres entative of China  was not sure what things w ould look like fourteen days later . Ten 
days p lus some nights  were all Members had before MC12. China  could  not agree more with the 
Director -General's  appeal that Members should exercise utmost flexibility that w ould prepare the 
path for Ministers to deliver. Needless to repeat, pragmatism and realism would be  needed in the 
days to come. In this regard, China  was delighted to see that many Members ha d refrained from 
introducing, or at least insisting on, controver sial issues in the discussion of the outcome document. 
China  could feel Members ' good faith trying to reach a succinct and political Ministerial Declaration. 
It was needed. China  count ed on the General Council Chair's strong leadership and on Members' 
flexibility on this matter . 
4.83.   On the WTO's response to pandemic, a multilateral outcome was critical. The WTO's response 
to COVID -19 and preparedness for future pandemic s were both needed in the final text. China s aw 
the importance of having a declaration not only on future actions but also  on the immediate 
response.  China hoped that a concrete outcome on the TRIPS Waiver could be delivered. On fisheries 
subsidies, the current Chair 's text was a good basis for success . China was ready to work over both 
nights in the weekend in order to present a text with fewer brackets to the General Council the 
following week. As the Chinese saying went, "The last leg of a journey marks the halfway point ." 
When Members we re close to the finish line, China  hoped they could  all exercise self -restraint by 
dropping elements that tend ed not to build consensus and were beyond their negotiating mandate 
and the WTO functions. On agriculture, China  hoped all Members would take a pragmatic approach 
and focus on what was achievable. China was ready to show flexibility on a final balanced package.  
4.84.   It was  likewise encouraging that a draft Ministerial Statement for investment facilitation had 
been adopted the day b efore the present meeting under the leadership of Ambassador Mathias 
Francke . Under the current circumstances, facilitating foreign investment c ould help Members to 
mitigate the pandemic and realize economic recovery. At the same time, 59  Members had signed 
the Ministerial Statement on plastics pollution and environmentally sustainable plastics trade. The 
number w ould keep increasing in the following days. China  called upon more Members to join the 
open, transparent and inclusive initiative which was a conc rete action to show the WTO's role in the 
global response to climate change and environmental challenges.  China, both its Geneva -based  and 
capital officials,  stood ready to work with the Director -General  and the Membership  at full speed in 
the following da ys. China urged Members to  make each day count and to make MC12 count.  
4.85.   The representative of Nigeria  associate d his delegation with the statements of the African 
Group and the Organization of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries (O ACP). The world 
expect ed the WTO to deliver results at MC12 that would underpin post COVID economic recovery. 
Members only had a few days left before MC12  yet significant divergence exist ed in Members ' 
positions in respective areas of work. Members  therefore need ed to redouble their efforts and work 
collectively towards the delivery of balanced, equitable and concrete MC12 outcomes on the 
respective issues.  
4.86.   On fisheries subsidies, the need for effective S&DT to foster sustainable development of 
developing countries ' fisheries sector c ould not be overemphasized given the severity of food and 
livelihood difficulties faced by these countries. Consequently, in order to move towards a consensus 
text, Nigeria  called on Members to consider a de  minimis figure of 1.2% so as to  ensure that countries 
below de  mininis w ould have the required policy space to develop their fisheries sector. In addition, 
it would  not be comfortable for Nigeria  to live with the limitation of artisanal fishing to 12 nautical 
miles as this would signifi cantly undermine the activities of its artisanal fishers. Regarding IUU, clear 
clarifications needed to be made in footnote 6 to ensure that coastal states ha d primacy in IUU 
determination in line with the provision of international law. In the spirit of c ompromise , Nigeria  
would however consider further discussion around this issue provided that the current A lt 2 of Article 
3.3 of the text was retained in the Chair's Text. Nigeria would continue to engage constructively 
towards the delivery of a balanced o utcome on fisheries subsidies.  
4.87.   On agriculture, Nigeria was seeking outcomes that were geared towards addressing the 
structural causes of food insecurity and poverty with a view to enhanc ing livelihoods of vulnerable 
farmers and unlocking developing countries ' productive capacity. Given the time constraint s, Nigeria  
would support a work programme on domestic support that s ought  to address existing asymmetries, 
preserve support for low income and resource poor farmers, address green box transparency as well 
as clarify its criteria. On PSH , a critical food security instrument, Nigeria  would support the adoption 
of a work programme with clear cut timelines and deliverables and a decision on the extension of  
the Bali Decision to include new programmes of developing countries who currently d id not have TN/C/M/42  
 
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  recourse to the interim solution without extra conditions. On SSM, Nigeria would support a work 
programme with clear  cut timelines and deliverables g eared towards reaching  outcome s at MC13 
with an effective volume and price -based mechanism that was easy to operationalize, effective in 
its remedies, applicable to all trade and d id not contain more conditionalities than the special 
safeguard ( SSG).  
4.88.   On development, Nigeria  reiterate d the importance of trade and development particularly 
S&DT  to developing countries. It urged all developed countr y Members  to be fully engaged in the 
discussions and in  the negotiation on the proposal by the G90 to have a package at MC12 on 
development.   
4.89.   On WTO Reform, Nigeria was flexible on the institutional arrangement that would foster 
discussions on reforms.  It was however of critical importance that discussions on  this issue remain ed 
open, transparent and inclusive. The reform discussions should be geared towards addressing the 
difficulties undermining the effective participation of developing countries especially LDCs in the 
multilateral trading system . The discus sion should also aim at restoring and rebranding the WTO as 
a key pillar of global economic governance that underpin ned a transparent, equitable and inclusive 
multilateral trading system. It was equally important to develop a clear framework that contain ed 
the scope and terms of reference  on the parameters of discussion on t he WTO Reform agenda in 
order to have a more focussed discussion with the aim of having a positive outcome at the end.  
4.90.   On the WTO's response to the pandemic , Nigeria support ed the Facil itator 's process. This 
process should  remain open, transparent and inclusive. Any meaningful outcome in this area should 
include the TRIPS Waiver that would pave the way for the ramping up of production of diagnostics, 
therapeutics and vaccines to combat C OVID -19 as well as a commitment on technology transfer to 
foster the building of pandemic -resilient health sectors in developing countries. Nigeria  also call ed 
on Members to come up with a pragmatic solution to the IP issue. It was important for all side s to 
come to the middle in order to reach a mutual agreement for the benefit of all.  
4.91.   On the e-commerce w ork programme and moratorium, Nigeria look ed forward to the adoption 
of an inclusive MC12 agenda that was geared towards addressing the difficulties undermining the 
gains of developing countries from global digital trade. Nigeria likewise supported the renewal of the 
moratorium on imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions at  MC12.  
4.92.   The representativ e of Norway  said that MC12 represent ed an opportunity to create results 
that would make  a difference. But Members should  not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. On 
fisheries subsidies Norway  saw encouraging signs of convergence, but Members need ed to restrain 
themselves and keep to the Chair 's basic question , "What can we not live with? " To Norway's  regret, 
ambition ha d been reduced over time. Norway  had made countless modifications to accommodate 
Members ' defensive positions.  The three remaining clea r prohibitions in the current text refer red to 
subsidies related to IUU activities, fishing on the high seas and vessels not under the control of a 
subsidizing Member. Thi s was a bare minimum. Members  needed to keep all three of them if this 
agreement was to pass the red face test. Even if it was not what it had hoped for, Norway support ed 
the Chair 's text. All in all, this instrument w ould have a disciplining effect on Members and therefore 
a positive effect on the global fisheries resources. This was not the time to let the perfect be the 
enemy of the good.   
4.93.   Norway was delighted by the engagement of Members in the various joint initiatives  and was 
pleased to participate with other Members in the joint initiative on services domestic regulation. 
Norway  was looking forward to celebrating the conclusion of this important initiative at MC12. On 
agriculture , Norway ha d significant sensitivities for rea sons that ha d been thoroughly explained in 
the various meetings and consultations held. Norway  expect ed that its concerns would be  duly taken 
into account going forward, also in meetings in configurations where it did not participate directly. 
Norway  howev er continue d to believe that results were within reach – with a realistic level of 
ambition. The work program me mandates c ould not however  prejudge the outcome of the 
negotiations. With the limited time left, ambitions needed to be calibrated accordingly t o close in on 
potential landing zones. This was not the time to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.  
4.94.   The representative of Brazil  noted that it was the last TNC before MC12. Members had one 
week left before Ministers would arrive in Geneva. MC12 had to deliver on a small but substantial 
set of issues. MC12 should also be a steppingstone in the process of reform and modernization of TN/C/M/42  
 
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  the WTO – paving the way for post -MC12 work. Brazil had offered several suggestions this year on 
what should constitute a  package of deliverables for MC12 and remained convinced that Ministers 
could still deliver on four issues.  
4.95.   On Trade and Health, WTO rules had a role to play in this and future pandemics. Members 
needed a Ministerial Decision that confirmed the relevance o f international trade and WTO rules 
when facing the challenges posed by current and future pandemics. Members were still struggling 
with different perspectives and priorities. The following week would be decisive for Members to find 
a compromise that would  enable a multilateral health decision. Otherwise, they would have to settle 
for a plurilateral one.  
4.96.   On agriculture, it was a key topic of the broader agenda of trade and sustainable development. 
International trade and the WTO also had a role to play in a ddressing the global challenges of food 
security and sustainability. Ministers needed to establish a process of renewing the agriculture 
rulebook in a comprehensive way. Sanitary and Phytosanitary ( SPS) should also be part of Members' 
future work. Brazil w as ready to work constructively on all those fronts of the agriculture 
negotiations. In particular, Members should address in conjunction domestic support and PSH as 
well as market access. Brazil made it clear that Members would be heading to a deal break if some 
would keep expecting results in PSH without a solution to domestic support.  
4.97.   On architecture , Members  needed to establish a working group at MC12 to explore the 
pathway that would lead to a flexible geometry, including plurilateral negotiations, at the WTO. 
Revitalizing the negotiating pillar of the WTO was of vital importance and it was no coincidence that 
MC12 w ould show progress in all JSIs including on e-commerce, investment fac ilitation  for 
development , MSMEs  and services domestic regulation. Members  also need ed to find, no later than 
MC13, a long -term solution for the restoration of a fully functioning WTO dispute settlement system.  
4.98.   On fisheries subsidies, Members should  conclu de the negotiations with the highest component 
of sustainability. Brazil  encourage d all Members to show flexibility particularly in this critical moment 
of the negotiations. There  should  be genuine commitment from the whole Membership to a 
successful outco me at MC12. Brazil's Foreign Minister and the Brazilian  delegation w ould be in 
Geneva for MC12 because this Ministerial Conference c ould deliver  and this, together, Members  could 
strengthen the WTO and the multilateral trading system.  
4.99.   The representative of   the European Union  noted that it was the last TNC before MC12. There 
was a lot on the agenda. On some files, positions were very close. On others, they were quite far 
apart. Meaningful results were still attainable but progress require d all Members to be  realistic and 
willing to compromise. The European Union  hoped Members w ould approach the Ministerial in this 
spirit. Members  needed to restore confidence in the rules -based global trading system with the WTO 
at its core.  Starting with fisheries, reaching an agreement was important for the sustainability of the 
oceans and fish stocks as well as to show that the WTO c ould deliver multilateral rules and address 
sustainability issues.  The E uropean Union  was committed to find  common ground in the following 
days and nights. The E uropean Union  had shown flexibility on a number of key areas and call ed on 
all Members to engage in constructive discussions.  
4.100.   On the WTO 's response to the pandemic, it was urgent to take immediate political action. 
Members  should  respond to stakeholders ' call when it c ame to export restrictions and transparency. 
They should be open to a dialogue with any Member that consider ed that a given measure affect ed 
its access to essential medi cal goods. It  was the least and as much as they could do. Members  were 
living in a situation that was not business as usual. Therefore , they could not have a business as 
usual  approach . Discussions remain ed difficult on intellectual property with no breakt hroughs. The 
European Union would continue actively engaging and discussing with Members in the lead up to 
MC12 .  
4.101.   With little time left, the European Union still believe d that a landing zone c ould however be 
reached.  All Members should however  be ready to compromise and indicate the parameters within 
which a solution c ould be found. The current pandemic was a human tragedy. The European Union  
was committed to solutions that would make a substantive difference on the ground, not based on 
ideological posturin g such as "TRIPS Waiver or else nothing ". The E uropean Union likewise  continue d 
to engage constructively in the agricultural talks. The European Union  was disappointed to see 
positions still remain ed far apart  and plead ed for realism in order to increase the chances of TN/C/M/42  
 
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  successful outcomes in agriculture. The European Union  believe d it was still possible.  
4.102.   All Members agree d that reforms were needed in this organization. It was essential that at 
MC12, Members would give  political priority to WTO Reform and agree to set up an efficient and 
structured process of discussion in the WTO on how to make the WTO work better across its three 
functions.  Members  also need ed to show that the WTO was not detached from reality and 
acknowle dge the existence of global environmental challenges and climate change. It was important  
for Ministers to reaffirm mutual support between trade and environmental policies. The European 
Union also welcome d the progress made on the Joint Statement Initiativ es, notably the one on 
services domestic regulation that w ould come to fruition at MC12.  
4.103.   The representative of Paraguay  recognize d the tireless efforts of  the CoA SS Chair in moving 
towards areas of convergence. Although Paraguay's priorities were well kno wn and focused  on 
market access and domestic support, it was imperative that all Members work ed collaboratively 
towards an outcome that would allow  them to agree on work program mes on the eight negotiating 
topics to ensure a balanced outcome . These work program mes should  have sufficient specificity to 
go beyond the current existing mandates and leave Members  in a better position to move towards 
concrete modalities after MC12.  
4.104.   Paraguay  had been w orking tirelessly to advance its priority issues, seeking to generate 
convergences. It however noted with  concern that the same commitment and dedication ha d not 
been demonstrated by the proponents of PSH  in bringing positions closer together or addressing  
Paraguay's  well-known concerns.  In view of the expectation of expanding the existing  flexibilities 
granted to some Members under the Bali Decision, an eventual extension, which was far from getting 
closer to a permanent  solution, would further exacerbate the difficulties in reaching a solution . 
4.105.   On NAMA,  Paraguay  noted with concern the content of the report of the NAMA Chair  on the 
Negotiating Group's  lack of activity for years mainly due to the insistence of some Members to link 
progress in agricultural ma rket access negotiations with parallel advances in NAMA . Given the lack 
of proposals to discuss and of meetings convened for this purpose, Members  were faced with a 
situation that, far from seeking to obtain an alleged balance, generate d a situation of blo ckage, 
preventing Members to progress on this issue which was  fundamental in the negotiating agenda of 
this organization.  
4.106.   On the WTO's response to the pandemic , a multilateral outcome was urgent . Paraguay 
considered the t ext in JOB/GC/ 279 of the Walker pro cess to be a good basis and was open to 
improving it. Members  needed to have strong language on export restrictions and trade facilitation 
which t ook into account the interests of net import ers of vaccines without local production capacity  
such as Paraguay . Paraguay also noted with concern  the references proposed by some Members to 
food safety considerations with extremely limited approaches , limited to only  one type of policy  tool, 
which also had  the potential to put the food safety of third parties at risk and had not take n into 
account other less trade -distorting  means . Concerning  PSH, Paraguay  consider ed that this matter 
was already being discussed in the C oA SS and it should continue to be dis cussed in that forum.  
4.107.   On the MC12 o utcome document, Paraguay hope d that Members w ould favourably consider  
the language presented by Mongolia on behalf of the LLDCs  which propose d the creation of a work 
program me for LLDCs  under the auspices of the G eneral Council  which would aim to identify  the 
obstacles LLDCs faced due to their geographical location and distance from international markets. 
Paraguay reiterate d that this language was not intended to create a new sub -categor y of Members 
but to frame trade policy responses to a particular situation with the assistance of th is organization.  
4.108.   On joint initiatives, Paraguay continue d to be committed to the se process es and celebrate d 
the conclu sion of the negotiations on services d omestic regulation . Paraguay was  redoubling its 
efforts to circulate its pre-finalization schedule  towards the end of t he day in order to contribute to 
the process in its last phas e. Paraguay likewise support ed the progress made in the JSIs on electronic 
commerce, MSMEs, investment facilitation for development and trade and gender, and hope d to join 
the Ministerial Declarations on these issues.  
4.109.   With regard to the Ministerial Declaration on Trade and Sustainable Development, Paraguay 
regret ted that, despite having participated actively and constructively in the discussions, its position 
and that of many developing countries, as c ould be inferred from analysing  the list of Members  that TN/C/M/42  
 
