WT/MIN(22)/ST/44  
12 June 2022  
(22-4481) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 12-15 June  2022 Original: Spanish  
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. MR FRANCISCO BUSTILLO  
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS  
URUGUAY  
It is an honour for me to address each and every  one of you, and I wish to extend a special welcome 
to the authorities of Kazakhstan, in their capacity as co -hosts of this 12th WTO Ministerial Conference . 
 
Law provides the weakest with a guarantee against the most powerful. This is why, for a developing  
country like Uruguay, where the Round that culminated in the creation of this Organization in 1995 
was launched,  an effective and rules -based multilateral trading system is fundamental .  
 
It is not possible, however, to hide the fact that this system is g oing through a crisis. A crisis because 
its negotiating arm is not responding to the legitimate expectations of the Members of this 
Organization, which makes it difficult to move forward on both long-standing  and newer issues. A 
crisis because the Appellat e Body impasse continues, meaning that the Organization has lost one of 
its most valuable attributes: an effective dispute settlement system. A crisis because the current 
levels of transparency are inadequate, and the trade concerns of Members are accumula ting, often 
with no response . 
 
In this context, we should not be afraid to embark on a much -needed reform process , one aimed at 
ensuring that the WTO functions efficiently and effectively, address es the interests and needs of all 
its Members and remains  in step with the realities of today's world, which are  very different from 
those at the start of the 1990s . 
 
Reform, however, begins at home: changing the rules and procedures that govern the regular work 
of this Organization is of little use if Members do n ot show a change in attitude and commit 
themselves to doing their part to make the system work . 
 
In the meantime, the response to the crisis we are currently experiencing cannot consist of backing 
out of the commitments that we have undertaken jointly in this Organization's various areas of work . 
 
Uruguay reitera tes its unwavering commitment to the reform mandate established in Article 20 of 
the Agreement on Agriculture. We must move towards an open, fair and market -oriented  agricultural 
trading system by making  substantial reductions in support and protection . This is necessary  in order 
to ensure economically, socially and environmentally sustainable food systems and would contribute 
to global food security . 
 
In 22 years of negotiations, we have hardly been able to make any progress on substantive 
improvements und er the Article 20 reform mandate , much to the detriment of our peoples, with the 
exception of the elimination of export subsidies as agreed in Nairobi in 2015. At this Ministerial 
Conference, we should be able to take a step forward in line with our mandat e. Doing nothing is 
essentially taking a step backwards and, as developing countries, we should never consent to any 
backward movement as regards the achievements of the last successful multilateral Round, during 
which a fundamental , albeit insufficient,  step was taken towards making trade in agricultural 
products subject to multilateral rules and ensuring progress on the long -term objective of 
establishing a fair and market -oriented agricultural trading system . 
 
After more than 20 years of negotiations, we  cannot shy away from the responsibility to respond to 
the mandate of SDG 14.6 and to agree, at this Ministerial Conference, on disciplines that prohibit WT/MIN(22)/ST/44  
 
- 2 - 
 
  certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing ; we must also 
agree to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing , and to 
refrain from introducing new such subsidies . We will only be able to truly address the global scale of 
the problem through global rules . 
 
Regarding the response to the pandemic, Uruguay, like the majority of th e Members  present, is a 
developing country net importer of vaccines, medicines and inputs used to tackle  the COVID -19 
pandemic. It is vital for the credibility of the WTO to adopt, at this Ministerial Conference, an 
ambitious, balanced and realistic multilateral Declaration that demonstrates this Organization's 
capacity to address the present and future trade and health emergencies affecting our peoples . 
 
Lastly, we welcome the progress  made in the various joint initiatives. We also welcome the successful 
outcome reached in the area of services domestic regulation . Furthermore, I am particularly pleased 
to announce the positive outcomes achieved by the MSME Group , coordinated by Uruguay.  We very 
much welcome the progress made in the negotiations on e-commerce  and investment facilitation for 
development and, in particular, the inclusion of a gender perspective in the work of this Organization, 
thanks to the efforts of the Group on Trade an d Gender . 
 
With regard to environmental issues, which are one of our country's priorities, last year Uruguay 
decided to join the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions and the Informal 
Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade.  
 
In an international context characterized by a breach of the peace, a worsening food crisis and 
rampant protectionist tendencies, a country like Uruguay can once again rest assured that the pillars 
on which its foreign policy is historically based are correct , and our country therefore issues a call to 
defend and reaffirm multilateralism, the rule of law and conflict resolution in accordance with 
international rules .  
 
To conclude , Uruguay, as a Member of the WTO and an agricultural exporting country produc ing 
food for more than 10 times its population in a hungry world, will continue to call for the liberalization 
of agricultural trade . Such liberalization  makes it possible for food to reach those who need it, in  
accordance with the commitment undertaken by all Members upon signing the Agreement on 
Agriculture, and will undoubtedly ensure  progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals . 
 
We hope that the WTO will continue working to achieve relevant outcom es for our countries and our 
peoples, on these and other issues of importance  for our contemporary agenda . 
 
You can count on Uruguay's full commitment in this process . 
 
_________