RESTRICTED  
  
WT/GC/M/174  
 
20 November 2018  
(18-7299) Page: 1/74 
General Council  
18 October 2018    
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETI NG 
HELD IN THE CENTRE W ILLIAM RAPPARD ON 18 OCTOBER  2018 
Chairperson : Mr. Junichi I hara (Japan ) 
The Chairman and the Direct or-General bade farewell to  Ambassador Evandro Didonet (Brazil), 
Ambassador Dato Mahdi Rahman (Brunei Darussalam) , Ambassador Álvaro Cedeño Molinari (Costa 
Rica) and  Ambassador Sabine Möller (Namibia) and expressed appreciation for their  valuable 
contribution during their time as Permanent Representative s. 
 
Subjects discussed1: 
 
1   REPORT BY THE CH AIRMAN OF THE TRADE NEGOTIATIONS COMMITT EE AND 
REPORT BY THE DIRECT OR-GENERAL  ................................ ................................ ..............  1 
2   IMPLEMENTATION O F THE BALI, NAIROBI AND BUENOS AIRES OUT COMES – 
STATEMENT BY THE CHA IRMAN  ................................ ................................ .......................  2 
3   WORK PROGRAMME O N SMALL ECON OMIES – REPORT BY TH E CHAIRMAN OF 
THE DEDICATED SESSIO N OF THE COMMITTEE O N TRADE AND DEVELOPM ENT ...............  4 
4   TWELFTH SESSION OF THE MIN ISTERIAL CONFERENCE – DATE  ................................ . 5 
5   HIGH -LEVEL CONFE RENCE ON SUSTAINABLE  BLUE ECONOMY AND AF RICA E -
COMMERCE WEEK – STATE MENT BY KENYA  ................................ ................................ ...... 5 
6   CHAIRMANSHIPS OF  THE COMMITTEE ON TR ADE AND ENVIRONMENT AND 
THE COMMITTEE ON TRA DE AND ENVIRONMENT I N SPECIAL SESSION – 
STATEMENT BY THE CHA IRMAN  ................................ ................................ .......................  7 
7   STATEMENT BY THE  CHAIRMAN IN CONNECT ION WITH ADMINISTRAT IVE 
MEASURES FOR MEMBERS  IN ARREARS  ................................ ................................ ...........  7 
ANNEX 1 – THE REPORT S BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL AND THE CHAIRS  OF THE 
NEGOTIATING GROUPS A T THE INFORMAL TNC A ND INFORMAL HODS MEE TING 
HELD ON 16 OCTOBER 2 018 ................................ ................................ .............................  9 
ANNEX 2 – STATEMENTS  BY MEMBERS AT THE I NFORMAL TNC AND INFO RMAL 
HODS MEETING HELD ON  16 OCTOBER 2018 ................................ ................................ .. 16 
 
1  REPORT BY THE CHAIRM AN OF THE TRADE NEGO TIATIONS COMMITTEE A ND REPORT 
BY THE DIRECTOR -GENE RAL 
1.1.  The Chairman  recalled that the Director -General had convened an Informal TNC and Heads of 
Delegation meeting  on 16 October  where he had provided a report on his recent activities and 
consultations. The Chairs of Negotiating Bodies had also provided their reports on the  negotiating 
work and fifty -five delegations had taken the floor.  
                                                
1 The proposed agenda was ci rculated in document WT/GC/W/750 . WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 2 - 
 
  1.2.  As had been  announced at that meeting , the Director -General's report an d the reports of the 
Chairs of N egotiating B odies would  be included in the minutes of the  General Council meeting.2 
Statemen ts delivered by delegations would  also be in cluded in the  minutes under the current item  
unless indicate d otherwise.3 
1.3.  The General Council took note  of the report of the Chairman of the TNC and of the Director -
General's report, and of the statements delivered at the Informal TN C and Inform al HODs meeting 
on 16 October . 
2  IMPLEMENTATION OF TH E BALI, NAIROBI AND BUENOS AIRES OUTCOME S – 
STATEMENT BY THE CHA IRMAN  
2.1.  The Chairman4 said that the item remained  on the agenda to follow up on the decisions 
adopted in B ali, Nairobi and Buenos Aires and to do so in an inclusive and trans parent manner.  
2.2.  On 12 October, he had  held a meeting wi th the Chairs of Regular Bodies where they had  
heard updates on the work taking place  in WTO Councils and Committees  including with respect to 
the implementation of the Ministerial mandates.  
2.3.  Before moving on to his report, he took the opportunity to emphasis e, as he had also done  at 
the meeting with the Chairs, the key role that  the regular work in the WTO could  play in 
addressin g various challenges the organization currently faced. In that re spect, it wa s important to 
ensure that regular bodies function ed efficiently and  were fully responsive to Members' needs . He 
believe d that wa s crucial to improve the way the organization operated . 
2.4.  His report would focus on those areas where there were upda tes since his  last report in July.  
2.5.  Regarding the Ministerial Decision on the Work Progr amme on Electronic Commerce, he 
recalled  that, at the July meeting of the General Council, the Chairs of the four subsidiary bodies 
had reported on developments in thei r respective areas. In addition, South Africa and India had 
introduced a paper on the moratorium on Customs Duties on electronic t ransmissions. At that 
meeting, he had mentioned that he  would consult Members on the way forward with regard to the 
moratorium . Since then, he had  held bilateral consultations with some twenty delegations who had 
responded to his  invitation. On the basis of the views expr essed by delegations through those 
consultations, he  intend ed to convene an open -ended informal meeting in la te November. The 
details of the informal meeting would  be communicated in  due course. In the meantime, he 
welcomed any id eas and suggestions to make the  discussion informative  and useful to all Members 
and he  remain ed open to meet with an y interested delega tion. He also recall ed that the next 
review of progress of the Work Progra mme on Electronic Commerce would  take place at the 
December meeting of the General Council.  
2.6.  Concerning some of the Decisions on Agriculture, at its recent September meeting, the 
Committee on Agriculture had adopted the report of its first triennial review of the Nairobi Decision 
on Export Competition5. With respect to the implementation of the Nairobi Decis ion by Members 
with scheduled export subsidies reduction commitments, Australia, Colombia, Israel, Norw ay, 
Switzerland and Uruguay had  their revised schedule s certified – while Canada, the 
                                                
2 The Director -General's report (also circulated in JOB/TNC/71) and the reports of the Chairs of 
Negotiating Bodies at the 16 October  Informal  TNC and HODs meeting  are incorporated in the minutes o f this 
meeting and are  reproduced in Annex 1  of this document.  
3 The statements at the 16 October  Informal TNC and HODs m eeting by the following delegations  are 
incorporated in the minutes of this mee ting and can be found in Annex 2  of this document:  Canada; South 
Africa (African Group); Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; Norway; Malawi (ACP); United States; Ghana; 
Mexico; Qatar; Brazil; Morocco; Cuba; Turkey; Colombia (Structured Discussions on Investment Facilitation for 
Development); New Zealand; Chi na; Senegal; European Union; Zimbabwe; Australia (Joint Statement 
Initiative on Electronic Commerce); India; Republic of Moldova; Uruguay (Informal Working Group on MSMEs); 
Costa Rica; Republic of Korea; Chinese Taipei; Indonesia (G -33); Switzerland; Benin  (C-4); Argentina; Chad 
(LDCs); Paraguay; Vanuatu (Pacific Group); Jamaica; Russian Federation; Oman; Japan; Uganda; Angola; 
Nepal; Trinidad & Tobago; Cambodia; Hong Kong, China; Panama (Article XII Members); Kenya; Egypt; 
Plurinational State of Bolivia; E cuador; Singapore; Pakistan; Haiti (CARICOM); Nigeria; Afghanistan; Cameroon 
and Sri Lanka.  
4 The Chairman's statem ent was circulated in JOB/GC/202 . 
5 This report was circulated in document G/AG/28 . WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 3 - 
 
  European  Union, South A frica and the United States had  circulated d raft revised schedules. Other 
Members with scheduled export subsidies commitments had also had an opportunity at that 
meeting to update the Committee on the steps taken to implement the Decision.  
2.7.  The Committee had also continued its review of the Bali Deci sion on TRQ Administration. 
Contributions from several Members, together with a background document on TRQ administration 
and fill rates prepared by the Secretariat, had assisted those discussions. The Review of the Bali 
Decision wa s expected to conclude i n 2019.  
2.8.  On the LDC Services Waiver, at the meeting of the Services Council which had ta ken place 
the previous  week, the LDC Group  had introduced a communication titled "Possible Elements for a 
Review of the Operation of Noti fied Preferences" which suggeste d a number of elements that could 
be part of the review mandated by the relevant Nairobi Decision.  
2.9.  In the debate, delegations had offered their initial reactions to the communication and the 
LDC Group had stated its readiness to engage  productively. The Ch airman would  be consulting 
with delegations on how to advance the process so as to fulfil the Council's mandate.  
2.10.   Regarding the Bali Decision on Duty Free -Quota Free market access for LDC s, Members 
would recall that it had  not been possible for the Secretar iat to prepare a report on DFQF market 
access for LDCs  in 2017  due to divergent views expressed by some Memb ers on its scope and 
coverage. The CTD Chairman had recently held informal consultations with the key delegations 
involved to see if p ositions had c hanged. Since that was not the case, it did  not seem possible for  
the Secretariat to prepare the  report. Nonetheless, the mand ated annual review for 2018 would  
still be carried out in the next CTD meeting on 21 November, albeit without a Secretariat report . 
2.11.   Regarding the Bali Decision on the Monitoring Mechanism on Special and  Differential 
Treatment, there wa s still no common understanding on how to proceed with the re view of the 
Mechanism, which had been  mandated to take place three years after the first f ormal meeting. The 
CTD Chair intended  to hold consultations with Members to see wh ether a common understanding 
could  be reached on the way forward.  
2.12.   On Aid for Trade, the CTD Chair had recently held informal consultations so that Members 
could provide their  inputs on the draft Aid for Trade monitoring an d evaluation formats, which 
would  form the basis of the next Global R eview. Substantive comments had been made, and it had 
been agreed that the Secretariat would  update the formats accordingly. The revised mo nitoring 
and evaluation formats should be ready for Members' consideration by the next formal CTD Aid for 
Trade meeting in November.  
2.13.   Lastly, on the implementation of the Agr eement on Trade Facilitation, ratifications currently 
stood at 139, covering nearly  85% of the total. There wa s progress also in the submission of 
Category A,  B and C notifications which stoo d at 114, 71 and 60 respectively. More importa nt than 
the numbers themselves was the fact that tho se figures show ed a continued upward trend in 
terms of implementation of the Agreement.  
2.14.   The representative of  the Central African Republic , on behalf of the LDCs , reiterate d the 
LDCs'  message regarding  the implementation of Ministerial Decisions particularly those from Bali 
and Nairobi. The LDC Group needed  decisions taken in its favour on  DFQF Market Access, Services 
Waiver and Rules of Orig in to be fully implemented. That was fundamental for the LDCs to better 
integrate into global trade and for achieving  the goals of Agen da 2030. The LDC Group thank ed 
those Members that had  already notified the p references that they had grant ed in keeping with the 
relevant decision especially those which had  already integrated them into their legislation in the 
area of rules of origin.  
2.15.   Much however remained  to be do ne to fully implement those  decisi ons and for economic 
actors in thei r countries and the population generally to re ally feel the benefits that would  come in 
terms of economic growth and of increases  in exports and jobs. Following them up was therefore  
fundamental parti cularly through the relevant WTO committees and  through technical assistance. 
It was necessary for Members to ensure that they did everything they could to raise awareness 
amongst thei r population. That wa s particularly important in Services.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 4 - 
 