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  support ed this declaration could not be satisfactorily reflecte d. For this reason, although it w ould 
continue to participate in the discussions framed by the initiative with the same constructive spirit, 
Paraguay w ould not support this Ministerial Declaration.  
4.110.   The representative of Uganda  referred to a request for som e additional scientific information 
at the meetings with several different stakeholders including the pharmaceutical companies  on 
vaccines . There was a polar  bear about to land in the negotiations. Science and data were beginning 
to announce gradually th e need for a booster shot  while several Members  were still currently 
negotiating for any vaccine  – either for two doses or even one.  Recently, France ha d decided that 
anyone above the age of 75, which mean t anyone who got the vaccine in December 2020 at the age 
of 75 and above , would have their vaccine certificate cancelled if they did not get a vaccine booster 
shot. Italy ha d quietly granted all citizens their thi rd booster shot . Austria ha d locked down its 
unvaccinated population and was trying to consider what to do to get its population to get the third 
shot. The FDA ha d released emergency use for Pfizer for booster shots for 75 years and above and 
anyone with other underlying conditions such as diabetes or chronic diseases as of last week . 
4.111.   News that vaccine efficacy was wearing off was being discussed in the WHO. Th ose were the 
facts, scientific or otherwise, being discussed in the WHO and somewhere in Geneva  as well . The 
second shot of AstraZeneca  six months after  was 68% effective.  Pfizer a fter 6 months of the second 
shot was 62.8%  effective.  Mode rna after the second shot was 75%  effective .  The single dose of 
Sinovac  was 90% eff ective  after nine months. Now, in the WTO , in the next ten days, Members 
would be  negotiating on several hundred l evels for vaccines . They would need to know from some 
organizations including the one in Geneva , before the next lockdown would be announce d, whether 
Members  were negotiating for a single dose  or double dose s as mentioned, or one dose for every 2 
years to have vaccines.  
4.112.   The representative of Costa Rica , speaking as Coordinator of the JSI on Services Domestic 
Regulation , was glad to inform Members  that the Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation 
would deliver a tangible result at MC12.  Further to the conclusion of text -based negotiations on the 
Reference Paper on Services Domestic Regulation on 27 September, participants ha d worked hard 
throughout the past months to advance work on several fronts.  Fifty-eight ( 58) participating 
Members ha d already circulated their pre -finalization schedules which set out how they w ould 
incorporate the disciplines on services domestic regulation in their Ser vices Schedules of Specific 
Commitments. Several others ha d indicated they w ould follow suit in the coming days.    
4.113.   To enhance the value and level of ambition of an outcome on services domestic regulation, 
nine participating Members ha d also included addit ional new sectors to which the disciplines w ould 
apply . All the participants ha d confirmed their commitment to apply the discipline on non -
discrimination between men and women in authorization procedures for service suppliers. This was 
a concrete step to s upport women's economic empowerment, especially during the post -COVID 
economic recovery.  The group ha d finalized work on a Ministerial Declaration on Services Domestic 
Regulation which w ould be adopted at MC12. This Declaration w ould announce the successfu l 
conclusion of the negotiations in this Initiative, take note of work on the Reference Paper and 
Schedules submitted by participants, as well as provide guidance on the way forward for the start 
of certification procedures in 2022.  
4.114.   On 18 November , the Ph ilippines ha d announced its decision to participate  in the Initiative  
– bringing the total number of participating Members to 66, covering more than 90% of world 
services trade.  The significant level of participation and high level of commitment of Members  
testified to the importance of this negotiating issue. Enhancing transparency and predictability of 
regulatory frameworks to boost the potential of services trade was crucial, and even more now as a 
building block in the post -COVID economic recovery.  The Initiative w ould deliver an outcome that 
would have a concrete impact on the operations of services suppliers and w ould contribute to 
reinvigorate the confidence in the  WTO's  negotiating function . Costa Rica invite d all Members not 
already part of this pro cess to engage actively in the discussions and consider joining the Joint 
Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation.  
4.115.   The representative of Malaysia  thank ed Ambassador Wills for the revised text. While 
concluding the fisheries subsidies negotiations was an immediate priority for all Members , they 
should  be realistic. From the Chair 's report, there were still significant differences in the level of 
ambition am ong Members. Malaysia  hoped that th ose differences could be further narrowed before 
the arrival of the Ministers. Delegations could not  present to their Ministers the text full of square TN/C/M/42  
 
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  brackets. Malaysia  remain ed committed to conclud ing the fisheries subsidies negotiations at MC12.  
On agriculture, Malaysia  wanted meaningful progress in this area  for a fair agriculture trading 
system. This was the mandate that all Members  had agreed under Article 20 of the Agreement  on 
Agriculture . The d omestic support pil lar remain ed a priority for many Members including Malaysia.  
4.116.   On the dispute settlement mechanism, restoring the WTO 's two -stage dispute settlement 
system  remain ed a key priority for Malaysia. It hoped that a work plan would  be agreed to resolve 
the Appell ate Body impasse expeditiously post-MC12.  On the WTO 's response to  the pandemic, 
Members  had a responsibility to saving lives and protecting livelihoods of millions of people around 
the world. Malaysia called for Members to discuss in earnest and exercise flexibility to reach a 
possible landing zone on the TRIP S Waiver proposal. The WTO's response to  the pandemic should  
incorporate an IP element as part of its broad response to address C OVID -19. 
4.117.   On MC12 logistics, organi zing a Ministerial Conference during the pandemic was proving 
challenging. Malaysia hoped that critical issues such as non -acceptance  of certain WHO -recogni zed 
vaccines could be resolved as early as possible before 3 0 November.  Members should  focus on the 
low hanging fruits. All negotiations should  be transparent and conducted in an inclusive manner. 
There should be n o eleventh hour sur prises at MC12. M alaysia looked forward to contributing 
constructively during this last -mile and call ed all Members to joint hands to ensure success at MC12.  
4.118.   The representative of Australia , speaking on behalf of the co -conveners of the JSI on 
E-Commerce,  Australia, Japan and Singapore , said that the Initiative was continuing to see good 
momentum in the negotiations. The JSI  had now achieved convergence or was very close to 
convergence in eight articles with only a few brackets remaining to be resolved on paperless trading 
and open internet access. Since its last report on 30 September, the JSI  had held two plenary 
meetings. These meetings ha d featured constructive discussions on privacy, information and 
communication technology ( ICT) products that use d cryptography and non -discriminatory treatment 
of digital products.  
4.119.   At MC12, Co-Convenor Ministers w ould issue a statement highlighting the substantial 
progress participants  had made in the Initiative. The statement w ould outline targets  they wished 
to achieve in 2022. It w ould also underscore the importance of ensuring the Initiative deliver ed 
benefits for developing and least -developed countries. Co -Convenor Ministers w ould also hold a 
press conference on the Initiative.  The Co-Convenor s thank ed all participants for their hard work 
and the constructive spirit they ha d shown in the negotiations in 2021 a nd look ed forward to some 
more good progress in the short period to MC12.  
4.120.   Speaking on behalf of Australia , he noted that t he world w ould be listening carefully to the 
messages Members would  send at this Conference. Australia asked w hat messages Members  wished 
to send . From Australia's view, Members should  highlight three clear imperatives: those of solidarity, 
sustainability, and a more du rable international trading system.  Solidarity in response to the 
pandemic require d Members  to reaffirm the principles of cooperation, transparency, and openness, 
which were foundational to th e WTO . They needed an agreed trade and health package that  
facilitate d the sharing of vital supplies to respond to the pandemic, and ensure d IP contribute d to 
the challenge of vaccine distribution. Equally , they needed to support, not hinder the digital economy 
given its cr itical role in the recovery, by reaffirming the e -commerce moratorium.  
4.121.   The sustainability of the oceans and the diversity of its marine life hang ed in the balance 
unless Members  could agree to curb harmful fisheries subsidies. The sustainability of the climate 
and the environment also mean t that Members  needed to take a meaningful step forward on 
agricultural subsidy reform as the Cairns Group and Australia ha d been saying for some time now.  
Reform of domestic subsidies w ould also boost the sustainability of livelihoods – the food security of 
people – at a time  when  it was needed most.  
4.122.   All Members had committed in the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO to develop 
an "integrated, more viable and more durable multilateral trading system ". They needed to make 
big strides forward on this front in the next two years to ensure Members had an effective dispute 
settlement system and a vibrant rulemaking arm. They might have different visions on what WTO 
Reform should entail but through dialogue and cooperation  they could and should  improve the 
organi zation's functioning. Members needed now to launch a genuine process of WTO Reform at 
MC12, and commit to providing Ministers the fruits of their efforts by the time they next met at TN/C/M/42  
 
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  MC13. Australia  agree d with the Director -General.  Members  stood a chance to secure a credible 
package and they should  seize it.  
4.123.   The representative of Switzerland  said that t he few days  that followed  would be decisive.  
Constructive engagement, compromise and pragmatism were more necessary than ever.  The 
COVID -19 crisis ha d shown that "business as usual" was not enough. It was therefore essential to 
agree on a holistic and ambitious multilateral declaration on trade and health that seriously 
addresse d export restrictions and transparency.  The protection of intellectual property was crucial 
to stimulate innovation, investment, industrial partnerships and technology transfer. T his was, to 
increase and diversify production. Switzerland was however  willing to discuss pragmatic solutions to 
intellectual property that did not undermine these achievements. This would be complemented by 
measures to promote technology transfer.  
4.124.   The conclusion of the negotiations on fisheries subsi dies remain ed a priority.  This was a 
fundamental sustainable development goal.  On agriculture, Switzerland  support ed a concise, 
balanced work programme across all pillars, without prejudging the outcome. Furthermore, it 
strongly support ed a decision to exe mpt WFP purchases from export restrictions.  On e-commerce, 
29 Members, including Switzerland, were proposing a draft decision to continue the work programme 
and extend the moratorium until MC13. Switzerland  hoped that the consultations of the General 
Counc il Chair  would lead shortly to a draft decision on both aspects being proposed.     
4.125.   Members also need ed to agree on a Ministerial Declaration that chart ed the way forward on 
systemic issues, including WTO Reform and dispute settlement. It was likewise  important that this 
declaration contain ed a reference to the current major challenges, including environmental 
challenges. On trade in services, Switzerland regret ted that Members ha d so far not been able to 
agree on a balanced formulation to reflect the work of the CTS  SS in the Ministerial Declaration.  The 
Conference w ould be an opportunity to take stock of the concrete progress made within the initiatives 
emanating from joint statements. Switzerland welcome d the conclusion of the initiative on services 
domestic regulation. This success w ould send a positive signal to the various WTO stakeholders.  
4.126.   The representative of the Russian Federation  said that m ost of the reports heard at the 
present meeting were worryi ng. Discussions on most of the tracks were either on hold or , as noted 
by the African Group,  tended to go into closed smaller formats without clear indications of deadlines 
for presenting the results to the wider Membership.  To be fair, the fisheries  subsidies negotiations 
had so far been conducted in an open and inclusive way. The assessment of the Chair 's Rev.1 text 
containing all possible landing zones was however  evidently overoptimistic. Members'  intensive work  
since September showed  that major problem s remained unresolved in the text and that the text  was 
considered by Members only as a basis for negotiations rather than the end -result.  
4.127.   The Rev.2 text contain ed virtually no substantial changes except the expansion of S &DT. 
Even such a generous exception, virtually carving out the vast majority of Members from the main 
disciplines, was however  still claimed to be insufficient. Members  were thus still debating hard  on 
each and every substantial provision. They should try to use  every day and hour before the G eneral 
Council  to solve the remaining issues. They had  parallel exchanges after the present meeting , and 
a weekend  at their disposal.  But in general, Members  were entering a n unwelcome scenario of last -
moment deals, about wh ich they had been  warned several months ago.  
4.128.   The Russian Federation appealed to those who plan ned to hold on to possible outcomes , be 
it on IP and other elements of the  pandemic response, agriculture or WTO Reform, until the arrival 
of their Minister s, to let them give  the "green light " to all those deals and become the "master of 
decision -making " and the "star of the Conference ". Other Members w ould not  agree to play the role 
of pawns in this game. The "take it or leave it " option for the deals made behin d closed doors w ould 
not fly. Smaller delegations w ould not be able to follow all tracks and have time to explain to their 
Ministers and constituencies the meaning of those last minute deals. In this situation , it would be 
fairer and pragmatic for those Members whose proposals ha d not gathered consensus up to now, to 
admit that they ha d no chance to be adopted at the Conference.  
4.129.   The representative of Bangladesh  noted that LDC Graduation was one of the key priorities 
of the LDC Gro up for MC12. It was the only proposal where the LDC Group ha d made a specific 
submission for a Ministerial Decision.  LDC Trade Ministers , who had met on 19 October , had called 
for a concrete outcome on LDC G raduation at MC12. The proposal ha d been discusse d five times at TN/C/M/42  
 
