WT/L/943  
 
10 December 2014  
(14-7195)  Page: 1/6  
  Original: English  
 
 9TH AFRICAN UNION CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRADE (CAMOT-9), 
1ST – 5TH DECEMBER 2014 
ADDIS ABABA (ETHIOPIA) 
The following communication, dated 9 December 2014,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Lesotho as Coordinator of the African Group.  
_______________ 
ADDIS ABABA DECLARATION ON WTO ISSUES 
1. We, the Ministers of Trade of the Member States of the African Union; 
 
2. Meeting in Addis Ababa on the 4
th and 5th December 2014 at the occasion of the Ninth 
Ordinary Session of the AU Conference of Minist ers of Trade with an objective to review the 
state of play of the WTO negotiatio ns following the outcome of the 9th Ministerial Conference 
of the WTO; 
 3. Recognizing  the unique mandate of the WTO as one of the key pillars of the global 
economic governance architecture; 
 4. Recalling  the preamble of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO, which inter alia , 
recognizes: a need for positive efforts aimed at ensuring that developing countries especially 
LDCs secure a share in growth in international trade commensurate with their economic and 
developmental needs and; the centrality of the principle of sustainable development;  
 
5. Underscoring  the primacy of the Doha Ministerial Declaration and the 2004 July package as 
the basis for conducting and concluding the DDA negotiations with a view to delivering economically meaningful developmental outcomes; 
 
6. Concerned  by the lack of commitment of some WTO Members to prioritize work to turn 
non-binding LDCs and MC9 Decisions into binding outcomes; 
 
7. Reiterating our concern by a trend where key Members divert their attention from the DDA 
to the ever proliferating plurilateral agreements;   
 
8. Underscoring  the importance and the continued relevance of the DDA negotiations and the 
necessity to conclude them in line with the existing mandates and the integral principles therein in particular the principles of Single Undertaking, less than full reciprocity and special 
and differential treatment, no reduction commitment for LDCs; 
 9. Underscoring  the preeminence of the guiding princi ples in the DDA negotiations namely, 
full Members participation, inclusive and transparent negotiations, bottom up and member 
driven negotiations; 
 10. Reiterating  our strong resolve that the negotiations on Agriculture and NAMA should be 
based on 2008 draft modalities taking into account the particular circumstances of African 
States. 
 WT/L/943 
 
- 2 - 
 
  Hereby, 
 11. Reaffirm  the 2013 Addis Ababa Declaration on WTO issues together with the outcome of 
the discussions of the 23
rd Ordinary Session of African Union Summit on WTO issues; 
 
12. Call on Members to recommit to ensuring that the development dimension remains at the 
heart of negotiated outcomes with consequent binding outcomes treated on priority basis 
pursuant to para 1.11 of the Bali Ministerial Declaration; 
 13. Strongly  reject the introduction of new issues in the WTO negotiations before the 
conclusion of the DDA;  
 
14. Reaffirm the need to identify key issues in the post-Bali work program that support and 
mobilize efforts towards achieving Africa's strategic structural transformation and regional 
integration agenda;   
 15. Recognize the importance of the three decisions taken by the General Council on 
27
th November 2014, which provide the basis for the work program on full Bali package.  We 
affirm that this development demonstrates that multilateralism indeed works when there is full engagement, mutual understanding, commi tment and a willingness to show flexibility 
demonstrated by all members. We therefore hope that these developments will galvanize 
the WTO members to show leadership by focusing on multilateral negotiations as opposed to 
pursuing plurilateral initiatives; 
 
16. We acknowledge the systemic importance of the conclusion of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement, we remain concerned that issues of importance to African Countries and many other developing countries did not result in binding outcomes from Bali. 
 
I. SUBJECT SPECIFIC WTO ISSUES 
A. Agriculture 17. Restate  our call to correct the systemic imbalances representative of the Uruguay Round 
outcomes, in particular, the Agreement on Agricu lture through which distortions in the global 
markets continue to undermine Africa`s potential economic gains encapsulated in Africa`s comparative advantage;   
 
18. Underscore  that agriculture remains central to Africa's agenda at the WTO. We therefore 
emphasize the urgency to enhance market acce ss to support value addition, job creation 
and overall development of Agriculture sector in Africa;  
 19. Reaffirm  the importance of food security to Af rican Countries and reiterate the need to 
achieve food security in the continent. We support efforts by Net-Food Importing Developing 
Countries (NFIDCs) in respect of Agriculture related rule-making in the WTO, and in this 
regard underscore the urgent need to a full implementation of the Marrakech NFIDC Decision in order to deliver improved food security and agricultural productivity in NFIDCs 
and LDCs; 
 20. Further reaffirm  the need to strengthen the disciplin es of the Green Box to ensure that 
measures notified under the Green Box comply with basic criteria, and to introduce 
necessary elements on the Green Box to reflect the particular circumstances of developing country members in order to address the current imbalances in the Agreement on Agriculture;  
 