  2.16.   The LDC Group had  tabled a number of proposals in that  regard  throughout the year in the 
CRO and CTS , particularly with regard to the utilization rate of preferences and DFQF market 
access – through the  use of the advantages that had been granted. The LDC s hoped that Members 
would support them  as soon as possible to ensure that they could  fulfil their potential in line with 
the Decisions taken in Bali and Nairobi, and to help them  integrate further into global trade.  
2.17.   The representative of Malawi , on behalf  of the ACP , thanked the Chairman for his  report on 
the activities and efforts to implement the Bali, Nairobi and Buenos  Aires outcomes.  In addition to 
the elements the ACP had  raised at the TNC and had been recorded under the first agenda item, 
the Group stress ed that it was  imperative that all Ministerial Decisions and Declarations be 
respected. Imp lementation of outcomes from tho se three Mini sterial Conferences would  be 
impacted as well by the questions being put forward concer ning WTO reforms. The ACP t herefore 
urged Members with proposals to  make them clearly known to the entire Membership so that they 
could  be examined in a trans parent and inclusive manner and to enable those  having a stake in 
the multilateral trading system to  interrogate them and to assess the impact of such proposals.  
2.18.   The representative of Chad thanked the Se cretariat for its support which was much need ed 
to strengthen its knowledge and to help it  to integr ate into international trade. Members  also 
needed good negotiating practices in the multilateral context. The cooper ation between the WTO 
and Chad wa s very fruitful, vibrant and useful.  It had  contributed to the strategy for public -private 
partnerships, to capacity building in Trade Facilitation and in A id for Trade. As a landlocked  
country, Chad had no access to the ocean which added  another layer of difficulty  when it came  to 
both importation and exportation. Consequently, its government was  deploying ef forts to ensure 
that trade flowed  freely through dry ports in neighbouring coun tries which had maritime access. 
Chad needed to be supported in that regard and t he operationalization and implementation of the 
Bali, Nairo bi and Buenos Aires outcomes would help strengthen that general movement. Chad 
needed the WTO to continue to support  it in its  work to identify and strengthen its  competit iveness 
amongst business entities comprising a large percentage of its  economy particularly with regard to 
the informal sector in Africa.  Chad called on  the WTO to continue its capacity building work 
particularly with the private sector to emphasis e the transformation and diversification of 
resources, to step up work on boosting productivity and integrating women and the youth into the 
economy through job creation and  SMEs and to make them more autonomo us. The 
implementation of the outcomes from Mi nisterial Conferences would both help and strengthen 
them in moving  forward in those areas.  
2.19.   The General Council took note  of the Chairman's state ment and of the other statement s. 
3  WORK PROGRAMME ON SM ALL ECONOMI ES – REPORT BY THE C HAIRMAN OF THE 
DEDICATED SESSION OF  THE COMMITTEE ON TR ADE AND DEVELOPMENT  
3.1.  The Chairman  recalled that i n line with the agreement in the General Council in 2002, the 
Work Programme on Small Economies was a standing item on the  agenda and  the Committee on 
Trade an d Development reported  regularly to the Council on the progress of work in its Dedicated 
Sessions. In Buenos Aires, Ministers  had adopted a Decision reaffirming their commitment to the 
Work Programme and instructing the CTD to con tinue its work in Dedicated Sessions under the 
overall responsi bility of the General Council . 
3.2.  Ambassador Diego Aulestia (Ecuador) , Chairman of the Dedicated Session of the CTD , 
recalled  that, in the last Ge neral Council meeting in July, he had  made a repor t on the 36th 
Dedicated Session on Small Economies of the CTD held on 7 June. In that Session, Members had 
continued their work on the background document prepared by the Secretariat 
(WT/COMTD/SE/W/34) regarding the challenges and opportunities experienced  by small 
economies in their efforts to reduce trade costs, particularly in the area of trade facilitation, as 
mandated in the Ministerial Decision in WT/MIN(15)/40 adopted in Nairobi in 2015 and confirmed 
in the Ministerial Decisi on in WT/MIN(17)/63 adopted in Buenos Aires  in 2017 .  
3.3.  The discussion in the meeting had focu sed on the specific challenges derived from trade costs 
that SVEs faced and the most important sources of merchandise and services trade costs reported 
by them. The deba te had been  based on presentations by the WTO Secretaria t and representatives 
from the G overnments of Panama and Sri Lanka.  He had  also announced that there would be 
another meeting of the Dedicated Session later in the year.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 5 - 
 
  3.4.  The 37th Dedicated  Session on Small Economies would  be held on 1 November. Members 
would focus on best practices and policy approaches for addressing the challenges identified in the 
previous meeting. Speakers from SVEs had  been invited to participate as well as representatives 
from ot her international organizations.  
3.5.  The representative of Guatemala , on behalf of the SVEs , said that, a s had been  mentioned, 
the dedicated session had held a first se ssion in June entitled " Challenges Small Economies 
experience in their efforts to reduce tra de costs, particularly in the area of trad e facilitation". 
During that session, SVEs had share d their national experiences highlighting the difficulties that 
they face d when  trying to reduce trade costs . It had been evident  that a lthough many of those 
challenges had also been experienced by many Members, some of them  had been  particular  to the 
SVEs due to the small size of their markets  and poor infrastructure, among others.  On 
1 November, there would be a second session on that topic which would  be use d as a basis for the 
challenges identifi ed in the first session and would try to propose solutions to tho se issues, with 
particular emphasis on solutions at a multilat eral level. SVE delegations would  be actively 
participating during the session and would welcome other non SVE Members to share their vie ws 
and experiences on the topic  allowing different perspectives to be discussed.  As a result of the 
session, the SVE Group would  be prepari ng an outcome document that would  be circulated among 
Members, and ho pefully discussed in the near future.  
3.6.  The General Council took note  of the report of the Chairman of the CTD and of the statement.  
4  TWELFTH SESSION OF T HE MINISTERIAL CONFE RENCE – DATE  
4.1.  The Chairman  recall ed that, at the July meeting, the General Council had formally agreed 
that the Twelfth Session of the WT O Ministerial Conference would  be held in Astana, Kazakhstan in 
early June 2020. At that meeting, he had  also indicated that the exact dates would be 
communicated in due course so that efforts could be made to avoid scheduling conflicts with other 
major international e vents, to the extent that it had been possible. Further to that  understanding, 
and upon additional consul tations with the host country, he had  circulated a communication to all 
delegat ions on 25 September, in which he had  proposed the exact dates for the Conference.  He 
therefore  invite d the General Council to formally agree on those dates, and that the Twelfth 
Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference  would  take place in Astana from 8 to 11 June 2020.  
4.2.  The General Council so agreed . 
4.3.  The representative of  Kazakhstan  thank ed the Members for the  flexibility they had 
demonstrated with regard to the dates of MC12 . 
4.4.  The General Council took note  of the statements.  
5  HIGH -LEVEL CONFERENC E ON SUSTAINABLE  BLUE ECONOMY  AND AFRICA E -
COMMERCE WEEK  – STATEMENT BY KENYA  
5.1.  The representative of Kenya , speaking under "Other Business" , wished to share  inform ation 
on the forthcoming High -Level Conference on Sustainable Blue Economy slated  to be held in 
Nairobi, Kenya  on 26-28 November at the Kenyatta International Conferenc e Centre. Following  the 
announcement by H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta during the third session of the UN Environment 
Assembly h eld in Nairobi in December 2017, Kenya wa s partnering with Japan and C anada to host 
the Conference – with Norway, the United Kingdom, the European Union, China, Portugal, South 
Africa and Fiji as co -sponsors. Kenya thank ed tho se Members for their commitment and generous 
contribution aimed at ensuring  the success of the Confer ence. Over 5,000 participants consisting 
of both State and Non -State ac tors from around the world were expected to participate. The 
Conference wa s the first global Conference on th e Sustainable Blue Economy and wa s predica ted 
on two conceptual pillars: s ustainability, climate change and controlling pollution ; and p roduction, 
accelerated economic growth, jobs and poverty alleviation . The Blue Economy wa s an e merging 
concept which encouraged sustainable use of the  oceans or blue resources for economic growth,  
improved li velihoods and jobs. It advocated  the same desired outcome as the green economy, 
namely, improved human well -being and social equity while significantly reducing environmental 
risks and ecological scarcities.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 6 - 
 
  5.2.  With the theme  "Blue Economy and th e 2030 Agen da for Sustainable Development", the 
Conference would  focus on new technologies and innovation for oceans, s eas, lakes and rivers, 
and the challenges, potential opportunities, priorities and p artnerships. O cean and marine issues 
including fisher ies continue d to generate a lot of interest and po litical momentum worldwide given 
the immense potential contribution of tho se resources to achieving sustainable economic growth, 
alleviating poverty and protecting the environment . In many countries , especi ally developing  ones, 
the full p otential of the  oceans, seas, lakes and rivers however remained untapped largely due to 
inadequate financing, lack of access to new technologies and innovations, weak human and 
technical capacities and governance challenges.  
5.3.  The global narrative wa s clearly strong and consistent . Oceans and other water reso urces 
were key for driving susta inable growth and development and were central to  achieving the 2030 
SDGs. The f orthcoming Conference presented  a unique opportunity to initiate action -oriented 
discussions focused on the productivity and sustainability aspects of the blue economy. Topics to 
be discussed in that regard range d from smart shipping, ports, transpor tation, employment, job 
creation , poverty eradication and the blue economy; cities, tourism, resilient coast and 
infrastructure; sustainable energy and mineral resources and innovative industries; ending hunger, 
securing food supplies and promoting good health and sustainable fisheries; management and 
sustaining of marine life conservation and sustaining sustainable economic activities; climate 
action, agriculture, waste management and p ollution -free aquatic ecosystem; people, culture, 
communities and societies; and maritime, safety, security and regulatory enforcement, essentially 
the inclusive blue economy.  
5.4.  Kenya, Japan and Canada anticipate d that discussions would  lead to the identifi cation of key 
opportunities and challenges for inclusivity and collaborative partnerships and projects and 
suggestions for the next steps moving forward. Aside f rom the main session, there would  also be 
four other forums running concurrently – a business f orum, a governors and mayors convention, a 
civil society forum and an academic and scienc e forum. In addition, there would  be exhibitions to 
showcase trade, investment and tourism opportunities in the blue economy sector as well as side 
events and seminars  related to the blue economy.  
5.5.  The outcomes of the Conference would  feed into future global blue economy dialogues 
including the 2020 UN Oceans Conference to be co -hosted by Kenya and Portugal and delivering 
on the need to merge on the sustainability and p roductivity pillars of the blue economy sector. The 
Conference wa s further expected to contribute to the development of policies, legislation, 
infrastructure and incentives to facilitate faster transition from carbon -intensive to carbon -neutral 
economies t hrough the blue economy sector.  
5.6.  The preparatory process of the Conference was on course. Invitations had been  extended to 
all 193 UN Member Sta tes, international partners of line m inistries, over 500 international mayors 
and governors of ocean or sea -facing cities, local and international IGOs and NGOs, the academic 
and scientific community and the private s ector. Over 130 governments had  confirm ed 
participation including one H ead of State so far. Two impor tant elements of participation we re the 
following: first, facilitation of SIDS and  LDCs. The Kenyan Government had  secured enough 
sponsorship to facilitate the participation of all SIDS and LDCs desirous of a balanced 
representation of delegates drawn from the  two conceptual pillars of the Sustainable Blue  Economy 
Conference – namely the conservation and productive pillar. The sponso rship extended to 
delegates would  comprise the following: in the productive pillar – one M inister, two technical 
officers/ experts and one delegate from a civil society organizat ion; secondly from the conservation 
pillar – one M inister, two technical officers /experts and one delegate from a civil society 
organization. Based on the forego ing, the Government of Kenya had  mandated the UNDP to 
coordinate bookings both ticketing and ac commodation for the  delegates whose participation wa s 
being sponsored. Secondly, as some of the thematic areas to be covered by the Sustaina ble Blue 
Economy Conference fell  within the purview of Geneva -based organizations t o which permanent 
missions we re accredited and in order to enrich their discussions, it had  been decided that 
Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives based in Geneva be invited to attend the 
Sustainable Blue Economy Conference as part of their respective country delegations. In that 
regard, a note verbale would  be circulated shortly by the Kenya Permanent Mission extending the 
invitation. Further information on the logistical and administrative ar rangements could be found in 
a handbook on the website of the Sustainable Blue Economy Confe rence.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 7 - 
 