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  the General Council since December. The LDCs  had been carefully listening to Members' views and 
comments  and had taken their comments fully on board. Bangladesh  hoped that the topic of LDC 
Graduation would be examined in the context of the application of WTO rules, including LDC -specific 
S&DT provisions, next year in greater detail.   
4.130.   In view of the time constraints, the LDC Group had submitted a draft as an interim 
arrangement on LDC Graduation focusing only on the market access dimension  involving trade 
preferences granted unilaterally to LDCs by their trading partners. There were several unilateral 
LDC-specific generalised system of preferences ( GSP) schemes where  procedures were available to 
extend LDC trade preferences to graduated countries for a certain time -period. The LDCs'  interim 
arrangement submission was simply to encourage others to consider similar practices in their 
respective preference schemes for LDCs.  It was up to preference -granting Members to see how they 
would consider this interim arrangement in their unilateral LDC -specific schemes. It was an 
encouragement and not an obligation to show support and commitment of the WTO Membership to 
sustainable growth and development of its most vulnerable Members.  
4.131.   The proposal only  had one substantive element to negotiate. The other elements were 
procedural i n nature. The latest submission was calling for  a best endeavour effort  which  was the 
least that Members could do to help graduating LDCs with greater predictability and better 
integration into global trade. T hough the  text was flexible enough to  be agree d by all, the LDCs 
remained  ready to negotiate further. At the same time, LDC Partners should express readines s and 
willingness to engage in a meaningful discussion to find a reasonable and acceptable outcome. An 
outcome in this area  at MC12 w ould show that  the WTO remained sympathetic and responsive to 
the concern s of its weakest Members. Bangladesh  looked forward to working with other delegations 
in making MC12 a success and in making the WTO fit for responding to the needs of the 21st century.  
4.132.   The repres entative of Barbados , speaking on behalf of CARICOM , associated CARICOM 
members with the statement of the ACP.  Based on the status reports presented, CARICOM  was 
concerned that Members  could  be leaving a lot for their Ministers to do at MC12. If Members  were 
to deliver on concrete outcomes , it was clear that they would need to intensify their work significant ly 
in the days  that followed . They should however first assess whether they all genuinely want ed an 
outcome for MC12. Only then  could they  honestly focus on what was achievable at MC12 and see 
any semblance of a relevant WTO which effectively underpin ned the multilateral trading system.  
4.133.   On fisheries subsidies, CARICOM  appreciate d the efforts of Ambassador Wills in s teering  the 
work in the NGR to advance these long -standing negotiations as MC12 quickly approache d. CARICOM  
reiterate d the commitment of its Ministers to continue proactive and constructive engagement in the 
fisheries subsidies negotiations as the Group  pressed towards a balanced agreement that was a win -
win for all. CARICOM  welcome d the elaboration of the de minimis exemption  in Article 5 as the Group  
saw this as bringing Members  a step closer to convergence in the negotiations. Members  however 
still need ed to conclude the negotiations on an appropriate threshold that would be suitable for small 
players as they require d the policy space to grow and develop their fisheries sector with sustainability 
in mind.  
4.134.   An agreement on fisheries subsidies should  take into account the vulnerabilities faced by 
artisanal and small scale fishers and  should  not create additional socio -economic barriers to the 
development of this sector.  An agreement on fisheries subsidies shoul d not undermine domestic 
procedures in an IUU determination. As small and vulnerable economies  (SVEs) , who were not major 
subsidizers and who rel ied heavily on the blue economy for food security and the livelihoods of their 
people, an agreement to end harm ful subsidies to IUU fishing and overcapacity and overfishing 
would be essential to the future sustainability of the resource.  
4.135.   As it relate d to agriculture, CARICOM support ed the inclusion of flexibilities for SVEs in the 
various pillars of the negotiation s and was also supportive  of the preservation of the status quo with 
respect to Article 6.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture. Additionally, any decision or permanent 
solution on the issue of PSH should contain sufficient safeguards against the possibility o f such stocks 
destabilizing global markets, particularly for products of export interest to CARICOM.  
4.136.   As it relate d to services, it was important that Members  did not intentionally or 
unintentionally undermine the multilaterally agreed mandate or the in -built flexibilities for 
developing and least -developed countries that were enshrined within the General Agreement on TN/C/M/42  
 
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  Trade in Services ( GATS ). CARICOM  was therefore supportive of the simple language in the MC12 
outcome document which reaffirm ed the importanc e of services to the global economy and the 
commitment to ensuring that developing and least -developed countries were guaranteed a greater 
share of global trade in services.  
4.137.   On electronic commerce, CARICOM  thanked the General Council Chair for his efforts  
including for convening the various consultations and structured discussions where Members had 
had the opportunity to engage. The Group underscore d the importance it attribute d to the Work 
Programme on Electronic Commerce and, in this connection, its keenness to ensure that the 
Ministerial Decision to be approved at MC12 result ed in the meaningful and sustained reinvigoration 
of the Work Programme, not least of all in respect of  the development dimension. In this connection, 
the Group  wished the Decision to incorporate language that would pave the way for mor e frequent, 
structured and substantial engagement by the Membership within the framework of the Work 
Programme following MC 12. On the moratorium, the Group s aw its renewal until MC13 as the most 
pragmatic approach at this juncture.  
4.138.   WTO Reform and the WTO 's response to the pandemic were critical to a successful outcome 
at MC12.  CARICOM reiterate d its support for the Facilitator -led process on the WTO 's response to 
the pandemic. The trade -related impact of the pandemic on CARICOM's  individual economies merit ed 
a dedicated response from the WTO which should be transparent, inclusive, complementary to the 
response by others at the international level in responding to the impact of the pandemic and 
reflective of the views and interests of all Members. CARICOM  recogni zed the important work that 
was ongoing in the TRIPS Council which link ed trade and health to intellectual property rig hts. 
4.139.   The principles of inclusiveness, transparency and equity should  underpin the discourse on 
WTO Reform. Reform should  include the interests and issues of importance to developing countries 
and LDCs. Small, vulnerable economies like those in CARICOM should therefore continue to have 
access to S&DT . There was no room for the introduction of antiquated per capita income metrics to 
access S &DT. CARICOM  remain ed optimistic that at the very least Members  could deliver on the 
restoration of the WTO 's two -tiered  dispute settlement system as a key outcome of MC12.  
4.140.   The representative of the Philippines  thank ed the Director -General for her statement and 
the updates from the Chairs of the Negotiating Bodies including the positive update from Coordinator 
Jaime Coghi of Costa Rica on an outcome for Services Domestic Regulation at MC12 which the 
Philippines was pleased to be join ing. The Philippines remain ed engaged and w ould continue to work 
constructively with other WTO Members in pursuing a successful outcome on fisheries subsidies 
negotiations. In this respect, the Philippines  thank ed the Friends of the Chair in facilitating 
discussions on areas of continued divergence. The Philippines  likewise s aw the need for a balanced 
outcome towards MC13 on agriculture, addressing both trade and production distorting domestic 
support and implementing and furthering Bali and Nairobi discuss ions on PSH and SSM.  
4.141.   The Philippines appreciate d the progress that ha d been made in negotiations on the Political 
Declaration which would provide Members  with a launchpad to advance work on WTO Reform 
including on the dispute settlement system.  A multilate ral outcome on trade and health was critical 
if the WTO was to remain credible to the outside world. The focus should be on pursuing measures 
that immediately support ed the supply chains of essential medical goods and longer -term strategies 
that w ould enhance Members'  productive capacities for pandemic preparedness and response. 
Members  should be able to find common grounds on export restrictions, transparency and 
intellectual property.  
4.142.   Many Members  had resorted to utilizing metaphors and adages to convey the urgent need 
to find convergence as they move d to MC12.  In the Philippines, a core cultural value was "bayanihan " 
which translate d to "community spirit ". Historically, when homes were made of coconut leaves, this 
value was effectively practiced when vil lagers would affix a bamboo framework to the base of a 
house and move it in unison to its new location. While Members'  house, the WTO, could  be more 
elaborate and heavier than a simple straw hut, they should  build a durable framework consisting of 
outcomes on fisheries subsidies, agriculture, WTO Reform, trade and health and sustainable 
development. Members  could not afford to have any one of their community of villagers stand still 
or walk away from this pro cess. Otherwise, they would remain stuck, or worse, have the house 
crumble on top of them. The Philippines urged Members to  work in unison , in solidarity to make their 
WTO house stronger – able to do its part for the One World, the One Global Village they all live d in. TN/C/M/42  
 
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  4.143.   The representative of Viet Nam  offered views on certain topics in connection with the draft 
MC12 outcome document and commended the General Council Chair for effectively conducting the 
process in a transparent and conclusive manner and for th e good progress made. On development, 
S&DT remained a fundamental pillar of the multilateral trading system. Viet Nam supported the CTD 
SS Chair's suggestion to include a clear and strong political message, currently Paragraph 5 of the 
outcome document, to  set the stage for positive, substantive and constructive discussions after 
MC12. Viet Nam called for flexibility and compromise to clean this Paragraph as soon as possible. 
On the work of the DSB SS, the Appellate Body impasse remained a pressing issue – undermining 
the WTO's credibility. Viet Nam appreciated Ambassador Johnson's straightforward assessment of 
the current situation. A timeline to end this impasse was essential and had to be inserted in the 
outcome document, currently in Paragraph 8, to rest ore the confidence in the WTO.  
4.144.   On trade and environment, Viet Nam took  note of a number of related proposed MC12 
Declarations a nd a formulation in the draft outcome document currently in Paragraph 4A. While  
recogniz ing the importance of global efforts in dealing with common challenges such as climate 
change and environmental pollution, the WTO should always ensure that measures to address these 
challenges were WTO consistent and did not result in trade protectionism and unn ecessary barriers 
to trade. On WTO Reform, references to which were  suggested in  various paragraphs in the draft 
outcome document such as Paragraph s 7, 8 and X . Viet Nam support ed further discussions to clarify 
certain elements such as the Terms of Reference for a Working Group and the implications of flexible 
approaches  to the core principles and practices in the WTO.  
4.145.   On the draft  declaration on the  WTO's response to the pandemic,  Viet Nam  underst ood that 
the process of seeking an effective and comprehensive pandemic response  was a difficult one 
especially at this critical juncture of the discussion s. The process itself ha d nonetheless  been a 
success in terms of demonstrating that all Members share d the same objective of contributing to the 
global solution to t he current and future pandemics . Viet Nam also  took note that most of trade -
related aspects of the pandemic response ha d been considered in great detail to come up with 
import ant messages and commitments  including a  suggested work programme after MC12. This was 
a welcome progress.  
4.146.   The intellectual property aspect under WTO purview was equally important. The experience 
of Viet Nam over the past few months  had shown  that access to vaccine s was pre requisite to 
economic opening and trade recovery. In this regard, Viet Nam  express ed its appreciation to vaccine 
donating Members. The WTO 's response to the pandemic should however  secure a place for 
commitments to minimize the negative impact of IP protection on the expanded production o f and 
the equitable, affordable and facilitated access to vaccines as well as other C OVID -19 essential 
products. Viet Nam reaffirm ed its commitment to work closely and constructively together with other 
Members in the remaining weeks towards a successful MC12.  
4.147.   The representative of Chile, speaking as Coordinator of the Structured Discussions on 
Investment Facilitation for Development , upda ted Members on the latest developments regarding 
the Joint Initiative, focusing on the outcome of the last meeting, held early in the week.  During the 
meeting , Participating Members had finalized the draft Joint Ministerial Statement , as had been 
mentioned  by Ambassador Li , and made further progress on the negotiating text which would be 
presented to Ministers. Chile had  circulated the third revision of the 'Easter Text'  the previous week  
where convergence in many of the provisions was reflected in language  many participating Members 
felt comfortable with  – albeit it was not yet finally agreed text.  The revised 'Easter Text' also include d 
placeholders highlighting the few areas where further work and discussions were needed after MC12.   
4.148.   Key pillars of the f uture agreement were currently  stabilized, notably: the sections on 
transparency of investment measures , streamlining and speeding -up administrative procedures and 
enhancing international cooperation, information sharing and the exchange of best practices.  
Provisions that were key for the agreement's central development dimension also appear ed in plain 
text, namely: "General Principles on S&DT " and "Technical Assistance and Support for Capacity 
Building ". That being said, nothing was agreed until everything was agreed.  A fourth revision of the 
'Easter Text' w ould be circulated to all Members by the end the day and w ould be reviewed by 
participants at a meeting on 24 November to finali ze an "as clean as possible " text for Ministers . 
4.149.   Participants in the Joint Initiative had also finalized the draft Joint Ministerial Statement on 
IFD which ha d been circulated to all Members with an invitation to co -sponsor it. The draft was a 
result of an extensive consultation process facilitated by the  Friends of Investment Facilitation for TN/C/M/42  
 
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  Development  (FIFD). This Joint Ministerial Statement acknowledge d the considerable substantive 
progress achieved in the negotiations, notably on key elements that had been  previously identified. 
It also reaffirm ed that developing and least -developed country Members' participation in global 
investment flows was a core objective of the agreement. It also stresse d the need for technical 
assistance and capacity building to assist them in implementing the future agreement.   
4.150.   Ministers w ould meet on Tuesday, 30 November, from 8.00 am to 9.30 am to take stock of 
and welcome the substantial progress achieved since the start of the negotiations and to provide 
political guidance and impetus to continue developing the future agreement in the post -MC12 phase 
with a view to concluding the text negotiations by the end of 2022. Invitation letters for this high -
level event w ould be sent to all 164 WTO Members , both participants and non -participants, in line 
with the open and inclusive n ature of th e Initiative. An invitation w ould also be sent to the Director -
General  in the  hope that she could  join Ministers.  The JSI  would continue its outreach efforts, mindful 
that this Initiative was pro-multilateral and hoping that more Members w ould join particularly at the 
Ministerial gathering.  The JSI  welcome d Georgia as a new participant.  
4.151.   Speaking on behalf of Chile , he said that his delegation share d the Director -General's  
assessment and concern  as well as her  optimism.  A few months ago, there had been  an 
understanding in this Committee that the next Ministerial Conference had a different character from 
previous ones. As such, Members h ad to focus on some critical and priority issues for the organization 
and its Members a nd on the issues that unite d them and not try to impose issues that they knew 
divide d them. In the few  days remaining before  Ministers ' arrival in Geneva , exactly what all  
Members had  wanted to avoid ha d occurred.  Chile was concerned about the signal that Members  
were going to send  at MC12  and the consequent loss of credibility and relevance in what they did 
collectively or, rather, what they had been  expected to do.  
4.152.   On fisheries subsidies , Members had  started  these negotiations  20 years ago with a high 
level of ambition. Civil society, Leaders and the scientific world had asked  and demanded the WTO  
to do something to stop the depredation of the oceans . Today , many  Members  were not concerned 
with the level of ambition and the negotiation ha d become an exercise in legitimizing the status quo 
and safeguarding enormous flexibilities. The current negotiating text w ould not only continue to 
legitimize those who ha d contributed the most to the precarious situation of fishery resources, but 
would also punish developing Members such as Chile that ha d efficiently and competitively managed 
to have a significant share of fisheries worldwide with no or limited subsidies. Today , Chile  found 
itself in the uncomfortable situation of not being in a position t o accept a result that restrict ed the 
policy space of around USD 25 million that it was losing by having done things well.  
4.153.   On agriculture, everything indicate d that Ministers were going to lose the opportunity to at 
least give the parameters of this negotiation that Members  had been hoping to initiate more than 
25 years ago, parameters that w ould cost them months and perhaps years to agree between them 
in Geneva.  At the same time , the outcome on the WTO's response to the pandemic w ould only 
involve agreeing  on a mechanism without a structure or  a mandate  – a bad response, or a lack of 
it, to what the world had been expecting from the WTO . Members had  lost focus . The world had  
asked the WTO  for a response to the problems faced by Members  in order to serve their citizens and 
to adopt measures that  prepared  them for future  pandemics. Like the Director -General, Chile had 
thought  that Members had been  talking about equity in vaccines, low production, restriction of 
exports and problems in the supply chains of essential medical goods, including vaccines, and their 
distribution to the most remote corners of the planet. But today there were talks of natur al disasters, 
food security and other concepts . Chile asked w here, when and why had Members  lost their way . 
4.154.   While Members talked about the urgent need to reform the WTO, especially its dispute 
settlement mechanism , they had  not yet been able to agree on a procedure or a structured 
mechanism through which to channel the ideas that each of them had  on WTO R eform. Members  
were missing another opportunity for their Ministers to show them the way forward.  Chile continue d 
to believe strongly in multilateralism an d still believe d that with Members' collective effort and the 
final push led by the Negotiating Group Chairs , whom Chile again thank ed for their unwavering  
efforts, Members would achieve great things that would be  the basis for building something better.  
4.155.   The representative of Chinese Taipei  agreed that the messages to be reflected in the 
outcomes should include solidarity and sustainability.  Fisheries subsidies  was the area t hat would  
show Members ' joint effort to promote sustainability . In this regard, much needed p ositive flexibilit y 
had been made by Members in the spirit of compromise. With a few days left, Members still stood a TN/C/M/42  
 
