WT/MIN(24)/12  
 
21 February 2024  
(24-1593) Page: 1/5 
Ministerial Conference  
Thirteenth Session  
Abu Dhabi, 26 -29 February 2024  Original: English/French  
 
OACPS MINISTERIAL DECLARATION ON THE THIRTEENTH WTO MINISTERIAL 
CONFERENCE  
The following communication, dated 19 February 2024, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Samoa on behalf of the ACP Group.  
 
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We, Ministers responsible for WTO matters of the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific 
States (OACPS), meeting in Brus sels, Belgium, on 16 February 2024, within the framework of the 
preparation for the Thirteenth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13), to be held from 26 to 
29 February  2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates;  
 
Recalling the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the  WTO and reaffirming our commitment in Doha 
in 2001, and the Doha Development Agenda Ministerial Conferences that have followed since;  
 
Reaffirming all our Declarations communicated to the WTO;  
 
Noting  that the diversity of our Membership which includes Le ast-Developed Countries (LDCs), 
Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Small Vulnerable Economies (SVEs), Landlocked Developing 
Countries (LLDCs), Preference Dependent Economies (PDEs), Net Food Importing Developing 
Countries (NFIDCs), Low Income Countries  (LICs), Middle Income Countries (MICs), Highly Indebted 
Poor Countries (HIPC), Heavily Indebted Middle Income Countries (HIMICs), limited commodity 
exporting countries, those most susceptible to the climate crisis and countries in war, post -conflict, 
and post-natural disaster situations;  
 
Urging that the WTO should remain a rules -based inclusive and transparent institution that 
accommodates the diverse interests of its Members.  
 
Further urging that effective special and differential treatment (SDT) should remain an integral 
part of all existing and future WTO Agreements.  
 
Emphasizing  that the WTO should  on a priority basis, enable, and support least -developed 
countries and developing countries in pursuing policies to achieve industrialization, struct ural 
transformation and diversification and resilience of their economies, and support the competitiveness 
of our micro, small and medium -sized enterprises (MSMEs);  
 
Further emphasizing the continued need for targeted and sustainable financial, technical a nd 
capacity building assistance programmes to effectively implement their WTO agreements, pursue 
trade policy reform, and benefit from opportunities presented in international trade, thereby 
facilitating their integration into the global economy in a manne r that advances their growth and 
development.  
 
We call on Ministers to agree on the following selected considerations:  
 
1. Fisheries subsidies  
 
1.1. We encourage Members to expedite the ratification of the MC12 Fisheries Subsidies Agreement 
(FSA).   WT/MIN(24)/12  
 
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  1.2. We call on Members to deliver an agreement on overcapacity and overfishing (OCOF) by MC13 
that focuses on the most harmful subsidies, special and differential treatment for developing 
countries that are not responsible for OCOF such as exemption for LDCs including ne wly 
graduated LDCs (including for a period when graduated), SIDS and small players whose share 
of global fish catch is below an appropriate threshold and the exclusion of artisanal and small -
scale fishing for all developing country Members up to their excl usive economic zone.  
 
1.3. Any new notification obligations on developing country Members not responsible must be 
avoided and if any should also be subject to special and differential treatment and should be 
based on the principle of proportionate responsibili ty. 
 
1.4. Members' right to determine national fisheries management systems must be preserved.  
 
1.5. We welcome the WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism and call for it to be easily accessible for 
all ACP Members to be able to invest in their management systems.   
 
2. Agriculture  
 
2.1. We call for an MC13 outcome on agriculture that builds on Decisions taken at MC12, prioritising 
food security. The work of the Working Group on Food Security that was established along 
with the work programme mandated by paragraph 8 of the MC1 2 Ministerial Declaration on 
the Emergency Response to Food Insecurity must continue, including the strengthening of 
close collaboration with other relevant international organizations (FAO, WFP, IFAD, IMF, WB).  
 
2.2. We urge that WTO interventions and collabor ation with relevant international organizations 
and external partners be holistic by addressing needs along the supply chain, including new 
technologies related to the production of basic foodstuffs, processing, storage and marketing 
of agricultural commod ities all of which can positively affect productivity, competitiveness, 
and livelihoods of farmers and rural communities in developing countries and LDCs.  
 