  5.7.  In conclusion, by hosti ng the Conference, Kenya affirmed  its appreciation of the importance 
of cons erving and sustainably using the  oceans, seas, lakes and rivers and marine resources 
through enabling cooperation for shared prosperit y. Kenya  looked forward to welcoming everyone  
in Nairobi in November.  
5.8.  Kenya also  share d information on the forthcoming Africa Regional E -Commerce Week 
scheduled to be held in Nairobi on 10 -14 December. The event wa s jointly organis ed by UNCTAD, 
the African Union and the European Union and hosted by the Government of Kenya. It would  be 
implemented in collaboration with t he partners of the e -Trade for All I nitiative under the theme 
"Empowering African Economies in the Digital Era". Th e Regional E -Comme rce Week 2018 would  
examine ways to enhance the ability of African C ountries to engage in and benefit from e -
commerce and the e volving digital economy. It would  bring together Ministers, other senior 
government representatives, the privat e sector, civil society and international organizations for a 
week-long dialogue to identify innovative ways for shaping the African digital economy. Due to the 
signific ance of the event, Kenya  had consid ered it important to inform and invite everyone  to 
participat e. In light o f the on -going e -commerce discussions at the multilateral level, participation 
in that event would assist them  to gain further knowledge that could inform their discourse on that  
subject going forward. Once again, Kenya looked  forward  to welcoming all to Nairobi in December.  
5.9.  The General Council took note  of the statement . 
6  CHAIRMANSHIPS OF THE  COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT AND THE 
COMMITTEE ON TRADE A ND ENVIRONMENT IN SP ECIAL SESSION – STAT EMENT BY THE 
CHAIRMAN  
6.1.  The Chairman , speaki ng under "Other Business ", recalled  that, at the  July meeting,  he had 
announced that he  would conduct consultations to fill the vacancies in the Chairmanships of the 
CTE and CTE SS, following the departure of the respective Chairs.  
6.2.  He had  already met on tw o occasions with the coordinators of  the four broad groups, who 
had in turn been consulting with th eir respective constituencies. While a little more time was 
needed to finalise those consultations, he  believe d they could be very close to ide ntifying possi ble 
Chairs for those bodies. He would  also shortly send a communication to provide an opportunity to 
any interested delega tion to come and consult with them on tho se two appointments.  
6.3.  He remind ed all delegations that, at the next General Council meeting, a nd in line with the 
Guidelines for the Appointm ent of Officers to WTO bodies, he would  make a formal announcement 
to begin the process of consultations for the appointment of officers to WTO bodies for 2019.   
6.4.  While they would  begin the consulta tions early  in January 2019, it was  not too early for 
delegations – and the four group coordinator s – to start thinking about that  matter and to start 
their consu ltative process so that they could  be in a position to  present candidates as early as 
possible in January.  
6.5.  The General Council took note  of the Chairman's statement.  
7  STATEMENT BY THE CHA IRMAN IN CONNECTION WITH ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES 
FOR MEMBERS IN ARREA RS 
7.1.  The Chairman , speaking under "Other Business" , noted  that the revised Administrative 
Measures for Members in arrears in WT/BFA/132 required that, at the end of each meeting of the 
General Council, the Chairman of the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration should 
provide information with regard to which Members and Observers we re under Administrative 
Measures. He invited the Chair  of the Budget Committee , Amba ssador Juan Aguirre (Paraguay),  to 
provide the Council with that  information.  
7.2.  Ambassador Juan Aguirre (Paraguay), Chairman of the CBFA , reported that the General 
Council approved the rules for Members and Observers subject to Administrative Measures and 
that those had been implemented on 1 March 2013. As required by the decision of the General 
Council, the Chairman of the CBFA would state all Members and Observers under all categories of 
Administrative Measures as of  17 October 2018 .  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 8 - 
 
  7.3.  There were 16 Members and 3  Observers under Administrative Measures.  There were 
6 Members in Category I: Belize, Congo, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam e, Uganda and 
Zambia. There was  1 Observer  under Category I: Somalia. There were 3 Members in Category II : 
Antigua and Barbuda, Cameroon and Guinea. There were 7 Members under Category III: Burundi, 
Chad, Guinea -Bissau, Mauritania, Niger, Sierra Leone and Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. There 
were 2 Observers in Category III: Libya and Sao Tomé & Principe.  
7.4.  The Chairman  said that he was required at each Council meeting to request Members and 
Observers in Categories II and III of the Measures to inform the Secretariat as to when their 
payment of arrears could be expected. Likewise, the General Council urged Members and 
Observers under Administrative Measures to liquidate their arrears.  
7.5.  The General Council took note  of the statements.  
 
 
 
_______________  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 9 - 
 
  ANNEX 1  
THE REPORTS BY THE D IRECTOR -GENERAL AND THE CHA IRS OF THE NEGOTIATI NG 
GROUPS  AT THE INFORMAL TNC  AND IN FORMAL HODS MEETING HELD ON  
16 OCTOBER  2018  
Report by the Director -General1 
Good morning everyone. Welcome to this informal TNC and HoDs meeting.  
As indicated in the convening notice, the purpose of our meeting today is for us all to update each 
other on the activities we have been engaged in and t o discuss the way forward in our work. As 
usual, we will hear first from our Negotiating Group Chairs. Then I will provide an update on my 
activities. And then I will open the floor to delegations.  
I met with the Negotiating Group Chairs yesterday morning . It is clear that the situation in some 
negotiating groups has not changed since the last time the Chairs reported to members on 24  July. 
In fact, some negotiating groups have not met and in a few cases, the Chairs have not held any 
formal consultations – despite indicating their availability to delegations.  This has been for the 
simple reason that no papers or proposals have been presented or no new interest has been 
expressed in those areas.  
Given this situation, and to ensure an efficient conduct of ou r meeting this morning, I think it 
makes sense to hear statements only from those Chairs that have updates to provide – that is, in 
the areas where there has been activity. Therefore, we will only be hearing today from the Chairs 
of Agriculture, Services, Rules, Trade & Development, and Dispute Settlement. For those groups 
where we won't hear reports, this does not mean anything other than that there has been no 
activity since July. So, let me stress that the Chairs' reports of 24 July remain relevant and t hat 
work in these areas will continue.    
Regarding the chairmanship of the CTE SS, the GC Chair has informed me that he is conducting 
consultations. I understand that he will provide some more information at the General Council on 
Thursday. Now, let's hea r from the Chairs.  
[The TNC Chair gave the floor to the Chairs of the Bodies established by the TNC – Stateme nts are 
reflected after the Director -General's report .] 
Let me thank all the Chairs for their work. As ever, the Chairs and I remain at your dispos al to 
assist you in any way that we can in our work ahead.  
I will now turn to my own report. You have heard the Chair's statements. I note, in particular, the 
intensive work being done on fisheries subsidies by Ambassador Zapata and the Negotiating Group 
on Rules. Thanks to everyone for that. I think this an area where progress can be made. However, 
it is clear that in most areas, we are seeing very little progress. If you want to advance these 
issues, then you have to drive them forward. No one can do this  except the members themselves. 
Importantly, we must keep up the pressure in the areas with specific deadlines, such as public 
stockholding and fisheries subsidies. We should be trying to keep up our momentum in all areas, 
and to make advances where we can . And I think this has to remain the case despite the other 
challenges which we see before us.  
Let me now update you on my own activities since my July report.  Again, the exchanges covered 
a variety of issues – ranging from negotiating work, on -going dis cussions amongst Members; to 
systemic concerns.  
Specifically, my meetings included:  
• The G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial in Mar del Plata, where Ministers discussed the 
current situation in global trade and issued a Joint Statement, which I am sure members 
have seen.  
                                                
1 Also issued as JOB/TNC/ 71. WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 10 - 
 
  • I was invited by the Industry Federation of the State of Rio de Jan eiro for an event with 
business leaders and to the 17th International Arbitration Conference, where I spoke about 
the future of global trade and the nature of our culturally diverse Dispute Settlement 
Mechanism.  
• I also attended the "Day of German Industry  event" in Berlin.  On the margins of this 
event, I conducted a bilateral meeting with Chancellor Merkel.  
• I attended the 7th China Round Table on WTO Accessions in Kazakhstan. By invitation I 
also spoke at a High -Level Forum on Advancing Trade and Investme nt Facilitation for 
Development in Astana. And during the same trip, I held a bilateral meeting with President 
Nazarbayev, where I thanked him for his initiative to host MC12. I also visited the facilities 
where our forthcoming ministerial conference will take place and I was very pleased with 
what I saw.  
• I was invited to the B20 summit in Buenos Aires and took part in a discussion on the 
"Present and Future of Multilateralism".  
• And last week, I attended the fall meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Bali.  I spoke at a 
joint WTO -IFC event on trade finance and I have to say that we're making progress on 
that front. And I participated in a number of sessions at a con ference which the WTO co -
organis ed with the IMF, World Bank and OECD on how global trade can p romote growth for 
all. We also issued a new report, together with the World Bank and IMF on 'Reinvigorating 
Trade and Inclusive Growth'.  
Here in Geneva, in addition to my frequent contacts with Members, I participated in several 
meetings and events includi ng: 
• the second Advanced Global Workshop on Government Procurement – which aims to 
disseminate information and foster dialogue on government procurement issues;  
• I also participated in a meeting with WTO Commonwealth members to reflect on the way 
forward; an d, 
• I spoke at a workshop on Women in Global Value Chains, organised by the MIKTA 
countries together with the WTO and ITC.  
I also conducted a range of bilateral meetings, including with the Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej 
Plenković, who I was pleased to w elcome to the WTO.  
In addition, at the beginning of this month, we hosted the 2018 WTO Public Forum. With well over 
2,000 participants and over 100 thematic events, we saw once again that interest levels in the 
WTO are very high. The importance that peopl e attach to the trading system was evident during 
the discussions. I am proud that we showed ourselves to be an open, vibrant and forward -thinking 
organization, which is working to seek solutions to the many challenges that confront us today.  
During the Fo rum we issued a number of excellent publications, specifically:  
• The 2018 World Trade Report looking at how digital technologies are transforming global 
commerce and how we can use them to shape a more inclusive trading system for future 
generations.  
• Our re port on mainstreaming trade in the SDGs.  
• And a joint report with UN Environment on making trade work for the environment, 
prosperity and resilience.  
The Forum also demonstrated the high levels of engagement we are seeing from the private 
sector. Notably, t he ICC and B20 brought forward their recommendations, leading on from the 
Trade Dialogues event earlier in the year.  
Of course, all of this took against the backdrop of a rather uncertain and mixed global economic 
landscape. Trade tensions continue to esc alate.  The new tariffs announced this year cover WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 11 - 
 
  hundreds of billions of dollars in trade.  Further measures have been proposed.  And at present, 
continued escalation is a real possibility. I have warned before about the real threat to stability, 
jobs and  growth should this trend continue.  The effects will take time to filter through, but we are 
seeing some early warning signs. Indicators show that businesses are holding off on making job -
creating investments and export orders are on the decline. We revis ed our WTO trade forecasts 
downward last month. We are now forecasting growth of 3.9% for 2018, down from 4.4% 
previously. The IMF made similar adjustments to its forecasts.  
I should note that we have seen significant trade agreements being struck in recen t weeks. I hope 
that we can take inspiration from this and pursue dialogue and negotiation to help abate tensions 
elsewhere. But, as yet, there are no clear signs that tensions are indeed abating.  
So now let me turn to focus on our system – the WTO. One el ement which is at the root of current 
frictions is the argument that the trading system is allowing distortive trade practices to go 
unchecked – and that therefore the system needs to change. In this context, so-called WTO reform 
or moderniz ation has incre asingly been on the minds and in the speeches of many. It's clear that 
this discussion is gathering significant momentum, with more leaders becoming engaged and 
talking to each other about this. So, this is something we can't ignore.  
Such a modernising ef fort is being seen as a way to ease some of the trade problems that some 
members have identified, and deal with some of the issues that they have put on the table.  
A variety of initiatives and meetings are being prepared, and a range of priorities have bee n 
suggested by some WTO members. There are several perspectives being offered on what the 
priorities should be, and they include:  
• resolving disputes and reaching agreements more rapidly and effectively,  
• addressing a variety of trade distorting practices t hat are either not covered or are just 
partially covered by existing disciplines,  
• avoiding protectionism and unilateral measures,  
• advancing the current work,  
• and improving notifications and transparency.  
These are all important issues, and others may be brought forward – but precisely which issues 
are taken forward, and how, is for members to determine. Clearly this debate is gathering 
momentum but, again, I would suggest that there are also members who ar e not convinced that a 
reform is needed at all.  
I have been invited to take part in some discussions on these issues. I am happy to do that – just 
as I am happy to attend any meeting to which I am invited by members. In attending such 
meetings, I am mainl y in listening mode. My key impression is that these discussions are at a very 
early stage. It is too soon to say what would be covered by these discussions. It is also too soon to 
establish if or how they will advance and what fruits – if any – they might  bear.  
And let me say this: I don’t think that anyone is talking about shaping a new 'package' or a new 
'round'. It seems to me that this discussion is more focused on trying to fix some specific 
problems, where necessary as people identify, to help the s ystem work better. Let me stress that 
this is just my impression. Proponents are the ones who would be better placed to provide clarity 
on this.  
No doubt the conversation will continue. It is on the agenda for the Canada -organised meeting in 
Ottawa next we ek and, significantly, for the G20 summit in November.  
So whatever members' positions may be on this subject, it is useful to make your voices heard – 
that includes here at this meeting. The forum provided by today's meeting has transparency and 
informatio n sharing as its core objectives.  
But of course, your comments do not need to be limited to this session only. I would encourage 
members to engage with each other and exchange views through a range of channels and formats.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 12 - 
 
