WT/MIN(13)/ST/122  
17 February 2014  
(14-0947)  Page: 1/3  
Ministerial Conference 
Ninth Session 
Bali, 3-6 December 2013  Original: English  
 
 STATEMENT BY HON. ARNALDO BROWN 
ACP MINISTERIAL COORDINATOR AN D MINISTER OF STATE IN  
THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS & FOREIGN TRADE 
JAMAICA  
I am pleased to join in welcoming new members who have acceded since MC9 and look forward to 
welcoming the Republic of Yemen who will become the 160th WTO member during the course of 
this Ministerial Conference. 
 
I am also privileged to deliver these remarks as Coordinator of the ACP Group.   
In our Ministerial Declaration and Communique on MC9 issued in October 2013, Ministers of Trade 
of the ACP declared their commitment to the purs uit of a successful outcome here in Bali. We 
consider a successful outcome in Bali to be of vital importance to ACP Member States and the WTO 
as a whole. We see a successful outcome in Bali as a catalyst towards a post-Bali work programme 
that reinvigorates the multilateral trading system and takes fully into account the development dimension.   
The road to Bali was paved by a collective decisi on to pursue outcomes in Agriculture, Trade 
Facilitation, Development and LDC issues. We have come to Bali with significant convergence on texts across all areas but with gaps that have delayed the consensus necessary to finalize them. 
Progress in key aspects of the texts before us has been achieved due in part to the work done by 
the ACP Group working with other developing country and LDC partners, indeed with all members, to bridge gaps and forge consensus, particularly in Section 2 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement. 
We remain committed to constructive and solution-seeking engagement in all areas of our work 
here in Bali as we seek to close remaining gaps and make this Ministerial truly a success for all.  With respect to the Post-Bali Agenda our position is clear – we must reaffirm our commitment to 
completing the DDA and to work on the issues  of Special and Differential Treatment and 
Development that we did not seek to address in the context of our Bali outcomes. We insist that 
these be given priority together with buil t-in agendas in agriculture and LDC issues. 
 
It is true that we have consistently allowed success to elude us since the establishment of the WTO but we need not repeat history here at MC9. Wh ile there are differing views on the consequences 
of not securing a package here in Bali, everyo ne recognizes that the consequences for the 
negotiating function of the WTO will be significant. As developing countries committed to multilateralism and a rules-based trading system we stand to be most seriously affected by any setback to the system. 
 
Bali is a watershed for the WTO. We have within  our grasp an agreement on a package that could 
provide significant impetus for concluding th e Round and strengthening and enhancing the 
credibility of the WTO and the multilateral trading system. In keeping with our declared 
commitment as Ministers of the ACP States we will therefore spare no effort to achieve a balanced 
and successful outcome here in Bali. I request that the ACP Declaration be entered into the record 
of this Ministerial Conference. 
 I will now deliver remarks in my National Capacity.  WT/MIN(13)/ST/122 
 
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  Jamaica remains committed to the efforts to deliver a successful Bali package. We have engaged 
constructively with the rest of the Membersh ip and have managed to reach agreement on 
Section 2 of the Draft Consolidated Negotiating Text on Trade Facilitation, the Monitoring Mechanism and elements of the LDC Package. Othe r outstanding areas remain for resolution in 
Section I and on Agriculture.  However, we are convinced that these issues are not insurmountable 
and can be addressed if there is political will to do so.  
Work at the technical level in Geneva has been exhausted and clear political input is now required 
to address the outstanding issues. I fully intend to work closely with colleague Ministers here in Bali to find compromises and achieve solutions that will be directly beneficial to the Membership, particularly the developing countries and LDCs. 
 
Let me also emphasize that we must finish the task here in Bali. Jamaica will not support any call for the negotiating process to revert to Geneva. We concur with the DG that there are serious risks 
associated with such an approach. Potential solutions are within our grasp and we must accept full 
responsibility if we do not explore and embrace them here and now.  
Jamaica has always maintained that any outcome agreed at Bali must be meaningful and balanced 
with special focus and priority on the development dimension.  This has been a key feature of the elements that have already been agreed. We have secured an outcome in Section II that is substantially stabilized around the principles es tablished in Annex D and the Hong Kong mandate. 
It contains the necessary flexibilities and elaborat es a process that seeks to address the issue of 
the acquisition of capacity and the ability to implement Category C commitments. The provision of technical and financial assistance and capacity building to developing countries and LDCs will be 
crucial in assisting these countries in implementing their commitments under the TF Agreement. 
 Like other developing countries, Jamaica recognizes that there are benefits to concluding an 
agreement on TF. This includes improvements, not only to border management procedures but 
also provisions that will have a strong bearing on increased productivity and competitiveness at both the national and international levels through investment in physical infrastructure, technology and innovation.  
 
We must acknowledge that the outcome under the Development pillar is a very modest one both in terms of scope and substance. The agreement reached on the Monitoring Mechanism represents 
a first step in the negotiations under this pillar.  We expect the Mechanism to function 
complementary to the Committee on Trade and Development and the Mandate on Special and Differential Treatment set forth in the Doha Declaration. It should bring into sharp focus the 
concerns of developing countries and LDCs relating to the special and differential treatment 
provisions under the relevant agreements.  It will act as a focal point in the WTO system in reviewing and assessing these provisions.  
There has also been agreement on certain elemen ts of the LDC Package.  Jamaica fully supports 
the results of the work in this area and looks forward to their incorporation in the collective decisions we will adopt at this meeting. 
 
We are encouraged by the progress made in reaching agreements or understandings on the proposals tabled by the G20 and the G33.  It is our view that temporary solutions that have been 
negotiated will lead to more permanent ones as part of a post-Bali work programme. 
 It will be important to preserve and build on any outcome achieved in Bali, as well as on the progress achieved so far in the Doha Round, particularly the negotiated flexibilities including for 
SVEs as contained in the revised draft modalities on Agriculture and Non-agricultural Market 
Access.   
The importance of the work in the non-DDA issues is also important. In this regard, Jamaica 
reaffirms the importance it places on the Work Programme on Small Economies and the need to find solutions to the trade-related issues and concerns raised by the Group in the WTO. Jamaica 
also wishes to emphasize the importance of the wo rk relating to the Aid for Trade Initiative which 
was established to address, inter alia , the enhancement of supply-side capacity in developing 
countries and LDCs thereby contributing to their integration into the multilateral trading system.  WT/MIN(13)/ST/122 
 
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  Finally, Jamaica wishes to express deep appreciati on to the Government and People of Indonesia 
for their warmth and hospitality. The arrangements for this Ministerial Conference have been outstanding and we trust that we will be in a position to honour the quality of the support that has been provided by adopting the decisions that will ensure a successful outcome.  
 
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