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  chance to  successful ly conclu de the 20 -year-old negotiations. With a littl e more flexibility from all 
Members  and by looking at the positive side of the Chair's compromise text , they could still make it.  
4.156.   Work on t he WTO 's response to the pandemic  showed Members ' solidarity and cooperation. 
There were several areas where  they were still unable to reach  consensus at this stage. If Members 
could not agree on them before the Conference , they could put these areas into an action plan or a 
work plan to be further discussed after MC 12. In any case, Members  needed to have a Ministerial 
Declaration and an Action Plan or a Work Plan to save lives and livelihood s. Chinese Taipei  trusted 
that Members could still make it  and remained supportive of many other possible work plans on 
other issues including WTO Reform.  
4.157.   The representative of Thailan d said that WTO Ambassadors all need ed "PCR" – pragmatism, 
cooperation,  and realism. The WTO should  do some PCR test s among the Ambassadors soon and  it 
would be good if they had more PCR soon . Thailand recalled the  disappointme nt expressed by  
Negotiating Group Chairs as  things were not moving and that only ten days we re left for Members 
to table something for Ministers . Thailand was equally worried  but was not losing hope yet. Thailand  
hoped that Members could  come together and show that this was an important juncture in time for  
the WTO to play a role particularly in the context of the pandemic . Although Thailand was interested 
in all areas,  it would only highlight a few because Members should be realistic.  
4.158.   Fisheries subsidie s, the WTO's response to pandemic and agriculture  were the three priority 
areas that Thailand wished to see something come out of MC12 . On fisheries subsidies, Thailand  
applaud ed the efforts of the NGR Chair. Thailand  had been working hard and constructively  in this 
area and had  been participating actively in these negotiations. Although it was ready to accept the 
Chair's text, it had seen many new ideas or proposals tabled in the  negotiations which made  it 
ambivalent to a ccept the second revision . Thailand would nonetheless remain flexible with regard to 
some key outstanding issues.  
4.159.   The WTO's response to the pandemic remained  an important area in WTO work – which 
transcended development status  as the pandemic had affected lives and livelihoods across the globe . 
Everybody could gain something useful f rom such a response. Thailand  urged all Members to bridge 
their differences as much as possible. On process , Thailand w ould try to be flexible and accommodate 
any interest in this area . As its  main concerns ha d already been taken care of in the Facilitator's 
present text , Thailand  hoped to work with others to achieve  a meaningful  outcome  in this area . 
4.160.   On agriculture , Thailand noted that this was an area where it was  losing hope . It would 
nonetheless continue to work with the CoA SS Chair  and other Members to achieve something in 
this area at MC12 including the WFP exemption. This had already closely reached consensus and 
was a low hanging fruit . Such a decision would  particularly benefit developing countries  and LDCs. 
Even big countries like China from time to time import ed a lot of food . There were therefore some 
areas in agriculture that c ould be harvested early .  
4.161.   On services, Thailand noted that discussions in this  area were worrying as some delegations 
had solely focused on the negative impact s of COVID -19 to services trade without looking at the 
benefits brought about by services trade in addressing the pandemic. Thailand  did not share  that 
negative view. Yet, b ecause there was no services text in the outcome document, the role of services 
trade could only be reflected in few sentences i n the declaration being discussed  in the Walker 
process. Members had left no place  for Thailand to highlight issues  on services sectors wh ich it 
wished to see  strengthened such as the  digital economy,  reviving tourism  and address ing logistic al 
supply chain  issues.  With the absence of a ser vices paragraph, there was no possibility for these 
important matters be ing reflected. This was worrying. On a separate note, Thailand considered the 
discussions on LDC issues and on the JSIs on  services domestic regulation and on e -commerce in a 
positive light.  
4.162.   The representative of  Jamaica , speaking on behalf of the ACP Group , said that Members 
were one week away from MC12 and there remain ed a considerable amount of work to be done to 
realize concrete outcomes agreeable to all. On fisheries subsidies , the ACP Group renew ed its 
commitment to an outcome. Members should  show the wo rld that the WTO c ould play its part in 
contributing to global efforts to address the issues of IUU fishing and overfishing and overcapacity. 
The ACP thanked the NGR  Chair for his revised text. A lot of work remain ed to be done on IUU 
fishing, where Member s should  preserve the rights of coastal states under customary international TN/C/M/42  
 
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  law. The ACP  had cosponsored A lt. 2 of Article 3.3 of the Chair 's text with the United States and 
were working on other textual ideas in this regard.  
4.163.   The ACP Group  called for the  de minimis exemption in Article 5 to stay a s a standalone 
provision with no onerous requirements for its use and with a threshold of 1.2% of global catch. A 
number of concessions had been made by the ACP in the negotiations. The interests of developing 
countries and LDCs should be accommodated in an outcome. In this regard, the ACP  welcome d the 
many proposals and ideas from Members such as India and st ood ready to continue working with 
Members going forward. The ACP  took note of the Chair 's hectic schedule and w ould try its best to 
support him where possible – expecting that time be allocated for internal deliberations.  
4.164.   On agriculture, the ACP Group had participated constructively in the Room D process 
established by the CoA SS Chair. An agreement should address imbalances between developed and 
developing countries in the A greement on Agriculture . The ACP  therefore remain ed consistent in its 
call for the removal of Article 6.2 from reduction commitments, tightening of green box disciplines 
to preven t box-shifting as well as S&DT for developing countries, LDCs, SVEs and NFIDCs. So too 
was the case for SSM, PSH and Cotton.  The ACP  called for a standalone decision on the  WFP which 
took into account concerns from ACP Members. Th ose elements should  be acc ommodated in a text 
to be put before Ministers.  
4.165.   The ACP Group ha d continued to highlight the significance of services trade and the effects 
incurred by the pandemic on ACP Members and in this regard ha d supported that the MC12 outcome 
document include d services. It was for th at reason that the ACP had  made its submission for the 
consideration of Members.  Such inclusion on services in the outcome document should be 
underpinned by the challenges and opportunities in services trade to the economies of ACP Members. 
Negotiations under the CTS  SS ha d not yet yielded a consensual text. The ACP w ould continue 
engaging constructively in CTS  SS to deliver an outcome that was amenable to serving all WTO 
Members, especially developing Members  including LDC s. 
4.166.   On e-comme rce, the ACP Group  agree d that there was a need for Members  to clarify issues 
surrounding the moratorium and the digital divide. The ACP's  focus remain ed re invigorating the 
Work Programme given its specific interest on the development aspects and challenges of this 
longstanding area of work in the multilateral framework of the WTO. The  ACP was  conscious of the 
limited time remain ing before MC12 and therefore encourage d Members to continue engaging 
constructively so as to be able to provide a decision for Ministers ' consideration.  
4.167.   Special and Differential Treatment was a fundamental pillar of the WTO and should never be 
dispensed with in current nor future agreements. An outcome document should  addres s the issue of 
S&DT.  An outcome for MC12 should take into account the G90 proposals. The ACP  was engaging 
with Members on this issue and w ould be constructive in its approaches. An outcome on S&DT would 
assist national efforts to stabilize  trade imbalances , including those arising from the COVID -19 
pandemic, build back better and successfully integrate into the global economy and global trading 
system.  
4.168.   The WTO c ould play a role in facilitating swift, timely, affordable and equitable access to  
vaccines, the rapeutics and diagnostics to combat the pandemic. The ACP Group  had consistently 
supported the objectives of the TRIPS Waiver proposal. A  result  on these discussions should  form 
part of Ministers ' outcome at MC12.  The ACP also support ed the Facilitator -led process on the WTO 's 
response to the pandemic  and remained  engaged in the process. The WTO should  complement other 
international stakeholders in responding to the impact of the pandemic. The process should  be 
inclusive and transparent , not create rules, t ake into account the interests and ideas of all Members 
and not just a few and make a tangible impact. The ACP  welcome d efforts to integrate the ideas of 
all Members and urge d patience as this process unfold ed. Importantly, the outcome should  include 
the IP discussions in the TRIPS Council on the health d imension of the WTO 's response. The ACP 
Group  stood ready to play a role in this regard.  
4.169.   On WTO Reform, the process should be undergirded by the principles of inclusivity, fairness, 
transparency and equity, and should strike the right balance in respect of Members ' rights and 
obligations. It should  advance the interests of developing countries and LDCs through the application 
of differential and more favourable treatment, including the retention of S&DT. The reform agenda 
should not be predefined . The process should be Member -driven . All Members ' views should  be on TN/C/M/42  
 
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  the table and be treated equitably. The ACP  value d a two -tier dispute settlement system as 
envisage d by the DSU and hope d Ministers c ould use MC12 to launch the A B selection process.  
4.170.   The representative of Canada  noted that, o n the WTO 's response to the pandemic, the 
Canadian  Minister was clear . Canada support ed a strong multilateral declaration. As she  had said 
the past week during her visit to Geneva, not having one would be inconsistent with the work 
Members  had done over the past two years. It was important to recogniz e Members'  contributions 
both in papers and proposals and in the discussions held in various Councils and Committees. Canada  
had examined many aspects of the use of trade measures to respond to the pandemic  and had heard 
some positives and negatives . It would be a s hame if Members  could not reflect that in the 
declaration. Work post -MC12 on the issues related to pandemic response w ould need to be 
substantive. The objective should  be to devise concrete guidance and recommendations.  
4.171.   On agriculture, Canada  applaud ed the CoA SS Chair for her efforts. A package for MC12 that 
move d the agriculture  reform process forward and  contribute d to food security was within reach. 
Canada was prepared to engage constructively on all issues. If Members  aimed for comprehensive 
work plan s across the board, a package c ould be attained. Continuing to insist on including a 
permanent PSH solution would however not lead to balance or success at MC12. On fisheries 
subsidies, Canada support ed the NGR Chair's text as a basis and was willing to wo rk with other 
Members to find compromise solutions provided that they d id not undermine the sustainability 
objectives at the heart of these negotiations.  On dispute settlement, Canada  sought to ensure that 
discussions t ook place swiftly after MC12 with the  goal of having a fully and well -functioning dispute 
settlement system.  
4.172.   On the trade and environmental sustainability structured discussions, there was currently  a 
stabilized version of the Ministerial Statement that w ould provide a strong basis for future work. 
Canada encourage d those Members who ha d not yet done so to endorse the statement and join as 
co-sponsors. On services, Canada  thank ed the Ambassador of Thailand for her efforts. Canada had 
hoped Members could have r eached consensus on a meaningful text to be incorporated in the MC12 
outcome document. On services domestic regulation, Canada was pleased with the progress 
achieved and place d a high value on its conclusion by MC12.  
4.173.   The representative of Iceland  emphasize d the importance of several  issues in the context of 
MC12 including the fisheries subsidies negotiations where Iceland  thank ed Ambassador Santiago 
Wills for his hard work and firm leadership. The novelty in these negotiations wa s that Members  
were now aske d to regulate not simply the trade distorting effects of such subsidies – but the harm 
that they c ould cause to sustainability under certain circumstances. It was concerning that, when 
following the ongoing negotiations, some Members seem ed to have forgott en the mandate and the 
objective of this exercise – which  was to prohibit harmful subsidies.  
4.174.   Harmful fisheries subsidies should be eliminated. Any deviation from the ban on subsides 
which the draft agreement allow ed for should be well founded and needs -based. In order to ascertain 
that, Members  needed clear commitments on notification and transparency.  To conclude the 
negotiations, Members  needed to be focused and flexible. Iceland was ready to continue to engage 
in a constructive way with the aim to successfully conclude an agreement before MC12.  
4.175.   As one of the co -chairs of the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender, I celand 
associated with the statement  of El Salvador on Trade and Gender. Iceland welcome d the 
constructive work carried o ut by the I nformal Working Group on delivering a Joint Ministerial 
Declaration on the advancement of gender -equality and wome n's economic empowerment within 
trade. By doing so , Members recognize d that women ma de a significant economic contribution and 
their increased  participation in trade and economic empowerment w ould contribute to sustainable 
economic growth.  
4.176.   On agriculture, Iceland  had unfortunately not noticed a defining shift in Member s' positions 
in spite of intensive engagement over the past weeks and months.  In light of the limited time ahead , 
Members needed to ask themselves whether a point ha d been reached where ambitions need ed to 
be adjusted and a move made towards a more general o utcome.  Iceland likewise  reiterat ed the 
importance of a meaningful outcome at MC12 on  the WTO's response to the pandemic.  The world 
was expecting  the Ministers to act – and a political commitment seeking to keep trade open and 
unimpeded in times of crises had to form an element of such an outcome.  TN/C/M/42  
 
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  4.177.   The representative of Honduras  said that o nly ten days were left before  the start  of MC12. 
This should not impede Members from  achieving significant and balanced results . They should 
therefore  be pragmatic, exerci se as much flexibility as possible and focus on a number of results  
that were realistic and manageable . The WTO 's response to the pandemic remained  a priority . 
Honduras agree d with the vast majority of Members that the issue of trade and health should be 
essential and central in MC12  particularly as t he pandemic posed  many and complex challenges.  
4.178.   The most urgent  challenge involved  the equitable production and distribution of e ssential 
products to fight COVID -19 such as vaccines and medical supplies.  The WTO should contribute to a 
prompt, effective and comprehensive response. Trade was a necessary vehicle for the socio -
economic recovery of  the world , not only to help end this pa ndemic but also to be resilient in the 
future.  Honduras  appreciate d the Facilitator's  efforts on this issue and call ed on all Members to 
reaffirm shared values and help guide  their collective response to the pandemic in a holistic manner.  
4.179.   On agriculture,  Honduras  hoped to achieve significant results and positive solutions that 
contribute d to the improvement o f food security  and nutrition and the promotion of sustainable 
agriculture and la id the foundations for the recovery from the COVID -19 pandemic a s well as other 
challenges Members faced.  Honduras  reaffirm ed that flexibilities and ex emptions  were necessary for 
developing Members and LDCs to effectively implement their food security policies and program mes 
and for the principle of S&DT  to be recognized a nd strengthened as an integral part of these 
negotiations.  
4.180.   On fisheries subsidies , Honduras reiterate d its commitment, willingness and better 
disposition to work, with the interest of achieving the proposed objectives and reaching a balanced 
agreement that met the needs and aspirations of all Members.  On WTO Reform, and in order to 
respond to the new opportuni ties, face the challenges and ensure the good functioning of th e 
organization, MC12 presented a  crucial opportunity to update the rules of the WTO . Honduras  
appreciate d the efforts made by various Members on this issue and agree d that, at MC12 , Ministers 
should give  clear guidelines to work on this issue.  
4.181.   Honduras thank ed the Director -General  for her valuable work characterized by h er zeal  and 
optimism  and acknowledge d the tireless efforts of the General Council  Chair in  focus ing on achieving 
a successful MC12 with significant and balanced results. Members  still ha d the time to work  and 
show the greatest flexibility and political will to  achieve effective and necessary results  – attending 
to the interests and needs of all of them . 
4.182.   The representative of  Pakistan said that the Director -General  had highlighted the importance 
of the TRIPS Waiver better than anyone else. Unfortunately, after an initial expression of joining 
text-based negotiations, a handful of delegations ha d conveniently ignored meaningful engag ement 
on the text. There were differences in positions . Nevertheless, Pakistan  continue d to engage 
bilaterally to find a solution. Pakistan was  resolute in its belief that the waiver was an essential 
measure necessary to fight the pandemic by providing equitable, safe and affordable access to 
vaccines and other COVID -19 products. This organi zation owe d it to the world.  
4.183.   On the parallel track to build a WTO response to the pandemic , Pakis tan was  actively, 
constructively and meaningfully engaged in this process. Some delegations were however finding it 
convenient to ignore meaningful engagement on the elements of IP, food security, economic 
resilience and recovery  – and were only focused on  limited trade policy aspects. All Members should 
keep an  open mind  and not be ideological about any issue. The WTO need ed to come up with a 
pandemic response. A WTO response to the pandemic at MC12 was impossible to envisage without 
IP and the TRIPS Waiver. In the pandemic  response output , like other files , Pakistan  would need the 
text supported by multiple Members to stay and not be dropped at someone 's discretion . Otherwise, 
it would  ensur e failure of a meaningful outcome – a result no - one would be happ y about.  
4.184.   On development, following Ambassador Hassan's report, it was unfortunate that something 
pivotal for a large majority of Members in the organi zation ha d been continually blocked for years 
without engagement by some delegations. This d id not bode we ll for the spirit of flexibility and 
compromise that Members should  show. On services, there were wide differences of opinion on 
market access negotiations since the launch of the prevalent round in 2001. Without concluding 
previous discussions, planting new market access directions was not only premature but could be 
detrimental. Pakistan  had engaged meaningfully to accommodate the request s of those who want ed TN/C/M/42  
 