21. Take note  of the General Council`s Decision referenced WT/GC/688 on public stockholding 
for food security purposes and recall the communication of the African Group in document 
TN/AG/GEN/15 which should guide the negotiations on the permanent solution; 
 22. Urge  WTO members to abide by the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration and the Bali 
Ministerial Decision to fulfill their commitments to ensure the parallel elimination of all forms 
of agricultural export subsidies and disciplines on all export measures with equivalent effect, and give an utmost consideration to prioritize these issues for the Post-Bali work program; WT/L/943 
 
- 3 - 
 
   
B. Cotton 
23. Reiterate  that the cotton issue must be a priority in the Post-Bali negotiations in 
accordance with the Hong Kong ministerial mandate and Bali Ministerial Decision , and on 
the basis of the revised draft modalities on agriculture of 6th December 2008 
(TN/AG/W/4/Rev.4); 
 
C. Non Agriculture Market Access 
24. Emphasize that the developmental dimension must be central in NAMA negotiations. NAMA 
modalities 2008 incorporate the principle of Less th an Full Reciprocity and the flexibilities for 
the developing countries and LDCs, which must be the basis for NAMA negotiation, taking 
into consideration the peculiar circumstances of African States.. The outcome of NAMA 
negotiations must support Africa`s industrial development, economic diversification and structural transformation agenda; 
 
D. Services 
25. Reaffirm that the negotiating process must remain multilateral, fully transparent and 
focused on a bottom-up approach. Plurilateral negotiations cannot substitute for an inclusive 
multilateral process;  
 26. Stress that the outcomes of the DDA, in respect of all present and future WTO agreements 
should include financial and technical assistance and sustainable sectoral capacity building 
measures as part of the SDT;  
 
27. Emphasize the need to ensure that Africa obtains economic benefits in all three pillars of 
the negotiations (Agriculture, NAMA and Services);  
 
E. Least Developed Countries Issues 
28. Recall that LDC issues such as Duty Free and Qu ota Free Market Access, Preferential Rules 
of Origin and Cotton, are of critical importance to the integration of the LDCs into the Multilateral Trading System; we call upon members to prioritize work on these issues with 
the view to translating them into legally binding negotiated settlement;   
 29. Further, recall the Collective Request submitted by the LDC Group on 21 July 2014 
pursuant to the Decision on the Operationalizati on of the LDCs Services Waiver (Ministerial 
Decision of 07 December 2013(WT/MIN(13)/43, WT/L/918). We look forward to a HIGH LEVEL meeting to be held in mid-January 2015 in  line with the waiver decision, where non 
LDC members in a position to do so shall indicate sectors and modes of supply where they 
intend to provide preferential treatment to LDC services and service suppliers ; 
 30. Recognize and commend the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) as an important 
vehicle for the delivery of aid for trade and as an instrument for building trade capacity in 
LDCs. We welcome the report of the Compre hensive Evaluation which reaffirmed the 
relevance of the Enhanced Integrated Framework.  We therefore call for a timely decision on 
the extension of the EIF beyond its 2015 mandate. To that end, we urge all our development 
partners to continue to deliver on their pledges with the view to addressing the current funding gap to ensure a seamless transition into the next phase in order to maintain the 
current momentum.  We further urge that special efforts be made in the post-2015 phase of 
the EIF to align its efforts with regional integration initiatives on the continent; 
 F. Trade Facilitation Agreement 
31. Welcome  the establishment of the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (TFAF) as a tool for 
the delivery of assistance and support for capa city building in the implementation of the 
Trade Facilitation Agreement. We call for the ex pansion of the scope of TFAF to include both 
soft and hard infrastructure projects to facilitate the full implementation of the Agreement; 
 WT/L/943 
 
- 4 - 
 
  32. Recognize  that trade facilitation is not only limited to the border measures aimed at 
expediting the release and clearance of good s, but also requires the development of 
infrastructure necessary to faci litate movement and transportation of goods in order to boost 
intra-regional trade; 
 
33. Concerned that without the requisite financial and technical support, it will be difficult to 
implement many of the measures within the Tr ade Facilitation Agreement given the limited 
budgetary resources in many African countries. Taking note that African countries and LDCs 
w i l l  b e  r e q u i r e d  t o  u n d e r t a k e  m o s t  r e f o r m s  in the implementation of the Agreement, yet 
many do not at this stage have the requisite clarity on the availability and adequacy of support they need to meet the onerous obligat ions of the Agreement. We urge development 
partners to meet their obligations and pledges in providing the requisite assistance and 
support for capacity building. 
 