  The state of this organization i s an issue in which everyone has an interest, so it is important for 
all members to engage – whatever your perspectives may be. As ever, I remain available for 
consultations with individual members and groups of members on this issue – or any other issue. I 
am here to facilitate whatever conversations members want to have.  
Now let me move on to another critical systemic issue: the crisis in the dispute settlement system. 
We are now down to only three Appellate Body members – the bare minimum required to he ar an 
appeal. I have no positive news to share here. We continue talking but I am not hearing anything 
new which would allow us to identify a way forward. I would note that already this year around 30 
disputes have been initiated.  This is the highest annu al total for 16 years – and its only October.  
While this shows faith in the WTO, at the same time it puts additional strain on the system. More 
disputes would likely mean more appeals. You have all heard the warnings by Appellate Body chair 
Ujal Singh Bha tia. He has underlined very clearly the potential delays in processing appeals – 
particularly if the AB is less well equipped to deal with them. Such delays should not come as a 
surprise to members. We must continue working to resolve the impasse in the AB , and to maintain 
this essential pillar of our work.  
Let me once again emphasis e that any broader systemic conversations should not compromise 
other areas that members have been working on and are currently working on. Recent experience 
at the WTO has sho wn that we can make progress. We should continue our work in all areas of 
negotiations, and in exploring other issues to the extent that members wish to do so. On that point 
let me just say that I know work is continuing in the various Joint Initiatives. I  leave it to members 
to update each other on this work as they see fit.  
I will conclude now with a reminder and an appeal. Our trading system is not perfect – but it 
represents the best efforts of governments around the world, over many decades, undertaki ng 
painstaking work to construct what we have today. The system has real value in supporting 
stability, economic growth, development and poverty reduction.  We cannot take it for granted. 
So, we must preserve what we have, and at the same time, we must ens ure that we are 
responsive to the continuous evolution of members' needs. This concludes my report.  Thank you 
for listening.  
Let me remind you again that, as usual, unless you indicate otherwise, your statements today, the 
Chairs' reports and my report wi ll all be recorded in the minutes of Thursday's General Council.  
Reports by the Negotiating Group Chairs  
1. Committee on Agriculture  – Special Session2 
I would like to make a brief report on the state of play in the agriculture negotiations.  
 
During my last report to the informal meeting of the Trade Negotiation Committee on 24 July, I 
announced my plan to hold issues -specific agriculture negotiatio n meetings on a monthly basis. 
The schedule of these meetings was circulated to Members on 27 July.   
 
As per th e announced schedule I held a first set of thematic sessions dedicated to Domestic 
Support, Public Stockholding, and Cotton on 20 -21 September. The sessions in October will be 
dedicated to Market Access and SSM, in November to Export Competition, Export re strictions, and 
in December to stocktaking and the way forward. Before the December break we will also return to 
some of the issues addressed in September and October.   
 
The plan is that by December we can at least signal if not start a transition from si tuational 
analysis to position evaluation leading towards an assessment of opportunities for outcomes.  I 
also intend to convene additional consultations in different formats when needed.  The ultimate 
goal of these technical discussions is to help Members  to take decisions grounded on solid 
information so that proposals can be more definitive in seeking common ground for an outcome.  
 
I will now turn to the report on the three thematic sessions held in September.  
 
                                                
2 The report was delivered b y the Director of the Council and TNC Division, on behalf of the Chair of the 
Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture and Sub -Committee on Cotton.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 13 - 
 
  The First CoA SS meeting was dedicated to Domestic Support.  Two delegations (Australia and 
Canada) responded to my request to make presentations on their new and existing submissions.  
Both presentations looked at the trade distorting domestic support and Green Box, but from 
different angles.  
 
I am happy to report that I was very satisfied  with the level of engagement. The session was 
focused and fruitful. I believe that we advanced our understanding of the evolution of domestic 
support; and appreciated the different approaches that can be used to  analyse and interpret data 
with diff erent conclusions being drawn. The divergent points of views generated a genuine debate 
and injected new energy into t he debate on domestic support. There was also some increased 
flexibility to consid er all proposals on  the table. But we need more than energy and engagement to 
succeed, we need greater commitment to seek and find common ground on the issues.  
 
No presentation or new submission was made in the m eeting on Public Stockholding. The G 33 
supported by many othe r developing country Members, called for a permanent solution to be 
found by MC12.  Broadly, Mem bers repeated known positions. One potential positive emerged and 
that was a greater recognition that " technical conversations" on PSH are needed. In sum, PSH 
remains difficult, with the difference in emphasis on the agreed mandate versus the need for such 
as solution.  
 
Regarding the session that was dedicated to Cotton, I can  report positive developments. First, 
there was a communication by the United States o n the situation on cotton (JOB/AG/144), which 
will need to be discussed further. Second, the need for updated information and data on cotton 
Domestic Support was again stressed. The C4 reported on a recent questionnaire they circulated 
and on replies recei ved so far from key cotton producers and exporters. The Secretariat might also 
help in the compilation of a common set of data to inform the negotiation. Third, some Members 
expressed their readiness to look into incremental options on cotton.  
 
As next ste ps, I will continue to consult at all levels and on all themes during and in -between  the 
monthly thematic sessions.  My two current objectives are to i) continue to pursue the technical 
exchange that can help informing the negotiations and ii) facilitate a transition to a process 
whereby members can table probable options for incremental outcomes. This process shall be 
mainly based on Members' submissions and data transmitted by them.  
 
This ends my report.  
 
2. Committee on Services – Special Session  
My report t oday will be brief.   
 
Before the summer break, the Special Session had met to discuss a communication from four 
Members, which proposed that delegations engage in exploratory discussions on market access in 
the context of the mandate under GATS Article XI X.   
 
At the last TNC meeting, I reported on the initial discussion of that proposal, and noted that I 
would aim to facilitate future discussions and would undertake consultations to help  discern the 
best way forward. In September, I invited all delegation s to contact me to share their views and, 
in the last weeks, I have consulted, in different formats, with a wide range of Members, who 
conveyed their different perspectives, sensitivities and interests.  I will report on my consultations 
at an open -ended m eeting of the Special Session [in early November].   
 
Finally, on Domestic Regulation, the Working Party on Domestic Regulation has not yet met this 
year. Since the last meeting of the TNC, a group of Members has continued to hold open -ended 
meetings to co ntinue work on the text of disciplines.  
 
3. Committee on Development – Special Session  
Members will recall that at the informal TNC/HODs meeting held on 24 July, I presented a detailed 
report on the consultations that I had undertaken in the first semester of this year. In that report, 
I listed the questions that I had asked to Members and a lso highlighted the main themes that had 
emerged in the course of these consultations. I had also announced that I would continue my WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 14 - 
 
  consultations with Members in various configurations and formats to narrow our focus and define 
our work methods for the CT D SS.  
 
Accordingly, I have been consulting with the G -90 Coordinators ([comprising] the ACP, the African 
and the LDC Coordinators) in my quest for seeking clarity on the way forward including in trying to 
solicit views on various approaches that have been the focus of these discussions, in particular a 
case study methodology.  
 
As of now, my consultations with the G90 Coordinators remain inconclusive. At our last meeting on 
17 September 2018 the G90 Coordinators stated that they needed more time to consult w ith their 
respective constituencies.  
 
My next meeting with Coordinators is scheduled for 19 October 2018.  
 
I remain available for consultations with any interested delegations.   
 
This concludes my report.  
 
4. Negotiating Group on Rules  
I would like to prov ide an update on the work of the Negotiating Group on Rules since my last 
report to the Heads of Delegation and Trade Negotiations Committee, in July.  
 
At that time, the Negotiating Group was in the middle of its last cluster of fisheries subsidies 
meetin gs before t he summer break, and was finalis ing the fisheries subsidies work programme for 
September through December. The aim of the meeting clusters held before the summer break was 
to engage on the negotiating issues on a conceptual, thematic basis, alon g with deepening 
Members' understanding of a range of technical fisheries issues.  
 
The agreed work programme for September through December changes both the nature and 
intensity of the fisheries subsidies work. Four Incubator Groups, composed with a view to 
'representativity', have been established, for brainstorming on ways to address particular issues 
and bridge specific gaps that have arisen in the negotiations. To ensure inclusiveness and 
transparency, the Incubator Groups brainstorm both internally an d with visiting delegations. They 
then report back to the plenary, without filtration or judgement, all issues and ideas that have 
been generated and discussed.  
 
The activities at each of the three meeting clusters, in September, November and December, 
include the Incubator Group work, technical sessions, text -based discussions based on the 
negotiating documents created in the lead -up to MC11, and completion of the technical 
streamlining of those documents. The experience with the Incubator Groups in the S eptember 
cluster was positive. Members indicated that a brainstorming atmosphere was achieved, and that 
useful ideas worthy of further consideration were generated. At the request of Members, additional 
time will be devoted to this process during the Novem ber cluster.   
 
The November cluster will run from 29 October through 9 November. The December cluster will 
run from 27 November through 7 December.  
 
Although we are only in the middle of the current work programme, time is short given the end -
2019 deadline to complete the fisheries subsidies negotiations. This means that the work in 2019 
will need to be well structured so as to use the time effectively  and efficiently. To that end, I will 
begin holding consultations immediately after the November cluster, with a view to developing a 
proposed 2019 fisheries subsidies work programme, for consideration and adoption by Members at 
the December meeting cluste r. Finally, as the negotiations move ahead, I will certainly be turning 
to my Head of Delegation colleagues for your input and guidance at key moments.  
 
As is evident from this and my previous reports to the Trade Negotiations Committee, thus far in 
2018 the work in the Negotiating Group on Rules has focused exclusively on fisheries subsidies. 
That said, the rules agenda contains other elements as well, and the necessary space would be 
provided to fully air issues or proposals that might be put before the Group in any such areas.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 15 - 
 
  This concludes my report. I look forward to continuing to brief the Heads of Delegation and the 
Trade Negotiations Committee at future meetings of this sort.  
 
5. Dispute Settlement Body – Special Session  
 
• Ongoing work  
 
After the summ er break, the group resumed focused work on 13 September 2018 with the 
opening meeting on Remand. Following that meeting, I circulated an indicative timetable of 
focused work until December 2018. In accordance with that timetable, I held Chair's consultati ons 
on this issue on 5 October 2018. Remand concerns the referral of a case from the Appellate Body 
back to a panel in situations where the Appellate Body is unable to complete the analysis. There 
are two alternative proposals before the DSB -SS, one by Kor ea, the other by the G 7 (Argentina, 
Brazil, Canada, India, New Zealand, Norway, and Mexico).  
 
• Upcoming work  
 
Before the end of the month, I intend to hold further consultations on this issue. I expect to 
conclude focused work on this issue in late Novembe r. 
 
At our last meeting, we heard a statement from four Members making a call for urgent action by 
the DSB -SS. They proposed that the DSB -SS complete its discussion of the 12 issues under 
negotiation in January 2019 and make recommendations for action no l ater than March 2019. I 
intend to invite other Members to offer their views on this statement at our next open -ended 
meeting on 20 November 2018.  
 
