WT/MIN(22)/ST/49  
12 June 2022  
(22-4486) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 12 -15 June 2022  Original: French  
 
  
STATEMENT BY H.E. MR FRANCK RIESTER  
MINISTER DELEGATE FOR FOREIGN TRADE  
AND ECONOMIC ATTRACTIVENESS  
FRANCE  
I am very pleased to be able to address you today, as we embark on this Twelfth Ministerial 
Conference of the World Trade Organization, the first since December 2017.  
Against the back drop of the war in Ukraine, we are meeting today to defend a multilateral 
cooperation framework for rules -based international trade, and to respond to our shared challenges. 
I would first ly like to recall that France condemns in the strongest terms the military aggression 
unleashed by Russia, in violation of international law. We fully support the territorial integrity, 
sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, and call for the immediate  withdrawal  of Russian armed 
forces from Ukrainian territory.  The recent adoption of the 6th sanctions package shows the 
determination of the European Union and its member States to step up pressure on Russia and 
Belarus to end this aggression against Ukraine. We are  also fully engaged in addressing the risk of 
a global food crisis as a direct result of Russian aggression which is blocking  the export of Ukrainian 
cereals and destabilizing global agri -food markets. In this context, we trust that MC12 will provide 
a strong multilateral response based on the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM) initiative 
for food security, endorsed by the European Council.  
On top of  this unjustified war, the world is , as you know, going through major crises  that none of us 
can tackle alone. Yet today , multilateralism is facing a range of serious challenges, including in the 
area of trade. The Ministerial Conference bringing us together over the next few days is an important 
milestone in the consolidation of  multilateral cooperation on trade. We have a collective responsibility 
to make MC12 a success.  
The WTO is a key institution for international trade. For years, the WTO has provided the stability 
and predictability needed for trade to grow , thanks to its h armonized rules . Through to its dispute 
settlement system, it has also contained rising tensions, which are detrimental to all. Its contribution 
to the economic development of all its Members, regardless of size, is undeniable.  
The events of recent years h ave brought home to us what a world without the WTO might look like. 
We do not want such a  world . Weakened by major internal impasses and divergence s between its 
Members, the multilateral system no longer appears able to effectively combat new forms of tra de 
distortion, to contain the return of trade wars or to help tackle climate change. Allowing these failures 
to continue is in none of our interests.  
We must all pull together to maintain smooth global trade that creates wealth and jobs for all.  This 
Confe rence must therefore provide  an opportunity for a real collective push for multilateralism.  
Clearly, we cannot  solve all of our problems in the space of a few days. However, this Ministerial 
Conference can, including  through landmark agreements, restore th e WTO's relevance and 
legitimacy in the eyes of its Members, and thus increase the acceptability of world trade within our 
societies.  
To achieve this, we must first conclude the Ministerial Conference's most pressing negotiations, 
which also respond to urg ent global challenges. First, as far as health is concerned, I  hope to see 
concrete outcomes in the facilitation of trade in essential medical goods, including access to WT/MIN(22)/ST/49  
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  intellectual property. As President Emmanuel Macron has said, intellectual property ca nnot be a 
barrier to accessing vaccines. The WTO must be able to demonstrate its relevance in the face of  
pandemics.  
We also need a strong multilateral response to the risk of a global food crisis resulting directly from 
Russian aggression in Ukraine. The challenge is to secure supplies for the most vulnerable countries' 
populations given the current destabilization of agricultural markets, and  in particular  to remove all 
obstacles to the export of foodstuffs.  
We must also continue modernizing  international trade rules so that the WTO has a better handle 
on current  issues . We must conclude the fisheries subsidies negotiations in order to meet the 
challenge of preserving biodiversity. More generally, the WTO needs to improve its  integrat ion of  
key sustainable development issues, particularly the fight against climate change, so that the 
Organization can offer  new solutions, and all countries can contribute  to them . In this regard, I 
welcome the various plurilateral initiatives on environmental is sues, and hope they pave the way for 
future multilateral work.  
Updating the rulebook should also involve strengthening existing disciplines  in the industrial sphere , 
especially on subsidies, not to impose economic development choices on WTO Members, but si mply 
to ensure a level playing field for all our businesses .  
Lastly, at this Conference it falls to us  to launch a formal reform process of the functioning of our  
Organization. We need to  modernize  this framework to enable the WTO to adopt more agreements , 
and to settle trade disputes on the basis of  quicker  and more flexible processes.  
To conclude, I would again like to appeal to our collective sense of responsibility: the onus is on us 
to make this Twelfth Ministerial Conference a success.  
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