34. Underscore  the importance of the inclusion of paragraph 47 of the Doha ministerial 
declaration in the preamble of the General Council decision on Trade Facilitation contained in the document WT/PCTF/W/28 as a basis to assess the overall balance as we develop a post 
Bali Work program in the context of the Doha development negotiations; 
 G. TRIPS 
35.  Urge WTO Members to amend  the TRIPS Agreement to include a mandatory requirement for 
patent applicants to disclose the origin of biological material and traditional knowledge used 
in their inventions, evidence of prior informed consent and benefit sharing arrangements with the country of origin and the relevant communities with a view to establishing a 
mutually reinforcing relationship between TRIPS Agreement and the Convention of Biological 
Diversity in implementing the obligations under the two agreements. We therefore call for the intensification of work on these issues, including effective protection of traditional 
knowledge as intellectual property. 
 H. Statute of Observers to WTO from the African Union 
36.  Mandate the AUC to renew its application to the Director General of the WTO and all the 
relevant bodies of the WTO to request the granting of permanent observer status to the 
African Union in all WTO bodies. 
 
37.  Call upon  all WTO members to support the African Union's efforts to secure permanent 
observer status in the WTO.  
 
I. Dispute Settlement 
38.  Recall the African Group proposals  on the reform of the DSU and urge Members to ensure 
that any reform facilitates the participation of African countries in the dispute settlement system thereby alleviating the difficulties African countries face in using the system;  
 
J. Development Issues 
39.  Insist that DDA outcomes must incorporate adequate, demand driven financial and 
technical assistance and sustainable capacity building as integral parts of the S&D treatment 
under all WTO Agreements; 
 
40.  Reaffirm the centrality and importance of Special and Differential treatment and the 
relevant provisions in the WTO agreements and urge WTO members, in line with para 44 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, to review all S&D provisions in order to strengthen them  and making them more precise, effective and op erational. We also attach equal and utmost 
importance to the expeditious completion of the S&D work programme set out in para 12.1 
of the Decision on Implementation-Related Issu es and Concerns and endorsed in para 44 of 
the Ministerial Declaration; 
 WT/L/943 
 
- 5 - 
 
  K. Aid for Trade 
41.  Welcome  the upcoming 5th Global Review of Aid for Trade under the auspices of the WTO 
and stress the importance of its theme namely "Reducing the costs of trade for sustainable and inclusive growth," within the context of facilitating intra-African trade;  
 
42.  Reiterate  our strong appeal for the mobilization of  fresh, additional, effective, sustainable 
and predictable resources, necessary for the  e ffective and efficient implementation of trade 
related priorities of the African Countries in a bid to address infrastructural and supply side 
constraints; 
 L. Accession 
43.  Restate  our full solidarity with all African countries in the process of accession into the WTO 
and urge WTO Members to adopt measures and decisions aimed at simplifying accession procedures and enhancing the existing institutional mechanisms including the definition of 
transparent rules of implementation of the provisions of Article XII of the Marrakesh 
Agreement establishing the WTO; 
 
44.  Stress the need to fully implement all aspects of the General Council Decision of 
25
th July 2012 on Accession of LDCs aimed at strengthening, streamlining and 
operationalizing the 2002 LDCs Accession Guidelines by all WTO Members with due consideration to the specific circumstances and development objectives of acceding LDCs;  
 
45.  Urge  WTO Members, WTO Secretariat and relevant international organizations to provide 
requisite technical assistance and capacity building to acceding countries prior to, during, 
and in the follow-up to the accession proce ss in line with their needs and development 
priorities; 
 
II. SUPPORT TO THE AFRICAN GROUP 
46.  Aware  that the DDA negotiations will intensify within the context of post Bali work program 
and further aware of the capacity constraints of both the African Missions and African Union Delegation in Geneva, we call on development partners to technically support African 
Group's participation in DDA negotiation through both the African Union and the UNECA;  
 III. OTHER DEVELOPMENTS 
47.  Take note with gratification the outcome of the Second United Nations Conference on 
Landlocked Developing Countries held in Vienna, Austria from 3-5 November 2014 and welcome both an ambitious 10 year action plan aimed at accelerating sustainable 
development in LLDCs and the six clearly defined priorities aimed at triggering structural 
transformation of LLDCs' economies and infrastructure development;  
 48.  Further take note  of the outcome of the 3rd International Conference on Small Island 
Developing States held in Samoa from 1
st -4th September 2014, and call for progress in the 
implementation of the work programme on small economies at the WTO, taking into 
consideration existing special and differential treatment provisions. We emphasize the need 
to support integration of SIDS in regional and global markets;   
 IV. POST-2015 AGENDA 
49.  Welcome  the UN's efforts to advance the Post-2015 Development Agenda and encourage a 
greater focus on the role of Trade in promoting inclusive socio-economic growth and as an "enabler" of development with its key components such as poverty eradication, job creation, infrastructure development and environmental conservation; 
 WT/L/943 
 
- 6 - 
 
  V. VENUE FOR WTO MC10 
50.  Welcome and fully support the bid by the Government of Kenya to host the 10th Ministerial 
Conference of the WTO in Nairobi in December  2015. Welcome the withdrawal of Turkey in 
favour of Kenya. We call upon all Members to endorse Kenya's bid to host the 
10th Ministerial Conference, noting that it would be the first time for a WTO Ministerial 
Conference to be held in Africa. 
 
__________