2.3. We call on WTO Members to ensure that the continuation of the reform process in agriculture 
must mea ningfully address the food security concerns of developing countries, in particular 
LDCs, SIDS and NFIDCs. In addition, continued efforts should be made on the following:  
 
2.3.1.  Domestic support outcomes should prioritise the elimination of the Aggregate  
Measurement of Support (AMS) above de minimis , with an exception for small 
and vulnerable economies (SVEs),  in order to level the playing field in agricultural 
trade. In addition, parameters to discipline blue box support should be elaborated 
and green bo x support should be reformed through improved transparency to 
avoid box painting and box shifting.  
 
2.3.2.  Policy space for developing countries under Article 6.2 of the Agreement on 
Agriculture (AoA) must be preserved to unlock their productive capacity and 
pursue rural development, agricultural transformation, and livelihood objectives.  
 
2.3.3.  A mutually acceptable permanent solution on public stockholding for food security 
purposes (PSH) must include only staple traditional food, have food security as  
its objective, cover existing and new programmes, contain requisite safeguards 
to prevent market distortions and appropriate notification commitments along 
simplified formats, accompanied by necessary technical assistance; JOB/AG/229 , 
can help to find a way forward.  
 
2.3.4.  A Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) should allow developing countries to 
temporarily increase tariffs beyond their bound duties to address vulnerabilities 
to surges in agricultural imports and price depression, without onerous 
require ments for its application when needed.  
 
2.3.5.  Any Work Programme emanating from MC13 must also aim at addressing issues 
related to tariff simplification, tariff escalation, preference erosion, designation of 
special products and unjustified non -tariff ba rriers that impede market access 
opportunities of developing countries and LDCs.  WT/MIN(24)/12  
 
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  2.3.6.  As regards the special case of cotton, the Work Programme should address long -
standing issues related to eliminating subsidies, increasing market access 
opportunities,  enhancing transparency and responding to development -related 
concerns of cotton producers in developing countries.  
 
3. Agreement Specific Proposals before the Committee on Trade and  Development 
Special Session  
 
3.1. We call for an outcome on the Agreement Specific Proposals (ASPs) presented by the G90 on 
the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and on the Agreement on 
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). We also call for members to review and consider the revised 
ASPs presented by the G90 namely, the special and differential treatment (SDT) ASP in 
relation to Section B of the GATT Article XVIII concerning balance of payments, and the ASP 
on the Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures and the SDT ASP for transfer of 
technology  under Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement.  
 
3.2. The committee on Trade and Development Special Session Chair 's process of facilitators to 
make progress is welcome.  
 
4. Services  
 
4.1. We support continued work on services.  The approach under the architecture of the G ATS, as 
it relates to inter alia  the flexibilities afforded to, and the special situation of developing 
countries, must be maintained and particular attention paid to the sectors and modes of supply 
of interest to them.  
 
5. Trade and Industrial Policy  
 
5.1. We not e the pursuit by several countries of new industrial policies to support the development 
of specific industries and express concern that many members of the OACPS have been unable 
to pursue an effective industrialisation policy due to a range of factors, i ncluding some WTO 
disciplines.  We call for the establishment of a Working Group on Trade and Industrial Policy 
to examine the scope of the WTO rules and flexibilities in relation to members ' implementation 
of industrial policy and determine the support req uired by developing countries to establish a 
solid industrial base.  
 
6. WTO Reform  
 
6.1. In the case of the reform of the functioning of WTO bodies, proposals for adoption that may 
have impact on small delegations and LDCs must be well debated on all angles of th e proposal.  
Given the capacity constraints for our delegations to attend all of the sub -bodies and councils, 
those issues requiring adoption should be presented at the General Council where all 
delegations attend and be considered for implementation on a trial basis.  The implications, if 
any, of those changes should be identified and addressed.  
 
6.2. Discussions should be comprehensive, balanced, structured, non -discriminatory, transparent, 
open, inclusive, and based on the proposals of all Members. Due care and attention should be 
given to the capacity constraints of many developing Members with small delegations and 
every effort should be made to ensure that they are able to contribute to important decisions 
on WTO Reform.  
 
6.3. We call on propo sals for dispute settlement reform to be formalised and multilateralised under 
the auspices of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). The DSB can meet in Special Session for 
this purpose and the DSB Chair or a multilaterally appointed facilitator or co -facilit ators can 
assist in taking this work forward. Of critical importance to the members of the OACPS is the 
reconstitution of two -tier binding dispute settlement at the WTO and making the system more 
accessible to developing and least -developed countries. The long-standing concerns of 
developing countries in areas such as cross -retaliation, funding for dispute settlement, 
enhanced capacity building and legal support and more effective compliance should also be 
addressed.   
 WT/MIN(24)/12  
 
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  7. Trade and Environment  
 
7.1. We urge Ministers at MC13 to revitalize the work of the Committee on Trade and Environment, 
and to emphasize the need to assist developing countries and LDCs meet the trade -related 
environmental challenges they face and which have an impact on their develo pment. We 
further urge that environmental measures taken by Members do not constitute disguised 
restrictions to trade.   
 
