WT/MIN(17)/ST/110  
 
8 January 2018  
(18-0103) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Eleventh Session  
Buenos Aires, 10 -13 December 2017  Original: English  
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. MR  HIROSHIGE SEKO   
MINISTER OF ECONOMY,  TRADE AND INDUSTRY   
JAPAN 
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Government of Argentina, Chair Malcorra  and 
Director -General Azevêdo for their hospitality in organizing this meeting.  
 
Since the WTO was established two decades ago, the rules -based multilateral trading system 
reinforced by the effective dispute settlement mechanism has significantly contribut ed to dramatic 
developments in the world, such as remarkable economic growth in emerging countries, 
development of global value chains, and the fourth industrial revolution.  
 
Despite these developments, the value of free trade and the  multilateral trading system are facing 
serious challenges today. Does free trade really contribute to growth and employment of the world 
economy? Are the income gaps narrowed? Does the multilateral trading system catch up with the 
changes of today’s economy? These questions ha ve been raised.  
 
Against this backdrop, the world is paying great attention to the outcome of MC11. We, Ministers, 
now need to demonstrate our strong commitment and send out a message to the world to further 
bolster the trust in the multilateral trading sy stem and to promote free trade.  
 
Now I suggest that we pay particular attention to the following three major challenges.  
 
Our first challenge is how we bring about "inclusive growth".  It is critically important that the 
benefits of trade be shared among al l members of our society. I hope to exchange views with 
other Ministers on our future works in the areas of MSMEs, trade and investment facilitation, and 
transparency of regulations.  
 
Japan also wishes to contribute constructively to discussions regarding public stockholding, 
domestic support in agriculture, fisheries subsidies, domestic regulation in services, and trade and 
development, on the basis of the discourses in Geneva.  
 
Our second challenge is how to harness the opportunity of "digital revolution" , which has a 
potential to dramatically change our society. It revolutionize s industries and businesses. 
It encourages the participation of various constituents in trade such as women and MSMEs, 
particularly in developing countries.  
 
Japan has submitted a proposal to establish a working group on e -commerce, building on the 
discussions in the WTO since 1998.  
 
In the working group, members will discuss holistically whether it is necessary to clarify and 
strengthen the existing WTO rules on e -commerce. Members  will also discuss what kind of 
opportunities and challenges developing countries and MSMEs are facing.  
 
In this regard, Japan announces its intention to extend approximately 33 billion yen of assistance, 
which is equivalent to approximately US$300 , for th e upcoming three years to help build 
necessary infrastructure. Japan hopes the developing countries  will harness the benefits of 
e-commerce by taking advantage of this assistance as well as participate actively in the discussion 
of international rule makin g on e -commerce.  WT/MIN(17)/ST/110  
 
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  I would like to ask all members here to support our proposal, in order to make an important step 
forward in our work on e -commerce at the WTO.  
 
Last but not least, we should also work on the issue of "market -distorting measures. " Free trad e 
only works when we secure fair conditions for competition. Fair market conditions must not be 
negatively affected by measures such as market -distorting subsidies, forced technology transfer, 
infringement of intellectual property rights, and unfair trade practices by state -owned enterprises.  
 
To this end, Japan supports the objective of proposals to enhance transparency and strengthen 
notification requirements. These proposals should be taken into account in the future work of the 
WTO.  
 
Furthermore, enforc ement of the existing rules and proper functioning of the dispute settlement 
system are important role of the WTO.  
 
In the medium -to long -term, it is also important to review our rules to regulate market distorting 
measures more effectively. We may use new  rules developed in FTAs as a reference.  
 
We should secure a global level playing field by addressing market distorting measures.  
 
None of these challenges are easy to solve, but we must not give up moving forward. We should 
further enhance the credibility  of the multilateral trading system through our collective political 
will. On behalf of the Government of Japan, I am committed to contribute my best efforts to open 
a new page in the history of the WTO.  
 
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