WT/MIN(17)/ST/84  
4 January  2018 
(18-0039) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Eleventh Session  
Buenos Aires, 10 -13 December 2017  Original:  French  
 
  
STATEMENT BY MR  CHENET ST -VIL 
GENERAL COORDINATOR  
HAITI 
Haiti endorses the statements made on be half of the ACP and LDC Groups.  
This Eleventh Session of the Ministerial Conference is being held  in an international climate  marked 
by a growing  questioning of multilateralism , with effects  suggest ing the need for a return to 
protectionism . It must nonetheless be acknowledged that despite continued  disparities in 
countries' levels of develo pment, multilateralism, strengthened by  the creation of the WTO, has 
encouraged global trade and in the process has improved living conditions for a large proportion of 
the world's population . According to UNCTAD statistics, average per capita GDP in the developing 
countries rose from US$1 ,211 to US$4 ,952 between 1994 and 2016 and in the LDCs, it grew from 
US$273 in 1994 to US$1 ,061 in 2016 . Thus, Haiti continues to place its confidence in the 
multilateral trading system and the WTO in particular, with its rules based on equity, transparency, 
inclusiveness and non -discrimination.  
Haiti wish es to see this Eleventh Ministerial Conference deliver tangible outcomes for the 
developing countries in gene ral and LDCs in particular . It thus encourages Members to give 
favourable consideration to the G -90's draft ministerial decision on special and differential 
treatment pursuant to paragraph  44 of the Doha Declaration , in which the Ministers instructed  
Membe rs to make the S&D provisions more precise, effective and operational . A positive outcome 
in this respect would represent a concrete step in favour of the developing countries and LDCs in 
particular.  
As regards fisheries subsidies, Haiti urges Members to achieve a significant outcome in order to  
disciplin e subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity, as well as illegal, undeclared 
and unregulated fishing, in accordance with the Doha and Hong Kong mandates and Target  14.6 of 
the Sustainable Development Goals . Given its limited capacity to implement any potential 
disciplines in this regard, Haiti hopes that the outcomes of the negotiations on fisheries subsidies 
will include appropriate special and differential treatment for the developing cou ntries and LDCs in 
particular . It thus encourages Members to show understanding and flexibility.  
Turning to  agriculture, Haiti,  as a victim of the adverse impact of agricultural subsidies , calls for 
the elimination of all forms of international trade -distorting subsid ies. Haiti's rice subsector has 
been severely affected by this type of subsidy  since the late 1980s , a situation that has only 
heightened  the countr y's dependence  on rice imports . Haiti consequently encourages Members to 
adopt disciplines to ensure that  the net food importing countries and LDCs enjoy flexibilities 
needed to guarantee their food security and promote their rural development.  
As to cotton, Haiti supports the C4's draft ministerial decision and calls for its adoption by 
Members, pursuant to the Hong Kong, Bali and Nairobi mandates.  
Services account for more than 50 % of Haiti's GDP and are therefore a vital sector for my 
country's economy . Haiti, like the other LDCs, is not seeking negotiations on domestic regulation . 
It believes t hat any necessary discipline should remain within the scope of the mandate contained 
in Article  VI:4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services . The rights and capacit y of Members WT/MIN(17)/ST/84  
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  to regulate domestic policy must not in any way be affected by the potent ial establishment of 
future disciplines.  
Haiti further believes that any future discipline on domestic regulation should take into account the 
collective LDC request for operationalization of the waiver in favour of services and service 
suppliers of these countries in order to help them use it to their full advantage.  
Haiti recognizes the potential role of electronic commerce in promoting development . However, 
infrastructure, energy and internet access problems, among others, prevent full use of the gains it 
provides . Haiti is therefore in favour of continuing work under the 1998 Work Programme and 
urges Members to narrow  the digital divide  between them.  
Haiti encourages both developed and developing Members with the ability  to do so to provide real  
market access for LDCs by eliminating non -tariff barriers and implementing the decision on 
preferential rules of origin for LDCs which, inter alia, require capacity b uilding tailored to their 
specific needs . Hence, Aid for Trade, including the Enhanced Integrated Framework, is necessary 
to allow more effective  participation of LDCs in international trade.  
Turning to the new issues, namely MSMEs and investment facilitation, Ha iti recognizes their 
importance  but thinks  that it is necessary to take into account and comply with paragraph  34 of 
the Nairobi Declaration . 
Haiti firmly supports the need to provide flexibilities for Caribbean economies affected by natura l 
disasters in order  to facilitat e their rehabilitation.  
 
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