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  a text. It was unfortunate that no discussion in the CTS  SS since its establishment ha d been able to 
gather consensus especially in recent years as indicated in the CTS SS Chair's report. Pakistan  could 
not therefore agree to the esca lation of a text that d id not enjoy consensus.  
4.185.   On agriculture, Pakistan ha d been active in various coalitions to bring some common purpose 
but with little success. Pakistan remain ed committed that things w ould only move forward if very 
large subsidi zers ag reed to cut domestic support first, and at the same time, make provision for the 
livelihood, and food security concerns in developing countries, which ha d been accentuated during 
the pandemic. The need for conserving the policy space for developing countri es and their specific 
entitlements for developing countries under Article 6.2 and the interests of NFIDCs remain ed 
paramount. On fisheries  subsidies , Pakistan  was hopeful and keen for Members to  get an outcome 
where everybody was equally unhappy  since that  was the definition of a good agreement.  
4.186.   There remain ed pertinent and serious questions surrounding the moratorium on electronic 
transmissions. The scope and definition of electronic transmissions ha d remained elusive for the past 
20 years. The Work Progra mme on E lectronic Commerce had provided ample opportunity to at least 
address this. Lack of engagement from some Members ha d meant  that the question was 
unanswered. Similarly, new technological developments ha d pointed to severe potential impacts on 
develo pment, industriali zation and revenue. Without first understanding these issues in depth, it 
would be difficult to continue the moratorium.  
4.187.   MC12 was a great opportunity.  But it should not be used to further brush under the carpet 
the issues of importance for developing countries and LDCs. The resolve to find solutions and level 
of engagement should  be the same across the board for Members if they were to progress on all 
issues meaningfully . Members should  move the organi zation towards larger trade and sustainable 
development ideals, mandated in the Marrake sh Agreement and subsequent multilateral 
declarations. Any reform should  not focus on small, self -serving areas but stre ngthen the 
fundamentals of the organi zation and of multilateralism.  Pakistan  remain ed wary that if 
developmental objectives continue d to be thwarted in th e WTO , the faith in multilateralism could  
fade quickly for those that believe d in its fundamental idea ls. 
4.188.   The representative of Turkey  noted that Members we re having intensive discussions to find 
a middle ground and to progress in the fisheries subsidies negotiations. A meaningful and balanced 
agreement in line with the mandates and which c ould be acceptab le for everyone was within reach. 
On agriculture, it seem ed that the quest for convergence was still challenging. Fairness and 
rebalancing were keywords there. The revised text to be issued should be balanced and reflect the 
positions of all Members. Turke y would like to see engagement and progress on aggregate measure 
of support ( AMS) beyond de minimis, SSM and PSH. These three items should be part of any text 
that c ould be agreed upon.  
4.189.   Regarding the WTO 's contribution to the fight against the pandemic, the main global issue 
right now was vaccine equity. Turkey  was open to discuss different approaches as long as they 
tended to achieve that goal effectively. Turkey  had seen clearly that global trade had been  a force 
for good during the global hea lth crisis.  Transparency and trade facilitation were two key areas to 
enhance the contribution of trade in fighting the pandemic . Turkey  was looking forward to the 
successful conclusion of the JSI on services domestic regulation at MC12. Turkey was  also co nfident 
that the momentum on other plurilateral initiatives, namely e -commerce, investment facilitation, 
trade and gender and MSMEs, w ould be maintained and further enhanced after  MC12 . 
4.190.   The two -tiered dispute settlement mechanism was one of the strongest f eatures of the 
organization.  Preserving its two -tier nature and restoring the Appellate Body was crucial. Turkey  
hoped to start discussions on this issue as early as possible. Everyone had  learned a lot from the 
pandemic . It had highlighted once again the need for global solidarity and strong and effective 
international organizations. For this reason, Members  had to take care of this organization well  
starting by fulfilling the  many items on their to do list before and during MC12 . On its part, Turkey 
would  strive for concrete outcomes and  would continue to work hard in the hopes of the Membership  
being able to demonstrate the relevance of the WTO.  
4.191.   The representative of Panama , speaking on behalf of Article XII Members , said that these 
Members had always stressed the importance of leve lling the playing field across sectors to correct 
existing imbalances.  It was important to mention that progress in agricultur e negotiations – TN/C/M/42  
 
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  historically one of the most distorted sectors – was important to many Mem bers and was one of the 
most expected and necessary outcomes to be delivered at MC12. As a group that represent ed diverse 
Members and interest s, Article XII Members  saw that a crucial element h ad been lacking and 
therefore impeding the negotiating process  – that was trust among Members. Members should see 
progress  in parallel across all the negotiating mandates  with neither sequencing nor preconditioning.  
Members should be encouraged to advance pillars of their interest and work along with other s on 
topics of interest to th em. On the other hand, topics that lack ed real engagement and interest from 
Members should not be used as a leverage to stop progress on other pillars.  
4.192.   For the outcome document , Article  XII Members had proposed language based on prior 
ministerial outcomes which sp oke to the gaps between original Members ' commitments and those 
of Article XII Members with a view to promoting a level playing field.  They had been proactive in 
participating in all the negotiations and meetings in all the differe nt formats: small, open -ended, 
informal.  The Group w ould continue to participate actively and constructively and st ood ready to 
work with other Members towards achieving a meaningful outcome at MC12 and beyond.  On 
accessions, the Group had previously menti oned its disappointment about the fact that there would 
not be any new Members join ing at this Ministerial . The Group  looked forward to the following week's 
Informal Group on Accessions meeting to hear any updates on the current accessions.  
4.193.   Speaking on behalf of Panama , he reaffirm ed Panama's commitment to the Director -General  
and the NGR Chair  to conclude the negotiations on fisheries  subsidies . The line by  line exercise ha d 
revitalized the discussions but the plurality of text alternatives presented at this stage, which d id 
not contribute or, worse, move d Members  away from consensus, show ed how much more remain ed 
to be done.  It was the moment to show flexib ility – not to present proposals that w ould not be able 
to enjoy consensus.  Like the vast majority of Members, Panama  also expect ed a significant 
agriculture result for MC12. For Panama, it was a priority to advance in domestic support  and in PSH 
which enj oyed a good momentum that Members should seize . 
4.194.   It was time  to advance the development of modalities and disciplines and to find the correct 
way to comply with the reform mandated in Article 20 of the Agreement on Agriculture.  The 
exemption from export res trictions for W FP purchases was within Members' reach and should be one 
of the deliverables at MC12. Members should also  concentrate on preparing work program mes in 
the different  areas . On services, exploratory discussions on market access should continue after 
MC12 in order to identify possible concrete results.  Members  should  adopt a decision that clarifie d 
the role of the WTO in the face of COVID -19 and future pandemics. Panama  had co-sponsored the 
proposed Ministerial Decision on building resil ience and preparedness through trade facilitatio n and 
also support ed and appreciate d the work of Ambassador Walker in the process he had facilitated.  
4.195.   Panama  highlight ed as deliverables for MC12 the text of the Ministerial Decision agreed by 
the small econo mies as well as the recommendation which it co-sponsor ed to extend the moratorium 
on TRIPS non-violation and situation complaints . Panama had  also co -sponsored a draft decision on 
the extension of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmission s, and the work 
program me on electronic commerce.  Panama value d the role that trade c ould play in the fight 
against pollution and co -sponsor ed the Ministerial Declaration on addressing p lastics  pollution . 
Panama  thank ed the co -chairs of the Informal Work ing Group on Trade and Gender and co -
sponsor ed the Group's statement on future work for the empowerment of women through trade.  
Panama  acknowledge d and thanked the General Council Chair  for all the work he ha d done in 
preparing the draft MC12 outcome  docum ent. 
4.196.   The representative of Indonesia  reiterate d that the deliverables at MC12 needed to consider 
the urgent needs derived from the pandemic as well as how to address its grave impacts on 
developing Members ' economy. Members should concretize their commitment to put developmental 
issues at the heart of WTO work  through tangible  and meaningful outcomes for development at 
MC12. Proper attention in this regard should be focused on the issue of food security, access to 
health, fisheries sustainability that safeguard ed the livelihood of poor fishermen as well as other 
related issues.   
4.197.   On agriculture , Indonesia appreciate d the efforts of the C oA SS Chair in narrowing the gap 
and finding the potential outcome in agriculture at MC12. Members should  deliver on these critical 
mandated issues. A permanent solution on PSH and a strong operable work program me on SSM 
remain ed Indonesia 's priority at MC12. The Group of 33 ( G-33) Members ha d explored many options 
on PSH a nd continuously reaffirm ed their position on this. Stringent elements w ould disregard the TN/C/M/42  
 
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  genuine purpose of PSH where it  provided policy space  and serve d as an  instrument to address food 
security for majority of developing Members. Members  should not move backward from the Bali 
Decision.  Indonesia stressed  that the text to be issued by the CoA SS Chair should therefore 
accommodate its inputs and concerns particularly on PSH and SSM.  
4.198.   On fisheries  subsidies , as it had been  rightly stated by the Director -General  and many 
Members in prior meetings, the se negotiations  were not only about trade and fish sustainability  but 
also about the live lihood of people, especially of poor small scale and artisanal fishermen. Th at was 
why S &DT was an integral part of the fisheries subsidies negotiating mandate. The fisheries subsidies 
agreement should  not therefore  disregard the needs and concerns of poor  small scale and artisanal 
fishermen. The idea of limiting S &DT flexibilities to poor small scale and artisanal fishermen only to 
12 nautical miles and not within the jurisdiction  undermi ning the right of Members under UNCLOS 
was a big no -no for Indonesia . 
4.199.   Furthermore, the idea of limiting S &DT for poor small scale and artisanal fishermen while on 
the other hand providing opportunities for big subsidizers to continue distance water fishing 
subsidies, as reflected in the current text, was even worse. At the end of the day, t hat would result 
in big subsidizers maintaining all their subsidies w ith only developing countries being required to cut 
their subsidies. This w ould raise the question on the effectiveness of the discipline and its 
contribution in addressi ng the current global overcapacity and overfishing. This would also  be against 
the common but differentiated responsibility principle which all ha d agreed in Rio in 1992.  
4.200.   At the same time, t he proposed de mini mis global marine catch criteria being tabled was not 
appropriate given that it did not take  into account  the proportionality principle. In a spirit of 
compromise, Indonesia  did not oppose the idea of having some sort of limitation to the S &DT 
principle to cut subsidies but strongly believe d that i t should be based on a fair and proportional 
criteria. The current proposed global marine catch criteria d id not consider situations l ike th e big 
population of some countr ies, whether the number of fish captured were from jurisdictional waters 
or not,  or whether the fish captured were actually only for domestic consumption and did  not 
consider food security . 
4.201.   It did not also consider the  fact that a high number of fish catch d id not necessar ily mean 
that there was a high number of subsidies given by a country to their fishermen. A proportional 
criteria based on, for example, subsidy per fisherman, or subsidy per vessel would  therefore  be 
easier for Indonesia  to consider because a fisherman and a vessel in a big country  was the same as 
those in a small  one. Indonesia assured the Membership that it  was fully committed to conclude 
these negotiations by MC12 and w as ready to engage with all Mem bers while stressing  the 
importance of S &DT for artisanal and small -scale fishermen.  
4.202.   On the issue of the WTO Response to the Pandemic, Indonesia acknowledge d the efforts by 
the Facilitator in the attempt to find convergen ce on this  important topic. The p andemic response 
should be the centrepiece of MC12. The world was waiting for the WTO to deliver a meaningful and 
credible outcome on this issue. Members should  ensure that the text should be balanced and holistic. 
Indonesia welcomed the submissions made by Members particularly JOB/GC/271 and 
JOB/GC/278/Rev.1 for adding value to the text  discussed . 
4.203.   With that in mind, Indonesia wished to contribute to the discussions  and share d the view of 
having greater transparency and inclusivity in th is process. Indonesia  urged the Facilitator to 
circulate a revised text so that Members c ould contribute concretely and coordinate effectively with 
their respective  capital s. The WTO's response to the pandemic should address not only the interests 
of all Members but also all sectors that were affected by the pandemic  by touching upon matters 
such as  food security and the TRIPS Waiver.  
4.204.   On the TRIPS Waiver, Indonesia  urged Members to show good faith and engage 
constr uctively. As the TRIPS Council Chair had mentioned , Members could not give a blank paper to 
their Ministers. Late as it  may be, Members should  still begin actual text -based negotiations. 
Indonesia  could not stress enough the importance to deliver on this i ssue at MC12 . As it ha d been 
stated so many time s before, the TRIPS Waiver should  be an integral part of MC12 outcomes. Failure 
to do so w ould not only undermine the WTO's  credibility but also its relevance to the world.  TN/C/M/42  
 