8. Aid for Trade  
 
8.1. We call on funders to continue to support the trade capacity building efforts of all Members of 
the OACPS and ensure tha t Aid -for-Trade assistance is in the form of new funding 
programmes, without diverting from existing bilateral assistance. We also call on the WTO to 
work with relevant international organisations, including UNCTAD ITC and regional 
development banks (RDBs)  to enhance sustainable financial, technical assistance and capacity 
building programmes to support Members to implement the agreements and to better manage 
their trade policy reform programmes that will enhance the capacity of members of the OACPS 
to deve lop and benefit from international trade.  
 
9. Decisions in favour of LDCs  
 
9.1. We underscore the importance of LDC issues in the WTO, including the need for a longer and 
uniform transition period to assist graduated LDCs in adjusting to their post -LDC status in the 
multilateral trading system. In this regard, we applaud the first decision taken on the LDC 
graduation proposal Annex  1 concerning duty -free, and quota -free preferential treatment 
adopted by the General Council and urge the adoption of the LDC proposal  in Annex 2 of their 
submission concerning selected existing provisions in WTO agreements and Decisions in 
favour of LDCs.  
 
9.2. We also call for agreement on LDC proposals in furtherance of the outcomes from the 
instructions in paragraph 8 of the MC12 Outcome Document presented by LDCs in the 
preparation of the outcome document for MC13.  
 
10. Accession  
 
10.1.  We applaud the completion of the accession work of the Union of the Comoros and the 
Democratic Republic of Timor -Leste, which will, on adoption in Abu Dhabi at MC1 3, increase 
ACP WTO Membership to 64.  We support the progress of other ACP members in their accession 
process and urge Members to refrain from burdening the process for them to conclude.   
 
11. Standing Agenda Items  
 
11.1.  Electronic Commerce Decision  
 
11.1.1.  We note our submission in the WTO in WT/GC/W/916  and support the continued 
reinvigoration of the 1998 Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, in particular 
on its development dimension, including the specific elements highlighted in our 
submission.  
 
11.1.2.  We call on the WTO to conduct relevant analyses, in collaboration with other 
institutions with mandates on electronic commerce, which can further deepen 
information on issues relevant to reducing the digital divide, regulatory frameworks 
for consumer and data prot ection, value -added and digital tax systems, and actual 
tariff revenue comparisons regarding the change in technology from the physical 
media to digital form, revenue gain and loss, taking into account the implications on 
the costs to consumers and busines ses. 
 
11.1.3.  We recognize the need for further discussion on the implications of the moratorium 
on developing countries and therefore support the temporary extension of the 
moratorium not to impose customs duties on electronic transmissions, as reflected 
in our s ubmission.  
 WT/MIN(24)/12  
 
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  12. Trade -Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Non -violation Situation 
Complaints moratorium  
 
12.1.  We urge WTO Members to make permanent the moratorium on the application of 
subparagraphs 1(b) and 1(c) of Article XXIII of GATT 1994 on non -violation and situation 
complaints (NVCs) to the TRIPS Agreement.  
 
13. Paragraph 8 of the MC12 TRIPS Waiver Decision  
 
13.1.  We support the extension of the Paragraph 8 deadline of the MC12 TRIPS waiver mandate.  
 
14. Small Economies Work Programme  
 
14.1.  We recognise that despite the progress made in response to the mandate at MC12 on Small 
Economies, more work is still needed to address  the specific challenges and needs of SVEs 
that will lead such economies towards meaningful development with tangible outcomes.  
 
14.2.  With this, we support the adoption of the draft Ministerial Decision for MC13 in 
WT/COMTD/SE/W/46/Rev.2 , as agreed in the Committee on Trade and Development, with a 
view to ensuring that the CTD Dedicated Session  "shall continue monitoring the progress of 
the small economy proposals in WTO bodies and in negotiating groups with the aim of 
providing respon ses, as soon as possible, to the trade -related issues identified for the fuller 
integration of SVEs in the multilateral trading system as well as assessing the effectiveness of 
the responses framed so far to integrate the SVEs in the multilateral trading s ystem. " 
 
Done in Brussels, on 16 February 2024  
 
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