_______________  
 
 
 
 
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 16 - 
 
  ANNEX 2  
STATEMENTS BY MEMBER S AT THE INFORMA L TNC AND INFORMAL H ODs MEETING HELD 
ON 16 OCTOBER  2018  
Following the Director -General's statement at the above -mentioned meeting, the statements made 
by Canada; South Africa (African Group); Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; Norway; Malawi (ACP); 
United States; Ghana; Mexico; Q atar; Brazil; Morocco; Cuba; Turkey; Colombia (Structured 
Discussions on Investment Facilitation for Development); New Zealand; China; Senegal; European 
Union; Zimbabwe; Australia (Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce); India; Republic 
of Mold ova; Uruguay ( Informal Working Group on MSMEs ); Costa Rica; Republic of Korea; Chinese 
Taipei; Indonesia (G -33); Switzerland; Benin (C -4); Argentina; Chad (LDCs); Paraguay; Vanuatu 
(Pacific Group); Jamaica; Russian Federation; Oman; Japan; Uganda; Angola; Nepal; Trinidad & 
Tobago; Cambodia; Hong Kong, China; Panama (Article XII Members); Kenya; Egypt; Plurinational 
State of Bolivia; Ecuador; Singapore; Pakistan; Haiti (CARICOM); Nigeria; Afghanistan; Cameroon 
and Sri Lanka  are included below as part of the Minutes of the General Council meeting.  
 
_______________  
 
1. Canada  
 
As we all know, the WTO is facing numerous challenges to ensure that the organization remains 
relevant for all of us. After all, it has been almost 25 years since the WTO was established and  we 
need to ensure that the organization remains relevant in these changing times.  
 
We are in a particularly fragile situation for global trade and the multilateral tradin g system, and 
Members should reflect very seriously on the indispensable role that th e WTO performs in 
facilitating global commerce. The current climate in international trade should act as a reminder 
that there is tremendous value in a rules -based multilateral system and how well this system has 
served us since the GATT was established.  
 
To be clear, the issues facing the WTO are not the re sult of the actions of any one M ember, nor 
are they the result of any one specific factor. There are many reasons why the WTO finds itself in 
its current predicament – the pace of technological developm ent; the perception that the benefits 
of economic growth are not being distributed equitably; political developments and decisions – 
these are just some of the contributing factors to the challenges facing the WTO. In order to 
respond to these challenges a nd to ensure the continued relevance of the WTO, collective action is 
required. Just as the causes of the current challenges facing the WTO are not the result of any one 
countr y, similarly no individual WTO M ember will be able to resolve these issues by it self.  
 
Canada would like to emphasis e, once  again, the importance for all M embers to take a ction to 
strengthen and modernis e this organization. That said, we want to stress that our efforts need to 
be pragmatic, realistic, and inclusive, and reflect the  views and perspectives of all M embers. 
Canada is ready to do its part.  
 
As such, and as announced previously, Canada' s Minister of International Trade Diversification, Jim 
Carr, is convening a small group of Ministers committed to the multilateral trading  system, with 
the objective of identifying concrete and tangible ways the operation and functioning of the WTO 
could be enhanced and improved over the short, medium and long terms. We circulated a 
discussion paper in September as a sign of our commitment t o proceeding in a transparent 
manner. The meeting will take place in Ottawa next week, and we very much intend for this 
meeting to be a catalyst for a broadening conversation, with a view to identi fying potential paths 
forward. That is, we very much see th e meeting next week in Ottawa as a discussion starter, 
certainly not the end of a proce ss. We will report back to the M embership on the outcomes of the 
meeting as we continue t o deepen the engagement of the M embers on these issues.  
 
While we continue to ex amine broader questions on the renewal of the WTO, it important to note 
that Canada remains  committed to advancing the WTO' s negotiating agenda on all issues of 
interest to  the M embership. It is important to address the core issues in areas such as agricul ture 
and fisheries subsides, as well as in other areas such as e -commerce, investment facilitation and 
trade and gender. As a collective M embership, we must ensure that the  WTO' s trade rules remain 
relevant and effective in the current context.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 17 - 
 
  Regarding  the agriculture negotiations, Canada' s primary objective continues to be to develop new 
rules on agriculture domestic support that reflect current realities.  To that end, Ca nada recently 
presented to the M embership a factual analysis on how domestic support  has evolved since the 
launch of the Doha Round in 2001. We intend to continue playing a constructive role in the 
agriculture discussions by making technical submissi ons and presentations.  We plan to do this 
because, in our view, if we are to make incremen tal progress in agricultur e, more detailed 
technical and "without prejudice"  discussions are needed to not only deepen our common 
understanding of the problems in international agri culture markets, but also help M embers d evelop 
realistic options where M embers ' contributions to a solution are proportionate to their role in global 
agricultural trade.  
 
We are encouraged by the recent discussions that have taken place through the incubator groups 
in the fisheries subsidies negotiations. Th ese appear to have facilitated Members' ability to  engage 
in a more open and productive dialogue, to find new solutions to some of the key stumbling blocks 
to an agreement. We fully s upport this process and urge M embers to continue this positive level of 
engagement so that w e can deliver on the mandate given to us by Ministers at MC11.  
 
We are pleased to inform you that Canada will co -host, with Kenya and Japan, the Sustainable 
Blue Economy Conference on 26-28 November in Nairobi, and are also pleased to see Norway, Fiji, 
Portugal and the United Kingdom as co -sponsors. The Blue Economy Conference will help draw 
even greater international attention to the urgency of delivering on Sustainable Development Goal 
14.6, and contribute to the momentum needed for a comprehensive agree ment on harmful 
fisheries subsidies by December 2019.  
 
Canada is encouraged by the fact that discussions are ongoing, and progress has been made to 
date, on the joint statement initiatives launched at MC11 with respect to e -commerce, services 
domestic regu lation, investment  facilitation, MSMEs, and women' s economic empowerment. We 
want to stress again that these initiatives are important in ensuring our trade policies  are not only 
relevant to today' s global economy, but deliver inclusive results for all of our stakeholders. As 
such, Canada commends the MIKTA partners for holding a successful seminar on women in global 
value chains recently, in support of the Joint Declaration on Women and Trade.  
 
This year' s WTO Public Forum offered a prominence  to digital trade. One of the conclusions that  
can be drawn from a number of panellists  is that the digital transformation is already happening 
and will be affecting all aspects of ou r economies, our lives. Canada  believe s that the WTO has an 
important role to play in  promoting open, transparent, non -discriminatory and predictable 
regulatory environments in facilitating electronic commerce. We welcome the progress made a nd 
encourage all participating M embers to continue engaging substantively in the exploratory 
discuss ions of the Joint Statement Initiative on e -commerce. We also think that we need to 
transition to a more concrete phase, while maintaining and broadening the participation. Canada 
also welcome s constructive discussions under the WTO Work Program me on Elect ronic C ommerce.  
 
Finally, Canada remains very concerned with the impasse we have reached in the appointment of 
the Appellate Body members. The dispute settlement system remains an integral part of the 
organization and Canada urges the United States to joi n a consensus to begin a process to fill 
vacant Appellate Body member positions.  
 
2. South Africa (African Group)  
 
I make this statement on behalf of the African Group following our internal consultations in 
preparation for t his meeting. First, we thank the D irector -General for his  report on the  state of 
affairs in our organiz ation and we thank the Chairs of the Negotiating Groups for their updates.  
 
We all recognise the considerable difficulties in making progress in the negotiations. Nonetheless, 
in our Gro up consultations, there was a strong call to continue to pursue outcomes on the core 
developmental issues in line with the Doha mandate notably in respect to agricultural domestic 
support,  public stockholding and fisheries  subsidies.  
 
At our consultations , the Group was advised of some positive developments in respect to the 
engagements on cotton, and we support further advances on this file. The African Group also 
underscores its continued commitment to an outcome on the G -90 SDT proposals. As such, we do  
not see a likelihood of consensus on proposals calling for graduation, case -by-case application of WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 18 - 
 
  SDT or further differentiation. We understand that any developing country Member ca n, if it so 
wishes, self -declare on whether it wishes to take up SDT trea tment.  
 
The Group took note of the recent papers on WTO reform. Our view, however, is that unless and 
until Members come to terms with the growing threat to the dispute settlement mechanism , not 
only existing rules but also any discussion of new WTO rules or reform will be redundant. It is 
more than illogical to be calling for new rules when existing rules are being circumvented and their 
enforcement undermined. The dispute settlement mechan ism is the one key matter on which we 
need urgent engagement.  
 
A few broad points emerged in our discussion on the papers calling for WTO reform. First, we note 
that these have no formal standing in the WTO and we are aware that discussions are being take n 
up in small groups and in the media but that most Members have not been engaged. In any case, 
given the far -reaching and sensitive implications of the proposals, our participation would require 
prior guidance from our political principals. Clearly, issue s of consensus decision -making, 
plurilaterals, development, the role of the Secretariat, as well as new rules on IPR and subsidies 
are fundamental, affecting us all.  
 
Second, it is inevitable that if discussio ns were to proceed, all Members'  views and inte rests would 
need to b e considered. I believe the Director -General  made a similar point at  the recent G20 
meeting when he  indicated that reform proposals cannot be in one direction. We should therefore 
anticipate that this discussion, if it moves ahead, wil l be informal and will not be straightforward. 
The African Group will not support any dilution of our core developmental negotiating mandates 
and objectives.  
 
Third, there was a strong view in the African Group that any discussion on reform be preceded by 
a balanced and comprehensive assessment of the challenges facing the WTO. In this context, our 
Members  noted the need to address the 'developmental deficit'  in the WTO, particularly in respect 
of many Uruguay Round outcomes and provisions, as well as the c hallenge of inadequate 
inclusivity and inequities that have fuelled the backlash against trade and trade agreements.    
 
As a footnote, we did not consider the recently released IGO Report by the WTO Secretariat, World 
Bank and IMF. Suff ice to say that the  Secretariat' s stature is only secured when it maintains its 
international character and stands apart from the partisan positions of Members.  
 
Africa remains marginal in international trade, and overly dependent on low value commodity 
exports and high val ue imports. We will insist that any reform in the WTO must  support, not 
undermine, Africa' s industrialisation and integration efforts.  
 
In sum, if WTO reform is to proceed it will have to be directed at enhancing inclusivity both in 
terms of participation  and in equitably sharing any gains from trade. Reform would have to be pro -
development.  
 
3. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela  
 
We appreciate the Director -General's report and those presented by the Chairpersons of the 
Negotiating Groups.  
 
We also appreciate the efforts made by the Chairpersons of the Rules Negotiating Group and the 
Committee on Agriculture in Special Session and the methodologies used, which, in our view , have 
been very useful in order to better understand the positions of Members in both negotiating areas 
and with which our country is committed. A sign of this commitment is our active participation in 
the "incubator  groups" in fisheries s ubsidies.  
 
We regret that we have not seen any progress in the area of trade and d evelopment,  which, in our 
view, should be the central axis of our deliberations.  
 
In this regard, w e invite you to carefully analys e the Report on Trade and Development 201 8 
recently published by UNCTAD  entitled " Power, Platforms and t he Free Trade Delusion". It argu es 
that trade has not served to promote widespread structural change in developing countries and 
has rather contributed to increasing inequality throughout the world. This report shows that  
economic power has been concentrated in a smaller number of large international companies, WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 19 - 
 
  which limits the potential of developing countries to benefit from their participation in the 
international trading system, as well as new technologies.  
 
In this regard , we would like to quote the affirmation contained in the aforementioned report that  
it "effectively requir es recognis ing that many of the rules adopted to promote "free trade" have 
failed to move the system in a more inclusive, participatory and development -friendly direction".  
 
The problem, the report concludes , is not with trade as such but with how it is managed. Easy talk 
of a win –win world all too often ignores the general conditions required for broadly shared benefits 
and denies the realities of today' s winner -takes -most world.  
 
Faced with this reality, we  need to remember that the Development Agenda r emains a pending 
issue of this o rganization and therefore should be the basis of our future work.  
 