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  4.205.   On the moratorium on customs duties , while the digitalization of trade ha d been experiencing 
fast growth, development, distribution and access to technology remained  uneven among Members . 
Consensus on the scope of the moratorium, complete understanding on its impact and a clear 
definition o f electronic transmission should be reached. Through this , all Members  would be better 
positioned  to take a decision on its extension.  Without providing proper attention to the surrounding 
elements arising from the development of digital trade, such as the digital divide, its extension w ould 
disadvantage developing countries in reaping t he benefit s of e-commerce. Indonesia also  reiterate d 
its support to the reinvigoration of work under the multilaterally agreed work programme.  
4.206.   Indonesia ha d been closely following the discussions on the draft Ministerial Declaration on 
services. It could support this in principle and could  show its flexib ility to the first three elements in 
the draft text prepared by the Facilitator . These pertain to the importance of services trade, the 
impact of the pandemic on services sectors and improving participation of developing and LDC 
Members. Indonesia was not however in a position to support the current draft text given the other 
two elements – even though the  text could  be useful  as a basis  for further discussions.  
4.207.   Indonesia also  support ed the effort s to preserv e the dispute settlement system throug h 
Members'  commitment to restore the Appellate Body. The dispute settlement system remain ed an 
essential pillar to the organization . It was therefore  Members' responsibility to maintain its 
functionality and effectiveness. Indonesia  reiterated its  readiness to engag e constructively with all 
Members including  in the lead up to  MC12.  
4.208.   The representative of  the Republic of Moldova  believe d that a successful and meaningful 
MC12 was within reach if Members collectively  contribute d to this endeavour . In this regard, it was 
not magic that Members  needed, but goodwill. Moldova  echoed the Director -General's call for  
Members holding divergent positions to focus collectively on bridging their views towards consensus 
to reach  meaningful result s at MC12  and b eyond. In doing so, they should ask themselves what their 
Ministers could take from MC12 . Moldova  consider ed that Members  should have an engaging and 
comprehensive outcome document that would provide guidance on priority and urgent issues 
including WTO Reform, dispute settlement resolution and the WTO's response to the pandemic.  
4.209.   On the WTO's response to the pandemic , Moldova ha d already expressed its appreciation 
and support to Amb assador  Walker  for his  efforts  including in preparing the  text proposed which  
looked balanced and which include d all the important elements. Moldova  hoped that the 
consultations planned for later t hat day would bring substantial progress and consensus. On JSIs, it 
was encouraging to hear the progress captured in the report s in the e-commerce negotiations, 
investment facilitation for development as well as  in domestic services regulation. On 
services , Moldova  had closely followed the CTS SS Chair and the Facilitator -led discussions and call ed 
on all those concerned to show goodwill and commitment and not allow that this remain ed  Director -
General . 
4.210.   On agriculture, Moldova reiterate d the importan ce of this  sector . In any potential 
negotiations , Members should priorit ize address ing the existing i mbalances  between Article XII 
Members' commitment s and those of  original Members in all pillars particularly on market access 
and domestic support. Moldova commend ed Members for organizing small group  discussions to 
reinvigorate the negotiations . Moldova  would be ready to engage constructively post MC12 and 
support Members ' proposals targeted to substantially increase market access for agricultural goods 
and progressively reduce trade and production distorting domestic support in a fair and proportionate 
manner that w ould take into account the greater commitments made by Article XII Members.  
4.211.   Moldova  called for more transparency and inclusiveness in  Room D type of discussions to 
take into account the  interests and priorities  of all Members . Moldova was  ready  to support an MC12 
outcome on global food security through a W FP decision.  It also support ed the intensive activit ies 
and discussions within the TESSD  and the revised Fossil Fuel Subsidies Reform initiative which w ould 
be endorsed by Ministers at MC12. Moldova  further commit ted to implement the package adopted 
in 2020  by the Informal Working G roup o n MSMEs and invite d other Members to join th e group 
which undert ook important work for MSMEs  which represent ed the backbone of their economies.  
4.212.   The Republic of Moldova continue d to support the extension of the moratorium on electronic 
transmissions with a view to making it permanent . It was pleased to co -sponsor document 
WT/GC/W/831/Rev.3 on  the Work Program me on Electronic C ommerce, led by Switzerland and TN/C/M/42  
 
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  Canada.  Moldova st ood ready to engage constructively in the discussions and work that would ensure 
a successful MC12  and that would  further support any initiatives aimed to strengthen the multilateral 
trading system.  
4.213.   The representative of the Republic of Korea  said that Members were ten days away from 
MC12 . In order to arrive at meaningful outcomes in key areas that met the expectation of the 
international community, Members  needed to display enhanced flexibility and work constructively.  
On the  fisherie s subsidies negotiations, it was encouraging that in recent weeks, Members were 
increasingly taking a more pragmatic approach to this negotiation  even though some of them still  
had remaining  items vital to their interest that ha d not yet been properly addressed . With the 
ultimate objective of contributing to the sustainability of ocean resources in mind, all Members were  
expected to continue to work  with maximum flexibility and in a holistic manner, as  the NGR Chair 
had urged, to help break through the remaining hurdles. Korea look ed forward to making substantial 
headway in the coming days.  
4.214.   On agriculture, Korea  was of the realistic and practical view that now was the time to prepare 
a concis e and well -balanced work program me. Adjusting the level of ambition and preparing a 
succinct, clear and balanced work program me in key negotiatin g areas seem ed to be the right 
approach for Members to take.  In an unprecedented COVID -19 pandemic situation, Korea 
emphasize d the importance of achieving outcomes on the WFP and transparency.  Korea  also 
appreciate d the expected notable outcomes in different JSIs in the lead up to MC12. Korea  called on 
more non -participating Members to consider joining JSI s. 
4.215.   Korea  welcome d progress made in the JSI on services d omestic regulation.  The success of 
these negotiation s at MC12 w ould contribute to enhancing transparency and predictability of the 
global services industry.  Korea appreciate d Member s' timely submission of thei r pre-finalization 
schedules and the draft MC12 outcome declaration that was concise and reflect ed necessary 
elements.  On the JSI on i nvestment facilitation for development, Korea  support ed all the work that 
was being done to produce the cleanest possible text for MC12.  Korea  further welcome d the draft 
Joint Ministerial Statement that had been  circulated during the week.  On the e-commerce  JSI, Korea 
was encouraged to see further development in the text -based negotiations through small groups 
and ho ped Members show ed more flexibility to produce mo re clean texts before MC12. On the  related 
issue on the multilateral front, Korea  reiterate d the importance of extending the moratorium on 
electronic transmissions particularly in the light of the circumstan ces caused by the pandemic.  
4.216.   Korea  likewise welcome d the current work on the TESSD. On the MC12 outcome document, 
Members  would be able to underscore publicly the importance of mutually supportive trade and 
environmental policies in the context of the international community's collective efforts to address 
climate change and other environmental challenges.  The restoration of the WTO's major functions, 
particularly the dispute settlement system, should remain a main priority for the entire Membership. 
To buil d momentum for deeper discussion on this important subject, there should be a viable work 
plan on this matter post MC12.  
4.217.   The representative of the United Kingdom  hoped that the Director -General's presence – as 
it had been  in Glasgow – would, along with Amb assador Peralta 's now celebrated magic act, produce 
a rabbit out of the hat  or perhaps some other creature since Mr. Jaime  Coghi  had already produced 
a rabbit. This was not anymore  about a glass half full. The current situation was far more worrying 
than that.  While the re were only few positives , they remained important  - and they were the JSIs.  
The negotiations on d omestic services regulation  could cut six to seven per cent off the costs of the 
global servi ces trade  which was  vital to global trade  and had already contained ground -breaking 
provisions on gender. The United Kingdom also  welcome d the Joint Ministerial Declarations on Trade 
and Gender and MSMEs and encourage d the greatest possible number of signa tories from fellow 
Members. Participants were also making good progress on e -commerce and investment facilitation . 
In this regard, the United Kingdom could not  imagine something more likely to expose th e WTO  to 
the ridicule of global business than the sugg estion that  the multilateral  e-commerce moratorium  
might not be renewed . 
4.218.   The United Kingdom  wished that Members had been  making similar progress multilaterally. 
While  paying tribute to the efforts of colleagues leading and helping out on those negotiations , 
Members could not avoid two of the biggest challenges  faced by the world : the pandemic and the  
climate crisis. The United Kingdom had been and would continue to be  realistic – but would  not give 
up on its conviction that th e WTO could and should  contribute to issues of the global commons.  TN/C/M/42  
 
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  4.219.   On trade and health, simply repeating pre -existing rules and pre -existing commitment did 
not cut the mustard  – nor did insisting on ripping up the IP framework that ha d enabled the response 
to the pandemic, rath er than focusing on what w ould actually hasten the distribution of vaccines. 
On climate, days after the Glasgow Climate Pact, Members  could not fail to recogni ze the role that 
the WTO  should  play in the transition to net zero/a greener global economy. The United Kingdom 
could not  understand why Members  could not  reach agreement on  the services language. Almost 
nobody would understand if Members would not be  able to sustain their oceans and the communities 
who depend ed on them after 20 years of negotiation.  
4.220.   The United Kingdom hoped that, at least for the following week,  Geneva would be the city 
that never sle pt. Like so many others,  the United Kingdom  would be working over th e weekend and 
the days ahead to demonstrate that th e WTO still matter ed, that Members  could strike deals that 
matter to their citizens and businesses, even where that mean t moving forward plurilaterally, rather 
than multilaterally, and that  Ministers w ould return from Geneva with something more than some of 
the world 's finest chocolate. The Director -General  and the General Council Chair had the United 
Kingdom's support in that noble endeavour.  
4.221.   The representative of New Zealand  said that Members should deliver multilateral outcomes 
at MC12. They would risk their collective credibility if they could not respond to long -standing and 
contemporary challenges: the COVID -19 pandemic, fisheries subsidies, trade and production 
distorting agriculture support  and set a pathway for enduring WTO Reform. Members should  
conclude commercially and environmentally meaningful fisheries subsidies disciplines by MC12, and 
New Zealand wa s committed to the Chair 's process to achieve this. Members were  close to delivering 
on the task entrusted to them by their Leaders through the S DGs. New Zealand  asked Members to 
bring discipline, focus and – above all – a solution -oriented mindset to this final, critical stretch of 
negotiations.    
4.222.   In addition, Members  would have  an opportunity at MC12 to advance their work on other 
environmentally and  economically harmful subsidies.   A multilateral outcome on agriculture was 
critical in this context . New Zealand was confident that the foundations were present for a  
meaningful outcome on domestic support.  Many Members agree d there should be a clear obj ective 
to reduce global trade and production distorting domestic support entitlements under Article 6. 
Where they differed was on having a clear, time -bound and measurable target for reduction.  
4.223.   A global reduction target of at least half by 2030 was crucia l. Such a target was vital to 
establish the necessary goal posts for negotiations and to provide the necessary motivation Members  
all need ed to commit to meaningful reform.  Otherwise , they would spend the next two years 
debating what "substantially " mean t, reinforcing the narrative that the WTO was not  working.  The 
target d id not determine or prejudge what their individual contributions w ould be. That was what 
they should  negotiate after MC12. Ag reeing to this target d id not mean they should  halve their 
individual entitlements . Rather , it mean t they all agree d that they had a collective responsibility to 
contribute their fair share to this goal.  
4.224.   A majority of Members also s aw value in having general parameters to help guide future 
negotiations on domestic support. Where they differed was on the level of specificity and detail of 
such parameters. New Zealand  urged Members to find compromise on this. What they needed were 
high l evel principles that c ould reflect interests of all Members, and that d id not prejudge the 
outcome of future modalities. MC12 was an opportunity that they could not miss. New Zealand  was 
not asking for the world  – only an incremental step forward in the sa me direction to ensure they 
were on the right path towards agricultural reform.  
4.225.   New Zealand had also been  pleased to see COP26 identify fossil fuel subsidy reform as an 
important part of the 1.5 degrees pathway. New Zealand  encourage d those who ha d not already 
done so to join the more than 40 Members supporting the Joint Ministerial Statement to advance 
fossil fuel subsidy reform ( FFSR) discussions at the WTO. New Zealand  likewise sought  a political 
commitment and clear forward pathway for reform of the organi zation across its three functions. 
This w ould provide the focus and guidance necessary to set Members up for success in the period 
after MC12 – to ensure the organization was ready to rise to the challenges of the next 20 years.  
4.226.   The representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela  recognize d the arduous work 
carried out by the Director -General , the S ecretariat, the Chairs of the Negotiating Groups  and the TN/C/M/42  
 
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  Facilitators of the processes for the negotiation of the Ministerial Declaration and the declaration on 
the WTO's response to the  pandemic as well as the commitment of the vast majority of Members.  
Despite critical and firm positions  held by Members on international trade relations  which privilege d 
goods  and not sustainable development, Venezuela had always worked constructively within the 
WTO framework – highlighting the centrality of development as a transversal axis that should  be 
present in all areas  of the organization. The spirit for which the Doha Round had been  launched 
should  be preserved  and put into practice both in the current preparatory process for MC12  and in 
future ones. 
4.227.   Members were  arriving at MC12  in a very different way from how they had  originally planned 
it a little over two years ago. The WTO World Trade Report 2021, released  earlier in the week, put 
into context the reasons why the interconnected global trading system was vulnerable to crises such 
as the COVID -19 pandemic  and stressed  the need for resilience to shocks from an economic p oint 
of view  including  what c ould be don e to make the system better prepared and more resilient in the 
future.  The WTO's response to the pandemic therefore continue d to be a priority. In previous 
meetings, Venezuela  had been warning about the need not to be confused about the progress that 
had b een achieved in some regions and about the danger of new variants, repeating, ad nauseam, 
that no one w ould be safe until  everyone was safe.  
4.228.   The most recent epidemiological report on COVID -19 from the WHO, published on 
16 November, indicate d that, during t he week of 8-14 November, the growing trend of new weekly 
cases worldwide had continued, with more than 3.3 million new cases reported, an increase of 6% 
compared to previous week. The regions that had reported the highest weekly incidence of cases 
per 100 ,000 inhabitants had been  the European Region with 230 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants 
and the Americas with 74.2 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants . These same two regions had 
reported the highest weekly incidence of deaths, 3.0 and 1.3 per 100,000 inhab itants, respectively. 
The report also note d that the current global genetic epidemiology of SARS -CoV-2 was characterized 
by a predominance of the Delta variant.  
4.229.   Consequently, Venezuela  reiterate d its call to urgen tly approv e the exemption of certain 
provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID -19, of 
which it co-sponsor ed. Venezuela  hoped that this proposal would be  adequately reflected in the 
document being discussed under the proc ess facilitated  by Ambassador Walker.  In this regard, 
Venezuela h ighlight ed the words of the WHO Director -General  when he had expressed th e need to 
help developing countries  and LDCs  achieve the vaccination of a significant percentage of their 
respective population s by the end of 2021.  
4.230.   For this to happen, vaccine producing countries should  allow the free cross -border flow of 
finished vaccines and raw materials and facilitate the exchange of knowledge, technologies, licenses 
and intellectual property rights . Venezuela had  therefore decided to co -sponsor the document "WTO 
response in light of the pandemic: trade rules that support resilience building, response and recovery 
to face domestic and global crises" in document JOB/GC/278 /Rev.1 discussed with in the f ramework 
of the process facilitated by Ambassador Walker . 
4.231.   On the process of drafting the MC12 outcome document, Venezuela regre tted that elements 
that were central to the  WTO's  future c ould n ot be included due to lack of consensus. By requesting 
to partici pate in this process, Venezuela  had witnessed how proposals that tried to strengthen 
multilateralism , such as the rejection of unilateralism and protectionism, had to be eliminated in the 
process, despite the continued application of illegal and criminal u nilateral coercive measures against 
Venezuela that were contrary to WTO  rules, the United Nations Charter and the most elementary 
principles of international law.  
4.232.   The consequences of these measures  had resulted in losses  for Venezuela  that exceed ed 
USD 130 million  and a drastic reduction of 99% of the country's income , with a negative impact that 
had spread to all areas especially the food, health, transport, communications and technology 
sectors, without ceasing to seriously affect ar eas such as education, culture and payments to the 
contributions of international organizations, including th e WTO , which le ft Venezuela  outside the 
coverage of  technical cooperation activities  that it so much  needed to fulfil its commitments.  
4.233.   Despite the vicissitudes that it faced on a daily basis from the imposition of unilateral 
coercive measures, Venezuela  had remained committed to the intense negotiations that ha d been TN/C/M/42  
 
