WT/MIN(17)/ST/10  
13 December 2017  
(17-6886) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Eleventh  Session  
Buenos Aires , 10-13 December 20 17 Original: Spanish  
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. MS MARÍA LORENA GUTIÉRR EZ 
MINISTER OF TRADE, I NDUSTRY AND TOURISM  
COLOMBIA  
First of all, I would like to extend my greetings to  Minister Malcorra  and the Government of the 
Argentine Republic and thank  them for hosting  us at this first Ministerial Conference in 
South  America. In doing so, they are showing their country's  commitment to the multilateral 
trading system and to the vision of an economica lly integrated and peaceful international 
community.  
 
Now more than ever, Colombia needs a strong multilateral system that can help  consolidate its 
economic progress, its trade agreements , and the opportunities it now has thanks to the peace 
agreement that  was signed one  year ago after 50 years of conflict.  
 
We need a  system that provides certainty to economic operators and that helps to ensure  –
through trade liberalization and the elimination of distortion  – economic growth, the creation of 
jobs, greater fairness , and enhance d participation in value chains . 
 
At the last two Ministerial Conferences, we showed that it was genuinely possible to reach  
agreements at the WTO, despite  the diverse range of views and positions.  
 
Colombia is participating in this Conference  in Buenos Aires in the firm belief that delivering  
concrete outcomes will strengthen the WTO and maintain its relevance.  
 
In Colombia, recovering rural land is one of our post -conflict commitments and we hope that after 
many years the rural areas  affected will once again flourish. For this reason, we must continue 
working within the WTO framework to complete outstanding tasks  such as agricultural reform.  
 
With regard to  domestic support in particular, this Organization provides  a unique forum for finding 
ways to reduce the distortive impact  that such support can have on international markets. It is 
vital to continue working on all the pillars of the agriculture negot iations. We believe that 
Buenos  Aires should set the course  for moving forward incrementally and pragmatically in this 
regard.  
 
As regards  fisheries subsidies, we hope that Buenos Aires will see us  achieve a ban on illegal, 
unregulated and unreported fishing , which will open up the way for  reaching  a comprehensive  
agreement on fisheries subsidies  – including subsidies  that contribute to overfishing and 
overcapacity  – before 2020. This will see us  deliver on the mandate  of Sustainable Development 
Goal 14.6, which was agreed on by all our Heads of State at the United  Nations.  
 
With regard to domestic regulation in services, we would like  Buenos Aires  to be the venue for a  
high-level discussion that would enable  us to move towards a concrete multilateral outcome . Such 
discussion should be based  on the proposal that more than 55 developed and developing Members  
will be submitting for the consideration of all WTO Ministers.  
 
Regarding  e-commerce, we firmly believe that the WTO is the ideal place for establishing 
multilateral rules that will ensure  a secure business env ironment  and open up new opportunities 
for goods and services exports, in particular for our MSMEs.  
 WT/MIN(17)/ST/10  
 
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  We insist that this issue be properly addressed within the Organization and hope that Buenos Aires 
will provide clear guidance as to how the discussions sh ould proceed.  
 
In intellectual property, we would like to express our concern about the lack of consensus among 
Members regarding the extension of the moratorium on non-violation and situation complaints.  For 
Colombia, reaching agreement on this matter is a priority and we urge all delegations to work 
constructively towards this goal.  
 
Colombia is very keen to raise  WTO Members' awareness of the growing problem of illicit trade, 
which affects all our economies, and to stimulate discussion on the strategies needed to combat 
this scourge collectively.  
 
The multilateral system must recognize that the trade liberalization process has had enormo us 
benefits for all WTO Members;  however, and at the same time, illegal structures have taken 
advantage of developments  in international trade regulation to use trade in legal goods and 
services  for criminal purposes. By way of example, we have seen with concern  how terrorist 
groups have been funded  through this type of activity. In our view, the WTO cannot ignore this 
problem and must respond in a fitting manner to the challenge that it represents. We propose that 
for the next Ministerial Conference we establish  a Working Group that can  examine  and present 
recommendations on the WTO's role in addressing illicit trade.  
 
As a member of the Group of Friends of MSMEs , we support the Ministerial Decision that seeks to 
open up a forum  for discussion and formal analysis within the WTO. MSMEs account for 96%  of 
businesses in Colombia.  It is our hope that the  WTO will help us to improve their  participation in 
international trade.  
 
Furthermore, we believe there is a n integral link between trade and investment. We therefore 
support the structured formalization o f discussion on how investment facilitation and cooperation 
between Members in this regard can serve as a lever for development.   
 
We have also signed, together with other  Members in the "Friends of the System" group, a 
Declaration outlining concerns over the economic climate faced by the WTO.  
 
Nevertheless, we are optimistic about the value of this Organization and its principles as tools  for 
development. We expect this meeting in Buenos Aires to contribute to strengthening the 
multilateral system by delivering concrete outcomes and defining  the steps we will need to take 
next as we continue negotiating the various issues .  
 
The WTO is held in high regard by President Juan Manuel Santos, who, in his capacity as 
Colombian Foreign Trade Minister in the early 1990s, had the honour of making Colombia one of 
the founding Members of the Organization.  We still believe in the WTO and hope that it helps us in 
our endeavour to be a peaceful, safe and more socially and economically prosperous country.  
 
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