Another issue that we also identify as a high priority is that related to the situat ion of the Appellate 
Body.  Our d elega tion, together with a significant number of Members, co-sponsor a proposal that 
seeks to overcome the serious situation in which the Appellate Body finds itself a nd that endangers 
not only the o rganization's disp ute settlement system, but also t he multilateral trading s ystem 
itself. We reiterate that the purpose of this proposal is to initiate, without further delay, the 
process  of selection of vacancies for m embers  of the Appellate Body, circulated in document  
WT/DSB/W/609/ Rev.5, which is oppose d by only one Member . 
 
At the last meeting of the General Council, held  on the eve of the summer break, my d elegation 
was indicated as responsible for not agreeing to the regional consensus to fill the v acancy in the 
Chairmanship of the Committee on Subsid ies and Countervailing Measures corresponding to 
GRULAC.  
 
In this regard, we would like to reiterate that Venezuela deplores that countries that are part of 
the self -proclaimed " Lima Group " have adopted, on 8 August  2017, the "(...) decision not to 
support  any Venezuelan candidacy in regional and international mechanisms and organizations ". 
 
It is in this context  and for el ementary reasons of reciprocity  that our country at first  did not offer 
its endorsement to the aforementioned candidacy. However, diplom acy took effect and the 
dialogue and understanding paid off.  
 
Consequently, I am pleased to report that our country has decided not to oppose the 
aforementioned candidacy, reciprocally to a similar gesture of certain countries in the region with 
the candid acy of Venezuela to the Vice Presidency of the Trade and Development Board of 
UNCTAD.  
  
We recognis e that the candidate proposed by Costa Rica has extensive diplomatic experience and, 
with confidence, will successfully undertake this important responsibili ty. 
 
Beyond the political differences – or of any other kind – that may exist in our region, Venezuela 
will always maintain a constructive spirit, so that the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean 
have a clear and strong voice in the multi lateral forums, and contribute collectively  to the forging 
of an egalitarian and equitable world.  
 
At the last meeting of the General Council, our country was designated as an inactive member due 
to the delay in the payment commitments of the contributions.  
 
In this regard, we would like to reiterate the denunciation made by our Head of Delegation at the 
Ministerial Conference of Buenos Aires, about the international economic, commercial and financial 
blockade imposed on our coun try by several Members of this o rganization. This unilateral and 
arbitrary blockade has brought as a consequence the closing of operations of traditional 
correspondent accounts with those that previously had been working and the discretionary 
operation by many others, which translate into se rious difficulties encountered by our country in 
access ing its own income in foreign currency. This, in turn, also results in the difficulty of access to 
food, medicines, resources for productive development and payment s of international 
commitments. These  illegitimate coercive and unilateral sanctions against Venez uela violate 
International Law.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 20 - 
 
  From the Bretton Woods Agreement, through the incorporation into the GATT and now the WTO, 
the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , despite its critical and firm st ances on world trade relations, 
which give preference to goods rather than to sustainable development, has always been diligent 
in meeting its oblig ations under the rules of this o rganization . However, the meeting that brings us 
together today does not, un fortunately, have a m echanism for penalis ing Members  which adopt 
unilateral coercive measures that block the economic and social development  of a sovereign 
country, as well as the proper hono uring of all its international commitments . 
 
To deal with this situation, the National Executive has launched a set of monetary, fiscal, tax, 
financial, commercial and social measures designed to revalue the national economy and to deal 
with the  economic war. In trade  matters, the decision to elimina te tariffs for agricultural inputs and 
capital goods stands out. I am also  pleased to report that Venezuela is e ntering a new phase in 
which our national currency is backed by El Petro cryptocurrency  which is based on Venezuelan oil. 
Despite the enormous e fforts of some Members of this o rganization to break Venezuela's will, we 
are determined to move forward with dignity.  
 
I would like to conclude by reiterating the Bolivaria n Republic of Venezuela's commitment to the 
multilateral trading s ystem as the most  appropriate way to correct, in a concerted manner, the 
existing imbalances in world markets, so that trade can really b e an instrument of development for 
all our people. It is in that sense that  we are willing to continue to work  tirelessly and 
constructi vely. 
 
4. Norway  
 
We thank the Director -General for his report and the Chairs of the Negotiating G roups for their 
updates.  
 
A rules -based multilateral trading system is fundamental to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, 
predictably and freely as possible. No rway strongly believes that it is in  the long -term interest of 
all Members to protect and safeguard this system.  
 
This does not mean that the system is perfect. The current system – with its strengths and 
weaknesses – is the result of more than 70 years of  give and take between M embers. It is the 
result of our collective successes – and failures. The system is our joint product, and it is our joint 
responsibility to improve what needs to be improved. The best way to protect the system is to 
improve it.  
 
The most immediate threat to the rules -based trading system is the lack o f respect for the rules. 
Norway' s concerns about the damaging effect s of increased protectionism, unilateral measures and 
escalating trade tensions are no less today than before  the summ er break. We urge all M embers to 
respect their WTO right s and obligations also when they experience challenges, which in the short 
term may make it tempting to move into grey areas.  
 
Secondly, the sharp end of the rules-based system is being und ermined by the inability to fill the 
empty seats of the Appel late Body. Norway calls on all M embers to agree without further delay to 
resolve this unacceptable situation.  
 
Thirdly, Norway agrees that the rulebook needs to be updated. Members have diff erent priorities  in 
this regard. Some M embers point to unfinished business, some underline ongoing processes, and 
some highlight new issues that are seen as the root cause of the present trade tensions. 
Addressing the various concerns of M embers regarding gaps in the rule  book is key to ensuring the 
continued relevance of the WTO.  
 
We know that filling the gaps in the rulebook is extremely difficult. Our reflex will always be to 
seek multilateral solutions. If that is not possible in the short -term, Norway is prepared to e xplore 
alternative and more flexible app roaches to obtain negotiated results.  
 
We also need to give the development dimension sufficient weight and visibility. The dialogue 
started at MC11 needs to be reinforced  in order to bridge the gap between Members'  different 
perspectives on trade and development. We need to find a better approach, an approach that 
takes the different abilities of M embers to contribute within each area of the negotiations into WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 21 - 
 
  account. Without a different approach, I am afrai d that it  will be very difficul t to reach multilateral 
agreement on filling the gaps of the rulebook.  
 
Regarding ongoing processes, we would like to highlight the negotiations on fisheries subsides to 
implement  SDG 14.6. Norway thanks the C hair of the Negotiating G roup on Rules  for his  
innovative guidance to engage M embers in brainstorming in four so -called incubator groups to look 
for new ideas and approaches.  
 
Different M embers in a variety of configurations have started discussions on modernization of the 
WTO. This is timely and necess ary, and Norway is grateful to M embers such as Canada for having 
initiated such discussions. Key to success will be transparency, inclusiveness and taking the 
interests and priorities of all M embers into account.  
 
Status quo is not  an option. In order to safegua rd and strengthen the WTO, all M embers need to 
demonstrate political will to make changes. Norway is ready to do its part.  
 
5. Malawi (ACP)  
 
Malawi takes the floor on behalf of the ACP Group. My remarks today will also foreshado w 
messages we expect from ACP Trade Ministers who will be convening in Brussels next week.  
 
Let me start by  thank ing the Director -General for his latest report and his  persistent efforts to 
advance the agenda of the WTO. We also wish to thank the Chairs of  the Negotiating Groups for 
their work and leadership on the areas under their responsibility.  
 
The ACP Group has actively participated in the Agriculture, Fisheries, CTS SS and CTD SS 
Negotiating Groups. This should be no surprise since as we have said i n the July TNC meeting that 
our membership consists of predominantly  LDCs and small and vulnerable S tates comprising 62 of 
the 164 Members of the WTO with other Members still in their process of accession. We have 
invested a lot in this institution even as  we had struggled with the necessary policy flexibility and 
adequate capacity building to support our efforts in implementing WTO Agreements including the 
more recent Agreement on Trade Facilitation.  
 
The ACP Group continues to work within the G -90 to cons ider our own approaches and priorities on 
SDT proposals and ensure that it remains a vital part of the negotiations. These proposals are 
unfinished business. They are not new negotiations but rather outstanding negotiations based on 
G-90 developing country  and LDC proposals. The CTD SS should thus consider the G -90 SDT 
proposals first before any consideration of which developing country Members would be able to 
utilise the provision. The overarching question that remains is about the political will.  
 
In Agr iculture, while many ideas and proposals have been submitted and the ACP proposals 
remain on the table, we wonder if differences are narrowing and whether the concerns of the 
poorest and weaker countries with offensive and defensive interests in Agricultur e would be 
prioritised. Certainly, Members must take steps to eliminate trade -distorting domestic supports 
that maintain gross imbalances including AMS entitlements, Cotton, and take decisions on food 
security and other areas of most importance to weaker d eveloping countries and LDCs which 
deserves priority attention.  
 
On Fisheries, we expect to meet the instruction of Ministers last year to conclude by the end of 
next year. However, we are concerned about the ideas or methods that will place the sovereign 
rights of our coastal island nations in peril while aiming to prohibit subsidies that contributes to 
depletion of our resources hence downgrading the objectives of SDG 14.6 which also highlights 
special and differential treatment that allows our food secur ity and the sustainable development of 
our fisheries industries. We cannot support subsidies disciplines that make difficult for us to 
support our fisheries communities. We continue to engage with Members in the fisheries subsidies 
negotiations. However, w e must have assurances that the momentum in the negotiations led by 
the ACP Group in the last few years does not result in setting out disproportionate obligations 
compared to the responsibility of subsidies to the behaviour of certain large industrial fis hing 
nations that are depleting the fisheries sources in our exclusive economic zones and in the high 
seas in the absence of adequate stock management systems.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 22 - 
 
  Regarding services market access, we have recently participated in the consultations held by th e 
Chair of the CTS SS. We reiterate that the existing GATS structure in the mandate provide the 
framework for any Member to put forward their proposals or to pursue their interest in the CTS SS 
and the relevant services bodies. Most of our members comprise  very small delegations and as 
such there is no need to support the introduction of a new layer or structure for discussions. We 
had stated at July this year that it was not the ACP Group that decided to take this in negotiations 
outside of the WTO. Many o f our m embe rs have always expected balance  throughout DDA 
negotiations under the DDA. We certainly have reached that our interest in Services is consistent 
with the right to regulate and other flexibilities for developing countries and LDCs within the 
bottom up approach of the GATS.  
 
Talks of reform in the corridors are giving off an air of unstable ground especially as they appear 
to leave our large Membership off the sidelines. We are concerned if any proposals are designed to 
uproot the important structu res of this rule -based multilateral trading system institution. As we 
redouble our efforts in the negotiations before us, we also wonder if such efforts will be 
undermined by the state of peril before us concerning the Appellate Body or the proposals 
propo sing changes through the structures. At this juncture, the ACP Group puts priority support in 
the unblocking of the selection of AB Members. Without which, the system will not function 
therefore placing the merits of negotiating new rules into question. De veloping countries including 
the ACP Group have been in the past tabled proposals on the reform of the WTO Dispute 
Settlement System by some of the Members now calling for reform blocked these proposals. Even 
though our concerns on the DSU will remain not addressed, we do not think blocking the whole 
system is the way to handle things. This is a negotiating forum. In that light, proposals from 
delegations such as Honduras and others are welcome. The ACP Group is considering its own 
interest in how we may pa rticipate moving forward. We therefore call upon your guidance during 
this critical and fragile phase in order to maintain a transparent, representative and inclusive 
discussion in the WTO. Any proposals for WTO reform must clearly set out reasons why this  is 
considered necessary – how the reform takes into account the interests of the WTO Members 
especially developing countries including the ACP Group and how the reform will contribute 
towards the discharge of the DDA and other Ministerial Mandates. Inclus ivity, transparency and 
the SDT for developing countries and LDCs are cardinal principles enshrined in the decision that 
must be adhered to.  
 
6. United States  
 
We thank the Director -General for his update. Today , I will limit my comments to a few broad 
areas of our work.  
 
First, and as the Director -General emphasis ed in his remarks,  we are hearing a great deal these 
days about reforming the WTO in order to increase its effectiveness and its relevance.   
 