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  taking place in various areas, especially on fisheries subsidies, agriculture, devel opment,  and 
services. The success of these negotiations depend ed on political will to address the trade  concerns 
of all Members which would allow the restor ation of  confidence among the negotiators bearing in 
mind that any result ha d to be agreed upon  by all of them . 
4.234.   On fisheries subsidies , a weekend of intense work await ed Members. That would allow them  
to get closer and achieve consensus on key pillars such as overfishing and overcapacity. It was 
important to focus on the elements established in the negot iating mandate reflected in SDG 14.6, 
especially the inclusion of appropriate and effective S&DT  for developing and least -developed 
countries. Venezuela also hoped to  achieve more flexible rules related to artisanal and small -scale 
fisheries.  On services, Venezuela  regret ted that the text presented by the Facilitator ha d not 
achieved the expected balance . Given the lack of consensus among  Members , the text  should not 
be presented to Ministers  at MC12.  
4.235.   On agriculture, while wide gaps  between Members ' positions  remain ed, Venezuela  continue d 
to work hard to achieve substantive results in PSH and SSM . On S&DT , Venezuela  hoped that a 
decision w ould be adopted that w ould allow for Members to achieve results based on the G90 
proposals  which  it supported . On the functioning of the WTO , the selection process for Appellate 
Body vacancies should be initiated. Venezuela  encourage d the Member that oppose d this process to 
reflect and contribute to the prompt reestablishment of the work of this body  and the resolution of 
disputes in general.  
4.236.   Venezuela reaffirmed its  commitment to the formation  of a robust, supportive, fair and 
predictable multilateral trading system based on common and transparent rules that respond ed to 
the interests of people acros s the globe  and that was at the height of the historical moment that  
everyone currently lived in . While being best placed  to advanc e all negotiations, Members should 
work towards achieving real and meaningful, not cosmetic , results to make the WTO fully pe rform  
all its functions for which it had been  created in accordance with the principles that  had been  agreed 
upon in this organization , respecting consensus and abiding by the negotiati ng mandates.  
4.237.   The representative of El Salvador , speaking on behalf of the Informal Working Group on 
Trade and Gender , recalled that, a s a result of the Buenos Aires Declaration on Trade and Women's  
Economic Empowerment, the Informal Working Group had been  established  in 2020  to have a space 
to discuss women's  participation  in international trade . The Informal Working Group include d the 
proponents of the Buenos Aires Declaration and other WTO Members and Observers, and ha d been 
designed as a transparent and open space that d id not seek to create new agreement s nor rules. 
The discussions that ha d taken place in the Informal Working Group ha d been compiled in document 
INF/TGE/R/1 circulated on 9 November . On 10 November, the draft Joint Ministerial Declaration on 
the Advancement of Gender Equality and Women's Economic E mpowerment within Trade was 
circulated in document  WT/MIN(21)/4 . 
4.238.   The declaration was th e product of an open and transparent process that beg an in July  and 
would  be adopted  at MC12  on 30 November in Room W . The declaration would call on Participants 
to stre ngthen data collection for analysis on trade and gender , use research initiatives to inform 
trade policy program mes to support women's economic empowerment , explore the economic 
empowerment of women in the WTO framework  and mainstream a gender equality per spective in 
Aid for Trade . The Informal Working Group  invite d all Members to join as co -sponsors to exceed the 
amount  of support garnered  at Buenos Aires. The Co-Chairs of the Informal Working Group remained  
available in case any Member wanted more information on the draft Joint Ministerial Declaration .  
4.239.   The representative of Vanuatu , speaking on behalf of the Pacific Group , associated the Group 
with the statements of the ACP and the LDC groups. The Pacific G roup continue d to priorit ize the 
fisheries subsidies negotiations and remain ed committed to delivering this agreement at MC12 to 
achieve SDG 14.6. This  agreement should  effectively discipline harmful subsidies and provide for 
effective and appropriate S&DT  for developing countries and LDCs  while ensur ing its credib ility. The 
Pacific Group commend ed the NGR Chair for the TN/RL/ W/276 /Rev.2 Text of 8 November which 
provide d some potential landing zones to progress this work. In particular,  the Pacific Group  thank ed 
the NGR Chair for including a standalone de  minimis for small players in the Text  which could assist 
small island developing states that rel ied on fisheries to de velop their fishing capacity in the future.   TN/C/M/42  
 
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  4.240.   The Pacific Group  likewise urged Members to support the threshold proposed by the ACP . At 
the same time  the Group noted that some contentious issues remain ed. On transparency , the Pacific 
Group underline d the ne ed for proportionality especially for small nations that ha d very little 
subsidies and caution ed against notification of commercially sensitive information that were not 
necessary given the sustainability objective of this agreement.  
4.241.   On agriculture, the P acific Group  commend ed the CoA SS Chair's efforts to help Members 
progress discussions towards outcomes for MC12. The Group welcome d intensified discussions on 
exemption for WFP purchases as this would provide food security during crises including natural 
disasters and urge d Members to work towards an outcome. Domestic support to reduce trade 
distorting agricultural subsidies remain ed a priority as well as PSH program mes that include d new 
schemes. The latter was important for small developing countries that face d frequent and severe 
natural disasters. The Pacific Group  urged Members to be pragmatic and flexible and to map out a 
future work plan for post -MC 12.  On S&DT, the Pacific Group support ed an outcome which continue d 
further work on paragraph 44 of the Doha Declaration and the G90 proposals.  MC12 should underline 
the importance of S &DT as an integral part of WTO negotiations that should be available to 
developing countries including SVEs and LDCs in existing and future WTO Agreements.  
4.242.   On pandemic response , the Pacific Group support ed an outcome on the WTO's response to 
COVID -19. This response should  include the trade tools needed to combat the current and future 
pandemics. The WTO 's response should  be holistic and should include a solution  on the TRIPS Waiver 
to address the current vaccine shortages. On WTO Reform, work should  focus on areas mutually 
agreed by Members to improve the functioning of the WTO . In this regard, Members  should  set out 
an agreed mechanism to organize work in this a rea. This work should  include the restoration of the 
Appellate Body.  Work on this issue  should  be transparent and inclusive of all Members.  
4.243.   The representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia  noted that MC12 was  an opportune 
moment to achieve signific ant results and rekindle the leading role of the WTO in multilateralism. 
Despite being less than two weeks before the Conferenc e, divergences  persist ed mainly due to 
Members'  different ambitions and interests.  Members should be realistic in terms of the re sults they 
intend ed to achieve . They should  prioritize the most critical areas that require d additional efforts to 
generate effective consensus in the Ministerial  Conference . 
4.244.   On the WTO's response to the pandemic, it  should  be addressed urgently not only for the 
current pandemic but also for future  ones. Bolivia thanked Ambassador Walker  for his efforts and 
work as a Facilitator and for the draft Ministerial Declaration and Decision presented . Members 
should address export restrictions on  vaccines and essential medical supplies . It was imperative that 
the WTO response to the pandemic be successful. Bolivia therefore  support ed the inclusion in this 
process of the current TRIPS W aiver negotiations taking place in the framework of the TRIPS Council.  
4.245.   On the TRIPS Waiver , Bolivia  thank ed Ambassador Sørli for his efforts to reach points of 
convergence  but regret ted that there ha d not been substantial progress on the subject . There was 
a lack of real commitment from some delegations to find those points of convergence that would 
allow Members  to achieve a balanced and acceptable result  that addressed  the main issues of vaccine 
equity and increase in the production of vaccines, medicine , therapeutics  and other  essential 
products  to combat COVID -19. Bolivia nonetheless remained  confident that Members w ould reflect 
and lay down positions that would unlock the negotiation to allow them to achieve the necessary 
consensus t hat would  show that the WTO was capable of  respond ing to a global emergency situation.  
4.246.   On agriculture, Bolivia thanked Ambassador  Abraham Peralta  for her efforts to achieve a 
credible and balanced result that include d mandat ed issues  such as  the elimination of direct and 
indirect subsidies in developed countries  on the production and trade in agricultural products, SSM, 
improvement of market access, implementation of the mechanism for PSH, the elimination of tariffs 
for tropical products, and  the provision of  S&DT . It was undoubtedly a difficult task but with the CoA 
SS Chair's  leadership and with Members' genuine  commitment , they could achieve more than one 
significant result  in this area . 
4.247.   One of the preambular objectives of the Marrakesh Agr eement was to raise t he standard s of 
living and ensure full employment which mean t that there was a commitment to development and 
the objectives of sustainable development particularly with SDGs 1,  2 and 8.  That was why the 
provisions for S&DT  that develop ing countries ha d, sought  to give each country the space to TN/C/M/42  
 
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  formulate its domestic policies and integrate into global trade according to its specific limitations 
should  be respected as consolidated rights in any reform process carried out in the organizati on.  
4.248.   This should further  take into account the fact that the challenges faced by developing 
countries ha d not changed  since the creation of the WTO. R ather, due to the pandemic, these had 
intensified  – making it more  necessary to deepen the application of the provisions on S&DT as 
recognized by the Doha Declaration.  Member should therefore find ways on how to provide more 
flexibilities to developing countries, contribute to the creation of capacities and not create gr eater 
obligations in any area. Bolivia  thank ed Ambassador Hassan for her efforts in this regard.  
4.249.   On services, the pandemic ha d shown the increasing importance of trade in services and the 
need for recovery in this area particularly in developing countries . Bolivia hoped that Members would 
reach convergence on certain points to achieve  a balanced text.  It was essential that the decisions 
to be made by Ministers  include d the particular challenges faced by Members particularly LLDCs that, 
due to their geograph ical situation, ha d found themselves confronting the pandemic with even 
greater difficult y. 
4.250.   Payments for transportation and insurance services, relative to Bolivia's  total export 
earnings, were almost double that of developing countries as a whole, and rou ghly triple than that 
of developed countries. Bolivia  paid 33% more than the average of what the other countries in its 
region paid. The pandemic ha d further aggravated this situation . The increase in freight costs of the 
landlocked countries had been 443%  versus 63% to routes in Asia and North America.  This was 
closely related to trade facilitation issues .  
4.251.   Consequently, it was  essential to establish a dedicated session on the subject of transit. The 
exchange of good practices and collective work on supply chain s should be integrated to overcome 
the various difficulties face d in this area . Members should hear different perspecti ves and find ways 
on how to improve the efficiency of ports of transit countries and reduce the various obstacles 
encountered in the transport of goods. In this context, the establishment  of a working group under 
the auspices of the General Council to addr ess all these issues would be  timely.  
4.252.   To achieve substantive and meaningful results, genuine  political will from all Members of the 
organization was necessary and should be exercised. Members should likewise rebuild trust among 
themselves. MC12 provided  the opportunity to demonstrate that the WTO remained capable of 
achiev ing results that would contribute to an inclusive and equitable global economic recovery that 
took into account the entire Membership.  
4.253.   The representative of South Africa  associate d his del egation with the statement s of the ACP 
and the Africa n groups. MC12 was held at a time when the world was grappling with an 
unprecedented crisis. It c ould not be business as usual. South Africa  was disappointed that Members'  
efforts towards a TRIPS Waiver that was critical to the diversification of production were yet to yield 
results. South Africa was  hopeful that the WTO was capable of finding solutions that advance d the 
interests of humanity. It d id not have to be a zero -sum game and a balance c ould be found.  The IP 
system should  incentivize research and innovation for the benefit of all. Waivers were not new in 
the WTO and what would be the use of waivers if not utilized in the context of a pandemic . He asked, 
if not now, when . 
4.254.   Exclusive rights were resulting in concentration and preventing competitors from entering 
the fray especially in markets that were not being served  primarily in low - and middle -income 
countries.  This ha d exacerbated vaccine in equity. Sharing IP w ould not only help get the pandemic 
in check . It could also encourage firms to develop the next round of vaccines that w ould be necessary 
to address new variants and c ould facilitate preparedness for future pandemics. With only two week s 
before MC12, Members  should  conclude the negotiations on a targeted and time -limited TRIPS 
Waiver which was integral to a WTO response to the pandemic and a credible and meaningful 
outcome at MC12.  South Africa  remain ed flexible to find a workable soluti on that achieve d the 
requisite balance that would ramp up and diversif y production across the world.  
4.255.   The Facilitator -led process on the WTO response to the pandemic was an important 
deliverable which South Africa  took seriously. South Africa  welcome d recen t efforts to incorporate 
important elements which had been previously absent despite having been raised for several TN/C/M/42  
 
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  months. This process should  not be rushed . It should  be given the necessary space to produce a 
balanced and credible outcome if the text was to be capable of garnering consensus.  
4.256.   On agriculture, Members  needed to find a package that centr ed on a shared objective of 
enhancing food security and livelihoods. They should identify a realistic package that deliver ed 
meaningful progress on agricultur e reform and set the path for the negotiations. It should  address 
historical imbalances in domestic support, concentration of support and preserve policy space to 
support resource -poor and low -income farmers through Article 6.2. South Africa's  priorities r emain ed 
on domestic support , PSH, SSM and cotton. A decision on WFP was possible if the ACP and the 
Africa n Group proposals were integrated. S&D T should  be integral to any outcome on agriculture.  
4.257.   On the fisheries subsidies negotiations , Member should  work towards a balanced text that 
was aligned to the mandate and should  provide appropriate S &DT. The flexibilities provided to big 
subsidizers under the sustainability approach were extraordinarily wide. Members  needed to 
conclude negotiations on an appr opriate level of de minimis so as to give sufficient policy space to 
small fishing nations and policy space for developing countries above de minimis through an 
appropriate mechanism. The agreement should  safeguard food security and livelihoods of artisana l 
and subsistence fisheries. S &DT was mandated and c ould not be narrow in application. The 
disciplines should  target large scale fishing and distant water fishing. Importantly, the big subs idizers 
should  take the greatest responsibility based on the princi ple of common but differentiated 
responsibility.  
4.258.   On WTO Reform , a political commitment was needed to initiate a structured discussion. The 
process should  be open, transparent and inclusive. Development should  continue to underpin the 
work of the WTO to ens ure a balanced, equitable multilateral trading system  that addresse d the 
interests of all. This necessitate d the strengthen ing of  the WTO to promote development and 
inclusivity.  Multilateralism was likewise  important now more than ever . Members  should  preserve 
consensus decision -making and S&D T. As a treaty -embedded right , S&DT remain ed important in 
ensuring fair and equitable outcomes. The CTD  SS should  deliver on its mandate on the G90 
agreement -specific proposals ( ASPs). The implementation of Ministerial Decisions and delivering on 
agreed mandates also remained  critical to a well -functioning and inclusive multilateral trading 
system.  Its paper  on the "The Legal Status of JSIs and their negotiated outcomes " in document 
WT/GC/W/819 capture d its views on JSIs, including the new systemic challenges they presented . 
4.259.   On the  CTS SS, any outcome should  take into account  the interests of all Members if it was 
to garner consensus  – which the current text had failed to reach . Togethe r with a number of other  
Members, South Africa had  been clear on this aspect.  On e-commerce, the multilaterally mandated 
work was contained in  the Work Programme . The outcome on the e -commerce moratorium at MC12 
would depend on clarifications with regard t o the scope and definition of electronic transmissions . 
On a general note, in  each of the negotiating areas , Members should  only take consensus texts to 
Ministers. They needed to recognize that MC12 was held under unique circumstances  – calling them 
to be practical on what c ould be achieved. Success at MC12 w ould depend on delivery of multilateral 
outcomes, in particular the TRIPS Waiver. South Africa  stood ready to work constructively with 
Members towards finding balanced outcomes.  
4.260.   The representative of Tunisia  noted that Members were only t wo days away from  the last 
meeting of the General Council ahead of  MC12 . Despite considerable efforts, m any divergences in 
substance and in approach persisted in key areas.  This was of major concern for Tunisia  since i t was 
symptomatic of an uneasy Ministerial  Conference  for developing  and LDC  Members  that w ould be 
pressed for last minute decisions.  Tunisia nevertheless remained  optimistic for a substantive 
outcome at MC12 on the most urgent issues particularly during t hese difficult times . In this regard, 
as a priorit y for MC12, Members  should  strongly reaffirm  their commitment towards multilateralism, 
development and inclusion.   
4.261.   As a vital barometer of the WTO's credibilit y, a decision on food security  should be a key 
deliverable for MC12.  During the COVID -19 pandemic , food security issues ha d been exacerbated. 
A simple permanent and efficient solution on extending PSH for food security purposes for new 
program mes and new products remain ed among Tunisia's  main objective s for the Conference.  On 
domestic  support, the  reduction of final bound total AMS entitlements above de minimis  was a first 
step towards addressing historical imbalances in the A greement on Agriculture  and resolving the 
structural deficiencies hindering  international fair trade in agriculture.  Members should  show support 
at MC12 for the food security of  LDCs and NFIDCs  which need ed to be excluded  from any reduction TN/C/M/42  
 
