WT/MIN(15)/ST/6  
17 December 2015  
(15-6694)  Page: 1/2  
Ministerial Conference 
Tenth Session 
Nairobi, 15-18 December 2015  Original: Spanish  
 
  STATEMENT BY H.E. MR ANDRES REBOLLEDO SMITMANS 
VICE-MINISTER FOR TRADE 
CHILE 
First of all, I would like to extend the greetin gs of the President of the Republic of Chile, 
Michelle Bachelet, to Members participating in this Tenth Ministerial Conference.  We believe that it is extremely significant for the multilateral trading system that the Conference is 
being held in Africa for the first time and in the very same year as the 20
th anniversary of the 
WTO.  
The integration of all countries into international trade is a fundamental pillar of Chile's foreign 
policy. We have accordingly ratified the duty-f ree quota-free scheme and the LDC Services Waiver, 
and we stand ready for any developments in this direction. 
 
We also prioritize free trade with clear and fair rules, and without distortions, as it generates growth and employment and enhances the well-being of all Members in the system. 
 
In this regard, we welcome the newly acceded Memb ers, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Liberia. The 
expansion of our Membership confirms the enduri ng primacy of the WTO and its system of trade 
rules within the multilateral context. 
 
We believe that it is vital to move forward on multilateral disciplines and to strengthen our Organization. It is the only forum that addresses issues such as the elimination of export subsidies 
for agricultural products and the reduction of abusive use of anti-dumping measures. 
 Chile is an active Member within the multilateral trading system. The WTO disciplines are crucial for the adoption of our domestic policies, and constitute the framework within which our regional 
trade agreements are negotiated. 
 We have confidence in the system and we depend on it. However, for this very reason and in light 
of negotiating outcomes that, until now, have failed to fully meet the ambitions with which we 
began the Doha Round, we cannot over-emphasize the need to continue our work and resolutely forge ahead with settling outstanding issues, as part of a substantial and meaningful post-Nairobi 
agenda. 
 Economic growth based on a model of openness to international trade has a strong positive impact on our country's economic and social development,  in terms of employment, access of households 
to better and more diversified products, and the capacity of the State to finance public policies 
aimed at fighting poverty and inequality.  
Convergence between openness to bilateral and plur ilateral options and the multilateral system 
embodied by the WTO is a path that Chile has emba rked on and will continue to follow. We do not 
see any contradiction in this approach; rather, it allows for an ever-increasing expansion of 
opportunities for world trade, enabling the latter to grow and making the system more competitive 
and inclusive, particularly for the least de veloped countries and small and medium-sized 
enterprises.  WT/MIN(15)/ST/6 
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  The effectiveness of this policy is reflected by the share of our foreign trade in GDP, which 
increased from 44% in 1990 to 67% in 2014.  Other essential elements are good practices, the improvement of customs systems, administrative 
procedures, and policies that create a favourable environment for exporters, such as the WTO 
Trade Facilitation Agreement.  
Chile is currently concluding the process to ratify this Agreement. The ratification process has 
already been approved by our Chamber of Deputi es and is now being finalized in the Senate. 
 Our Organization has solid foundations. Since the WTO was established, its institutional activities 
have never stalled. Committees and regular working groups continue to operate, as does the 
dispute settlement system, which Members frequently use, thereby giving it broad legitimacy and validity. The Organization is effective, in high demand and fully operative. 
 
Upon these foundations and the agreements that we will reach during this  Conference, we must 
build a post-Nairobi agenda that includes the ou tstanding Doha Round issues and the trade topics 
of this new era. Nairobi should be a milestone for the system. We must leave here with an 
undertaking to redouble our efforts to fulfil the high level of ambition that gave rise to this Organization.  
I n  d o i n g  t h i s ,  w e  w i l l  a c c o m p l i s h  w h a t  i s  e x p e c t e d  o f  u s  a n d  f u l f i l  a  d u t y  t h a t  g o e s  b e y o n d  
individual interests, in order to adopt an approach that looks towards the common good, under which international trade as promoted in the WTO has a key role to play as part of its relationship 
with development. 
 
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