This is e ncouraging. In the relatively limited number of months since Ambassador Lighthizer 
addressed the need for reform in Buenos Aires, we have seen a considerable broadening of the 
recognition that this topic, in its many different components, requires our focused attention.  The 
United States welcomes this more open and robust engagement on institutional issues.  
 
While advancing a reform agenda will require time and some patience, we must avoid falling into 
the trap of letting talk and discussion become subs titutes for concrete action.  
 
As the reform dialogue unfolds, I would briefly recall the key areas of focus for the United States:  
 
• First and foremost, this Membership must address the unanticipated challenges presented 
by non -market economies that also fa il to respect basic principles such as non -
discrimination, market access, reciproci ty, fairness, and transparency.  During our July 
General Council meeting, the United States welcomed the engagement on this critical 
question, and we will continue to explore  constructive ways of drawing addit ional attention 
to it. As far as the United States is concerned, adequately responding to the challenges of 
non-market economies is nothing less than an existential matter for this institution.  
  
• Next, we must redouble o ur efforts to bring greater accountability and improved 
performance to the organization' s array of notification obligations.  The United States, as 
the lead proponent for meaningful progress in this area, is not seeking punitiv e solutions WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 23 - 
 
  for their own sake . But if we really accept that there s hould be no consequences for wi lful 
and repeated disregard of our most basic rules, we will not get very far, and the future of 
our negotiating functions and ongoing implementation work will be grim.  
 
• We also need to e nsure the day -to-day work of th e WTO is taken care of. This means 
being good stewards of the regular committees that oversee implem entation of the WTO 
Agreements.  Some Members, including the United States, are looking at ways to improve 
the functioning of these bodies.  But first and foremost, Members need to substantively  
participate in these meetings. We' ve noticed lately that the United S tates is one of the few 
Members  substantively participating in the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements, the 
Working Party on State Trading Enterprises, the Import Licensing Committee, and a hos t 
of Accession Working Parties.  Others need to substantively contribute.  
 
• We must re -think our treatment of development in orde r to reflect current realities.  We 
appreciate the le adership that one Member has already demonstrated, recently, in showing 
that impressive progress in development can bring a willingness to participate more fully in 
WTO negotiations.  We hope for more such indications of leadership, and for creative 
thinkin g surrounding this difficult but crucial question.  
 
• We must also seek new understandings to enable the pursuit of less -than-fully-multilateral 
negotiations while preserving the multilateral characteristics of the WTO.  
 
• And of course we remain deeply concer ned that the operation of WTO dispute settlement 
has gone far beyond the results negotiated as part of the Uruguay Round.  
 
Again, the United States acknowledges that t hese are all thorny challenges.  But the fact that a 
discussion about them is beginning to  happen is positive.  
 
Turning to a more specific and time -sensitive issue, I would like to say a brief word about our 
negotiations on fisheries subsidies.  
 
We appreciate the efforts of the Chair of the Rules Negotiating Group , Ambassador Roberto 
Zapata , and thank him for the rep ort he provided this morning.  We are encouraged to have 
observed some useful brainstorming in the context of the procedural innovations tested in the 
most recent cluster of meetings.  
 
Still, we clearly have much work to do if we a re to arrive at outcomes that effectively respond to 
the challenges surrounding the g lobal depletion of fish stocks.  The United States will continue to 
participate actively and  constructively in this effort.  In doing so, other Members can expect us to 
continually remind them of the need to keep things as simple as possible, and of the reality that 
an agreement riddled with holes and exceptions will fail to serve its purpose and will ultimately be 
an embarrassment for this organization.  
 
Other Members can al so expect continued active engagement from this delegation in our 
discussions on agriculture, digital tra de, and regular committee work.  I am proud of the leadership 
the United States  is bringing to some of the WTO' s often -overlooked corners, such as the T riennial 
TBT review, the effort to ensure effective implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agree ment, and 
work to increase the Membership through accessions.  This workmanlike engagement across the 
range of our activities will continue to be a priority fo r the United States.  
 
I thank the Chairman and appreciate today' s chance to hear the views of all Members taking the 
floor. 
 
7. Ghana  
 
At the outset, my delegation would like to thank the Director -General and the Chairs of the various 
Negotiating Groups  for the clear and succinct reports. I would also like to commend his  
unwa vering fortitude in supporting M embers ' resolve to progressively pursue the work in Geneva 
despi te the daunting challenges the multilateral trading s ystem is confronted with today.  
 
This e ffort and determination, togeth er with those of all M embers who participate actively and 
constructively in the negotiations, are critic al if we are to have a revitalis ed, effective, reliable and WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 24 - 
 
  legitimate multilateral system that can stand against unbridl ed unilateralism and protectionism 
tendencies by some Members today.  
 
Developing, least -developed countries, as well as other small and vulnerable economies ar e 
worried over the likely spill -over effects of these trade tensions.  
 
The current escalation of trade tensions, which are unprecedented, should remind us of the value 
of the rule -based trading system, and how well it has served the globe since the GATT was 
established.  
 
We mus t all acknowledge the fact that  the WTO is invaluable in terms of global economic stability, 
and that the  prosperity of every Member's  economy depends on its sustainabilit y and 
effectiveness. A ny flagrant resort to unilateralism and protectionism as the first option would  
therefore  be inconsistent with the foundation of the GATT and the WTO rules.  
 
We must therefore put our shoulders to the wheel to find workable solutions to the challenges the 
WTO is currently facing . 
 
Agriculture  
 
Ghana commends the current work and momentum brought to  bear on the discussions going on in 
the various meetings of the Committee on Agriculture  in Special Session . 
 
My delegation reiterates the importance it attaches to the agricultural sector in the provision of 
food security, poverty alleviation, enhanced living standards and livelihood empowerment of our 
people, and increased exports.  
 
However, Agricultural trade still requires fundamental reforms in the area of correcting the Overall 
Trade Distorting Subsidies currently prevailing, as well as the eliminat ion of harmful subsidies to 
ensure a fair global agricultural trading system.  
 
A permanent solution to Public Stockholding for food security purposes would also be desirable.  
 
On C otton, we support the efforts of the Cotton 4 to create a level playing fiel d through the 
elimination of harmful subsidies in the sector.  
 
Regarding Fisheries S ubsidies, Ghana once again reiterates her preference for the elimination of 
harmful subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, as well as the tackling of th e 
problem of IUU in the fisheries sector.  
 
Development  
 
Development is a critical iss ue for a large majority of the M embership of the WTO , particularly, 
developing and least -developed M embers. Therefore, the provisions of Special and Differential 
Treatment  for all developing countries and LDCs which are an integral part of WTO agreements 
need to be carefully preserved and protected in future agreements.  
 
In line with Africa's "Agenda 2063: The Africa we w ant", which provides the framework for 
addressing Afr ica's specific challenges and the realisation of the African dream, as a prosperous 
continent based on accelerated, inclusive economic growth and development, Ghana will count on 
outcomes on Special and Differential Treatment that create policy space for i ts industrial policies to 
transform the structure of its economy.  
 
Ghana is th erefore implementing a ten point industrial transformation agenda to transform its 
economy into a more robust and modern one, to create decent jobs, increase incomes, and reduce 
poverty and thereby improve the living standards of its citizens.  
 
E-Commerce  
 
With regard  to e-commerce, Ghana supports the strengthening of the 1998 Work Programme,  in 
line with the African Group' s position and the Ministerial directive in Buenos Aires, and welcome WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 25 - 
 
  the deepening of discussions and engagement under the Work Programme to understand the 
complex issues surrounding the debate on E -Commerce.  
 
Ghana notes that while E -Commerce can bring transformational changes and opportunities in trade 
and inv estment, it also poses significant infrastructure, regulatory, and security challenges – the 
huge digital divide particularly, for developing countries like ours – a situation likely to prevent us 
from reaping the full benefits of the opportunities that e -commerce offers.  
 
The WTO needs to address these challenges urgently and on priority basis, to prevent the creation 
of further asymmetries, disruption and widening of the digital gap between developed countries on 
one hand and developing countries and LDCs  on the other.  
 
Ghana therefore urges Members  to reinvigorate work on the E -Commerce Work Programme with a 
view to building a foundation for our future work.  
 
WTO Moderniz ation/Reform  
 
On WTO Reform, Ghana supports the view that there should be a deeper assessment of what is 
wrong before attempting to introduce any sort of reforms. In that regard, discussions aimed at 
ensuring that WTO rules remain relevant, inclusive, and developmental and also reflect the reality 
of the modern global tradi ng environment would have Ghana' s support.  
 
Dispute Settlement Body  
 
The situation in the Appellate Body, the result of the current impasse in filling up of vacancies, is 
now critical. If not resolved with a sense of urgency, my delegation believes that the Appellate 
Body will soon become dysfunctional and the dispute sett lement mechanism, considered to be the 
"Jewel in the Crown",  would be rendered redundant and ineffective.  
 
While G hana takes note of some Members'  position on the need for re forming the Dispute 
Settlement S ystem, this should not become the reason for paralyzing the Appellate Body.  
 
We strongly reiterate the need to de -link the filling up of vacancies in the Appellate Body, from the 
purported need for reforms in the Dispute Settlement System . 
 
To conclude, my delegation associates itself with the statements made by the African Grou p and 
the ACP Group.  
 
8. Mexico  
 
On behalf of my delegation, I would like to begin by thanking the Director General for his 
assessment of the current status of the work of this organization. We also thank the Chairs of the 
negotiating groups for their work and their respective reports.  
 
We agree with the Director -General that our organization is at a critical juncture which, in our 
opinion, is due, among other things, to the following factors:  
 
The first and most consequential of these factors is the situation faced by the Appellate Body, 
which now has only three of its seven members, and which therefore finds itself in an extremely 
fragile position. These are unprecedented circumstances, which, only a few months ago were 
utterly inconceivable, but which now threaten to become the norm. It is important for us to ask to 
what extent a system can continue to function and guarantee its users that its rules are being 
enforced effectively, when it is uncertain whether we will be able to exercise our legitimate right to 
file an appeal with the Appe llate Body in order to settle our disputes.  
 
The second factor is the trade escalation threat that is now becoming a reality. It seems that we 
have failed to learn from our past mistakes, and that we have forgotten a dark episode in the 
history of trade, w hich occurred almost a century ago, and which involved indiscriminate tariff 
hikes and retaliatory measures. It caused global trade to decline substantially in the 1930s, which 
had knock on effects.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 26 - 
 
  It could be said that the situation today is different, as we now have a framework of multilaterally 
agreed rules. However, it appears that some of these rules are not being observed, or are being 
interpreted freely. This is placing strain on the multilateral trading system, which is likely to cause 
contraction s and incertitude in future trade flows, and as a result, may have an impact not only on 
the countries involved, but also on the world economy.  
 
The third factor is the need for our organization to demonstrate sensitivity and respond to the 
demands of the current circumstances. It is therefore important to continue to make progress on 
issues such as fisheries subsidies, to engage in dialogue in joint initiatives, and to find creative 
ways to move forward with agricultural negotiations, among other matters.  
 
In light of the above, it is necessary for us to look inwards and determine what we are doing right 
and what has given this organization its strength, in order to protect it, above all, from all 
situations. We also need to ascertain what is not working an d what may need to be changed.  
 
As part of this analysis, we need to identify the discussions on issues that may help to build 
political will, and create a suitable atmosphere in Geneva. In this regard, it is important for us to 
set aside the views that ha ve been repeated for so long, and conduct a serious evaluation in the 
light of a situation that is clearly not the same as the one experienced two decades ago.  
 
We therefore welcome the various discussions that are currently being held with the aim of 
introducing new ideas into the multilateral framework to address issues that have been raised for 
some time, such as the initiative recently introduced by Canada on exploring ways to modernise 
our organization.  
 
At the same time, it is important to ensure that  information flows between these discussions and 
broader configurations, in order to foster transparency and build trust among Members. This 
sharing of information will help us to identify collective solutions that will contribute to the 
development of ass essments to distinguish between urgent and long -range issues.  
 
It is important to rebuild trust in the system and more importantly, among trading partners, as we 
are certain that dialogue and negotiation are the only ways to ensure that this organization 
remains relevant and meets the requirements of the 21st century.  
 