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  in domestic support entitlements  and from any new disciplines on export restrictions.  
4.262.   The WTO's response to the pandemic,  with a substantive outcome on the TRIPS Waiver at 
its core was essential to show the WTO's effectiveness and responsivenes s. Any response to 
pandemic w ould lack credibility  if the response to IP -related challenges was not bui lt in. Policy space 
considerations and the food security dimension were particularly important for developing countries 
and LDCs as it would take into account their  ability to implement the  response and build  resilience . 
4.263.   On fisheries subsidies,  Tunisia  remained engaged and hopeful that the negotiations in the 
following  days w ould bring necessary revisions and clarifications that would help build common 
grounds for meaningful results with appropriate and effective S &DT. On WTO Reform, any possible 
results should keep S&DT and development at the heart of this organization and preserve its 
multilateral dimension.  Tunisia remain ed engaged and support ed continued efforts to produce 
balanced texts ready to be submitted to Ministers for consideration in MC12.  
4.264.   The representative of Guatemala  express ed disappointment upon observing that, of the eight 
reports that had been  made, in six, the respective Negotia ting Group  Chairs had  agreed in pointing 
out the lack of commitment, the lack of interest or the inability of Members to find solutions and 
reach consensus.  These types of reports, which were recurrent and which ha d unfortunately become 
the norm for many y ears, reinforce d Guatemala's interest in the WTO Reform process . Members  
should change their methods if they wished to obtain different results. They also need ed to restore 
the functioning, with improvements where appropriate, of all areas of the organizat ion, including the 
dispute settlement system.  Guatemala hope d that one of the results of  MC12 would be  clear 
guidelines  from Ministers to initiate a process of review and improvement of the WTO.  
4.265.   On the fisheries subsidies  negotiations , Guatemala  drew atten tion to the fact that, for years, 
it had actively participated in these negotiations. Guatemala  had witnessed missed opportunities to 
finalize and adopt an agreement limiting subsidies to fisheries.  As a country with  minimal 
participation in world fisheries  barely represent ing less than 0.2% of the total global catch according 
to FAO data , Guatemala was  extremely concerned about the devastation of fish populations on the 
shores and around the world. Excessive subsidies  particularly those that allow ed and incentivize d 
high seas fishing  had resulted in the destruction of marine ecosystems and fish stocks.  
4.266.   Scientific evidence was abundant and overwhelming . Marine resources were being depleted 
at a rapid pace. No Member seem ed to deny the existence of the problem. Even so, the conclusion 
of the negotiations on fisheries subsidies, which could be one of the ma in instruments to allow the 
recovery of these resources, ha d remained elusive during several Ministerial Conferences.  
Guatemala hope d that MC12 would be remembered for reaching an agreement that w ould have a 
positive impact on the oceans for the benefit of  this and future generations . 
4.267.   On the WTO 's response to the pandemic , the WHO had  declared the pandemic in March 2020  
yet it had taken the WTO  almost two years to react. Guatemala hope d that all Members were aware 
of the consequences of not reaching a credi ble agreement in this area.  Guatemala thank ed the 
Director -General and the Secretariat for thei r work on  access to vaccines. As a small developing 
country, Guatemala was at serious risk of not meeting the goal of vaccinating 40% of its population 
by the en d of 2021. Guatemala was a net importer of vaccines and medical equipment  and depend ed 
on access to vaccines. Trade play ed a fundamental role in facilitating access to inputs, vaccines and 
other medical equipment, including syringes and freezers, ensuring that those arrive d quickly to 
their final destinations.  Guatemala w ould continue working constructively with all Members  to find 
solutions in the different issues before them ahead of the Ministerial Conference and beyond.  
4.268.   The Trade Negotiations Committee took note  of the statements.  
5  CONCLUDING SUMMARY  BY CHAIRPERSON  
5.1.  The Chair  thanked all delegations for being considerate and keeping their statements and 
speeches concise . She would not  prolong the meeting  by commenting on every aspect that Members  
had already talked about . She simply shared a couple  of observations after listening to all 
delegations . The first thing was that almost everyone reali zed that  time was short and that they 
could  not send Ministers back with nothing from MC12.  That message  had come  through. The second 
thing that c ame through was everybody's determination or a vowed intent to be flexible and support TN/C/M/42  
 
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  the process and the multilateral trading system.  At the same time, she saw  a disconnect between 
that statement and the lack of recognition that if Members  wanted to support the multil ateral trading 
system , a multilateral instrument should  succeed – and that Members should work hard to make 
one of their multilateral instruments succeed.  The more Members  blocked success, the more  they 
would  get fed -up and resort  to other mechanisms  or go to other institutions.   
5.2.  While she kept on reiterating this message , it did not  seem to resonate  to delegations . She 
genuinely  wanted Members to reflect on this disconnect. If Members  wanted an institution in which 
multilateral instruments work ed, they had to actually demonstrate  that they work ed. If they did not 
allow it to work , she asked why Members kept on pushing for multilateralism. Such a  disconnect was 
one that she had been struggling with for a long time. If Members  showed the world that they could 
not deliver one multilateral negotiation after 20 years , the loss of credibility  was inevitable. She did 
not know whether  that was what delegations  wanted – for the WTO to no longer be relevant and 
credible . It amaz ed her that one of the common phrases of people in Geneva  and accredited to this 
organi zation related to  the WTO's lack of relevance.  
5.3.  The narrative of whether the WTO were to be relevant agai n had also been  written in the press . 
She then wondered how delegates could c ontinue  sitting and working in a place that was not 
relevant. It was them, not her, who said it. All 164 Members  constituted the  organisation that they 
were rapidly rendering irrelevant as the years move d on. And there was no recognition that this was 
the case. She wanted to end the meeting by asking everybody to reflect  on this. It was easy to read 
a statement and express  support to the multilateral trading system  and readiness to work. It ha d 
become like a trite comment. But it was a serious one . While Me mbers support ed multilateralism, 
they could not  make it work.  
5.4.  The biggest disconnect that she saw came when delegations talked about IP. And she thought  
it was the way they used words. Those who d id not believe in the waiver sa id that it w ould not  result 
in the production  of vaccines . Those who believe d in the waiver believe d that it was either the waiver 
or nothing  at all. The words were very polari zing yet she knew that there was a pragmatic middle 
ground  – though no body refer red to it. So , if these were the two positions, waiver or nothing, or 
waiver would not  mean anything, then she asked how Members could come to that middle ground 
to deliver a response to the pandemic . She continue d to believe that a holistic response should 
include this, but the more she listen ed to Members, the further they retreated from where they had 
been in trying to find middle  ground.  
5.5.  Members would need to think of a better way to approach the TRIPS Waiver because they  
sound ed so polari zed – which was very disappointin g. The only conclusion she could come up with 
was that Members did not want  a response to the pandemic. And that was going to damage 
everybody's credibility. Anyone walking out of the present meeting thinking that the lack of a 
response to the pandemic w ould make them look good anywhere  – it was not true. Proponents and 
opponents  alike would look bad. The proponents would have  nothing to bring home to their 
populations who were looking  for help. Their people would get nothing  if there was no pragmatic 
solution. The opponents would go back and look like the y did not care. They would be judged as 
such by the world and the civil society even if that wa s not the truth.  
5.6.  She then asked Members to instead take a pragmatic approach . Members  knew that a middle-
ground exist ed but they were undermining it every chance they had . On the IP issue, she warned 
Members that they were in a danger zone. T he sooner they snapped out of where they were and 
tried to come to some sensible conclusion or pragmatic middle -ground,  the better it w ould be. This 
was an appeal to everyone.  Those who th ought judgment would simply be one -side got it wrong . If 
this situation continued, nobody would walk out of it without an egg on their face. This was the most  
polari zed conversation  she had heard at the WTO  and she was dismayed by the tone. The tone 
sound ed like where Members  had been  at the beginning  – which was  embarrassing.  
5.7.  On a more positive note, she  had heard that there was some momentum on the fisheries  
subsidies negotiations . While there were significant issues that Members  had to overcome  if they 
really want ed to work on fisheries  subsidies , they could make it. That would demonstrate that a 
multilateral instrument c ould actually work . It would encourag e people to think more of 
multilateralism instead of running off to look for other ways and means to achieve some of the things 
they wan ted to achieve in the organi zation. She appealed to all Members regarding  the little 
remainder of work that they needed to do to get fisheries over the line . They should be willing to do 
it and she was happy to  hear Members expressing exactly that . TN/C/M/42  
 
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  5.8.  Members however seemed to be in a tough place  on agriculture – an observation expressed by 
the CoA SS Chair in her report . At the same time, everyone regarded agriculture as an important 
area. If that was case, Members should find  the little ways that they  could give to accommodate 
each other so they would not  come out of this empty handed. There were also other areas that 
Members had highlighted during the meeting such as s pecial and differential treatment  and LDC 
issues , among others.  
5.9.  In general, upon leaving the meeting, she wanted Members to come out knowing that they still 
had a fighting chance to deliver for MC12  and engage  Ministers on the basis that they would be  able 
to walk out with something  at MC12.  All of these would highly  depend  on the Ambassadors, 
Permanent Representatives,  and the delegates in Geneva . If they would  not prepare their Ministers 
well, they all  knew that the Ministers wo uld not  have anything to look at.  
5.10.   She recalled someone once said that if the WTO was not able to deliver on IP then the 
organization would look as if it was not relevant. She then asked, "W ho is the WTO?" The WTO  was 
not some str ange being  physically sitting somewhere preparing to  deliver . The WTO was its 
Members.  Therefore, when Members  said that the  WTO c ould not deliver , it mean t them.  She wanted 
to leave them with that thought to reflect upon. At the same time, she thanked al l Members for their 
continued efforts and hoped that they would  work hard during the  weekend to come up with some 
reasonable positions. Hopefully it wo uld not  be a free  lunch  although there w ould be lunch . Before 
closing the meeting, she addressed some of the misunderstanding s on the process on the modalities 
for Ministers as far as vaccine certificates were concerned.   
5.11.   Ms. Angela Ellard, Deputy -Director General , refute d the concept of vaccine discriminat ion. It 
was not true. On the part of the WTO Secretariat, she noted that,  as a Swiss based organization, 
Swiss rules  were applied . That allow ed the WTO  full capacity which was especially important given 
that the venues were small, allowing each delegation to have six floating badges. The Swiss rules 
require d a Swiss COVID certificate. The note circulated in the week include d a Swiss document 
establishing how to obtain such a Swiss COVID certificate. All Swiss approved vaccines were eligible. 
In addition, al l WHO approved vaccines were eligible. As explained by the Swiss authorities during 
the information session  on 18 November , it w ould be possible for those vaccinated with WHO 
recognized vaccines to apply for a Swiss COVID certificate, and the certificates would be available 
on 30 November. The Swiss had been  hoping to have this ready by 16 November but had been  
unable to do so due to technical issues . Switzerland would  have further information concerning the 
status of this effort and the WTO Secretariat was  encouraging maximum flexibility.  
5.12.   Delegates  could  also qualify for a Swiss COVID certificate through either  PCR or rapid antigen 
testing. The WTO Secretariat  was aware that this could  be a burden for those Members who ha d to 
test. That wa s why  exclusive testing centres in the airport and near the MC12 premises  would be 
provided . The Secretariat  had also negotiated a reduced rate for MC12 participants with the 
laborato ry and there was no charge for LDCs. Rapid antigen tests were acceptable,  and they were 
significantly cheaper and much faster, just 15 minutes, than a PCR test and cost ed around CHF 40 
– and the Secretariat was  working to lower the cost even further. This was a matter of safety . While 
knowing and appreciat ing that some ha d issues with the Swiss standards , the Secretariat  had no 
ability to change them  but would bear the potential disastrous consequences if it did not follow them.  
5.13.   The Chair noted that  there were WHO approved vaccines that were eligible  and thought that 
it caused some confusion. There had been  a lot of confusion about that . At the same time,  there was 
PCR and antigen test ing that c ould qualify for the COVID certificate and  the corresponding  QR code.  
5.14.   The representative of Switzerland  said that the registration details for delegates vaccinated 
with vaccines on the WHO emergency list  which we re Sinopharm, Sinovac and Covaxin  had been 
received . The Swiss Government  had wanted to st art registration on 16 November  but, due to 
technical problems , it had not unfortunately been  possible . Delegates would  be able to apply for a 
COVID -19 certificate and submit the required documents on the website of the Geneva canton from 
Monday 22 Novembe r at noon. This w ould allow the local authorities to process their request before 
the ordinance would come into effect  on 30  November.  
5.15.   At the time of registration , delegates w ould be informed that the certificate c ould not be 
issued before 30 November. On  30 November, according to references selected when registering , 
an email or SMS in French or English w ould be sent to the applicants with a link to download their TN/C/M/42  
 
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  Swiss COVID certificate. This was for those vaccines on the emergency list of the World Heal th 
Organization that were not acknowledged by the European Medicines Agency  – the three that ha d 
just been mentioned. For the four others, which were on the list of the European Medicines Agency , 
a COVID certificate c ould be delivered before 30 November . The system was already in place. If 
there were any questions or query, Switzerland remained ready to answer to the extent possible.  
5.16.   The Chair  clarified that, from her understanding, people w ould now be able to access  the 
registration platform  by 22 November to start the process of getting the QR code.  
5.17.   The representative of Switzerland  confirmed what the Director -General had said and 
reiterated that registration c ould start on 22 November to save time in processing the requests. But 
the QR code s would  only be delivered as of 30 November – the date at which the ordinance would 
come into effect.  
5.18.   The Chair  thank ed Ambassador Chambovey (Switzerland) and DDG  Ellard for the additional 
information and clarifications . She once again extended her apprec iation to all Members for what 
had been a productive session  and looked forward to good thing.  
5.19.   The Trade Negotiations Committee took note  of the Chair's statement  and of the other 
statements .  
 
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