9. Qatar  
 
We would like to first thank the Director -General and Negotiating Group Chairs  for their respective 
reports on how things stand in the WTO, both in the negotiating context and in the c urrent 
challenges facing the multilateral trading system. Q atar, as a small S tate which depends very 
much on the functioning of the multilateral trading system, would like to reiterate its comm itment 
to the system. The rules -based framework of the WTO is t he best suited platform to discuss and 
resolve trade disputes. Unilateral trade measures threaten to undermine the gains made by the 
system and threaten global economic development.  
 
Qatar supports some of the different efforts to reform and rebalance the  system. After all, t his is 
what the negotiating function ha s set out to do with the Doha R ound. We are following different 
proposals with interest. However, this must not be at the expense of a functioning dispute 
settlement sys tem. The current impasse in  the Appellate B ody brings us dangerously close to 
paralyzing the dispute settlement mechanism. We urge all sides to find solutions before this 
eventuality comes to fruition.  
 
However , there has been positive activity in other areas.  
 
On E-Commerce, we fi nd it important to continue the work we have achieved thus far in the 
thematic seminars that are taking place since MC11. The landscape in which global trade is being 
conducted is changing drastically with the use of technology and digitalisation . We are o f the view 
that there is a key developmental component o n this especially with regard to MSME s utilising e -
commerce to export  their goods and services. Multilateral disciplines are imperative to guide and 
regulate the increasing influence of e -commerce on international trade. We support the 
continuation of the exploratory work and welcome new proposals in the group.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 27 - 
 
  On investment facilitation, i t is essential for us to continue to provide investors with efficient and 
streamlined rules and procedures to mi nimise potential obstacles when investing or establishing a 
presence abroad. Outcomes on investment facilitation will bring benefits of investment to society 
through a sound policy framework that promotes and enables sustainable development and 
responsible  business conduct. The WTO is the only international organization that deals with 
intergovernmental trade relations  in the fields of investment and trade. In the FIFD  Group , we 
have developing and developed M embers promoting discussions and generating mome ntum on 
this issue. Qatar recently participated  in the Astana High -Level Roundtable on Investment 
Facilitation in Kazakhstan where discussions focused o n the Eurasian perspective on Investment 
Facilitation. We would like to extend our gratitude to the Gove rnment of K azakhstan for hosting 
this event. We look forward for this group to continue to engage with purpose  and build on our 
broad discussions in Astana and over the past year.  
 
10. Brazil  
 
Deciding on the right messages fo r today' s meeting was not an easy task. 
 
The unprecedented challenges faced by the WTO and the multilateral trading system continue to 
deepen.   
 
Brazil believes that current WTO rules provide us with a crucial framework for our trade policies 
and with remedies against illegal an d unfair t rade practices. As the Director -General said today, 
the system may not be perfect, but it has real value.  
 
Despite the lack of clarity on where we stand and about the nature of some of the challenges we 
face, constructive engagement across the board, leav ing behind our comfort zones and embracing 
a more systemic perspective of our national interests, is more important than eve r. For this 
reason, I will not mention specific negotiating issues today.  
 
Since Buenos Aires, and more clearly since the OECD Minis terial Meeting in Paris  in May, we have 
heard calls for a "WTO Reform" . 
 
Brazil is ready to engage in conversations on ways to improve the WTO.  
 
From what we have seen so far, some topics being proposed for discussion would be extremely 
complex. But we ap preciate that the proponents see the WTO as the locus to discuss trade rules.  
 
This so -called reform agenda should be a balanced platform to address our challenges on a 
collective basis and with a development dimension. We should remembe r that frustrations with the 
multilateral trading system  are not new, and they are certainl y not limited to the so -called "level 
playing field"  issues. In due time, Brazil will come forward with our own ideas.  
 
In any case, WTO foundational principles, particular ly the MFN principle and national treatment, 
should be upheld. And a WTO reform agenda must work for all. Pending issues cannot simply be 
left behind and replaced by a view that now other issues take precedence.  
 
We should also be clear that reforming the WTO requires in the first place a commitment to 
preserve the system. We cannot reform, or improve, what has not been preserved. Members must 
refrain from further actions that would inflict still mo re damage to the rules -based multilateral 
trading system . 
 
Needless to say , inclusiveness is an indispensable pre -condition for a reform process to be 
successful. This is another way of saying  that a "WTO Reform"  must work for all.  
 
We welcome the discussion paper that has been circulated to the whole Membership by Canada.  
 
We also appreciate the many positive elements in the EU document regarding the dispute 
settlement mechanism.  
 
For Brazil, the most pressing challenge is the need to overcome the deadlock in the dispute 
settlement system . Without an effective enforcement body, rules – those we have, or new ones – 
lose much of their meaning.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 28 - 
 
  Brazil remains ready to engage on ways to address the concerns  of any Member regarding the 
dispute settlement system . But we continue to believe that  the link between Appellate Body  issues 
and the selection process is not helpful.  
 
In the middle of so much uncertainty, at least one point is clear for Brazil: an honest commitment 
to the WTO, on the part of all Members, is the indispensable premis e for j oint endeavours in this 
organization.  
 
11. Morocco  
 
We thank the Director -General and the Chairs of the negotiating committees for their reports and 
summaries.  
 
My delegation will focus on making general comments on the issue of WTO reform.  
 
We remain committe d to the basic principles of the WTO. In this regard, it is sufficient to recall the 
two fundamental notions on which the WTO was founded:  
 
• international economic cooperation is the best means of preserving peace;  
• international trade is the best way to inc rease global prosperity and is one of the most 
effective means of combatting poverty.  
 
Accordingly, we welcome the commitment demonstrated by most delegations to upholding the 
core values and key principles of the multilateral system and therefore to promo ting more 
inclusive, non -discriminatory, fair, transparent and open rules.  
 
This commitment is, in fact, based on three principles:  
 
• Inclusiveness at the WTO is synonymous with consensus. We fear that, by attempting to 
impose new rules while disregarding this principle, our multilateral trading system will lose 
its credibility and, especially, its attractiveness.  
 
• Fairness is also a principle which is important to us and to which we are strongly 
committed. We therefore call on you to duly observe the princ iple of fairness in a 
meaningful way, be it in the reform envisaged, or regarding the agreement on fisheries 
subsidies that is under negotiation. In terms of the reform, the application of this principle 
enables all Members to participate in the developmen t of trade rules, as Ambassador 
Xavier Carim underscored in his statement on behalf of the African Group.  
 
• The third principle that we would like to mention is that of flexibility. Certain reports 
published recently insist on the importance of this princip le, and we share this view. We 
need a form of flexibility that would steer us away from some of our attitudes that are 
sometimes too self -seeking. Active flexibility that would enable us to move towards the 
achievement of win -win solutions. Flexibility tha t would consolidate the foundations of our 
system and remedy the injustices for which developing countries have paid a heavy price, 
particularly in agriculture. It should also free up opportunities resulting from fundamental 
changes in the world economy, a nd allow for structural changes to be initiated gradually, 
once again by consensus, for the benefit of all Members.  
 
12. Cuba  
 
We thank the Director -General for his report, and have taken note of the updates from the chairs 
of the negotiating bodies. We endors e the statements made by Malawi on behalf of the ACP Group 
and by Indonesia on behalf of the G -33. 
 
As we have done several times before in this body, we reiterate our determination to continue 
working towards full compliance with the Doha mandates, which were agreed by consensus. In 
order to do this, we must revive the work of the negotiating bodies, taking advantage of the 
technical expertise acquired through years of negotiation.  
 
We all acknowledge that agriculture is an essential topic, and results tha t take account of food 
security in our countries should be a priority for all of us. We are open to an incremental approach WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 29 - 
 
  that focuses on the most distortionary domestic support in order to correct the inherent 
imbalances in the Agreement on Agriculture,  with priority for cotton. We firmly repeat that 
countries that have not contributed to the distortions in world agricultural trade do not have to 
limit their current policy spaces, aimed at guaranteeing food security, rural development and 
poverty allevia tion, all of which form part of our commitment to fulfil the 2030 Agenda's 
Sustainable Development Goals.  
 
The negotiations on Special and Differential Treatment must be activated in accordance with their 
mandate, using the G -90 proposals as a basis, and m ust ensure that the principle of special and 
differential treatment – which forms an integral part of the multilateral agreements of this 
organization – is respected and is not subject to reinterpretation.  
 
The development dimension must be tangibly reflec ted in any outcomes produced by the WTO. We 
are concerned by those who seek to impose a particular way of viewing development that fails to 
take account of the economic difficulties and realities faced by the developing countries.  
 
The Negotiating Group on  Rules is practically the only WTO body that shows evidence of an 
interest to achieve outcomes for the Twelfth Ministerial Conference based on the mandate adopted 
in Buenos Aires. The work on fisheries must continue to be conducted in transparent and inclu sive 
formats that enable all Members to present their interests. The importance of this mandate and 
the peremptory deadline by which it is governed must not result in an increase in the existing 
asymmetries. Special and differential treatment for the devel oping countries must be the subject 
of substantive and effective provisions.  
 
As regards electronic commerce and domestic regulation in services, we do not support the 
plurilateral approach which continues to proliferate without any proper consensus. The w ork being 
done on both of these topics must be guided by their multilateral mandates which were agreed by 
all Members. There is plenty of work still to be done in this broader configuration. The first half of 
the year has produced little or nothing in this  respect.  
 
We know that the challenges facing us today are enormous, but a multilateral organization, 
however complex its work, must focus on the mandates that have been agreed collectively.  
 
At a time when unilateral trade measures prevail, we need to preserve a system more deeply 
rooted in multilateralism, dialogue and cooperation.  
 
13. Turkey  
 
We thank the Director -General  for holding this meeting  and sharing information on his  activities 
and the current the state of play in the negotiations at the WTO.  
  
The role of trade is quite important for global recovery and growth and we believe that  the WTO 
should remain as the lead ing forum for global rules -based trading.   
  
Multilateral trade negotiations are in a difficult conjecture and unilateral actions an d the emanating 
risks outside the rules-based  system have become more visible.  
  
We are now almost one year on after MC11 with not much progr ess on crucial topics. Although  we 
do not expect to advance on all outstanding issu es, the fact that the negotiati ng function  of the 
WTO is not performing well in key areas is particularly alarming.  
  
We are still far behind on our commitments mandated in Ministerial Decisions. On top of that, we 
see neither a lively discussion on h ow to keep up our existing work nor an active engagement to 
reinvigora te the current negotiations in Agriculture, NAMA or S ervices.  
 
Almost all M embers are frustrated with the lack of outcome in multilateral negotiations. These  
frustrations may lead certain M embers to introduce alternative agendas.  
  
We agree with the fact that the WTO and the mult ilateral negotiations should ada pt to current 
realities as well as the need to update ourselves to meet the rising challenges in global trade.  
  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 30 - 
 
  However, this shoul d not further complicate the existing negotiating agen da, widen the gaps 
between the M embers and aggravate the longstanding problems.  
  
New agenda items should not be a replacement for our current work programme or the unfinished 
work.  
  
We should embrace the different realities to better understand them and to develop tailor -made 
solutions for genuine problems we face in global trade. And this approach requires that the 
development dimension must still be the common thread that binds all the outcomes toget her.  
  
Agriculture is one of the most sensitive and most critical areas i n the negotiations. Almost all 
Members agree that the existing rules on agriculture trade need reform in one way or another, 
although with different perspectives.  
  
However, a common understanding of the current problems in world agriculture trade is lacking.  
  
We need to develop innovative, realistic and effective modalities to reform the current rules of the 
agricul ture trade, in domestic support , market access and export comp etition. For this, we should 
define the common problems through different perspectives, understand the  different realities 
among the M embers, and recognis e developing Members' rural development challe nges. 
  
On Fisheries S ubsidies, Turkey continues to see these negotiations as one of the most important 
topics on our current agenda. We hope that the incubator group process will bring some new 
momentum to our work, and Members will shift gears into a more constru ctive mode. It is true 
that Members have not sh own even an incremental progress to bridge the differences after Buenos 
Aires. Therefore, we do not have the luxury of time any more as we have to show our best efforts 
to deliver a meaningful and credible outcome on fisheries by the end of 2019.  
  
On the current impasse in the selection process of Appellate Body members , let me once again 
underline our grave concern about the cur rent situation. We are now down to three members.  If 
we cannot solve the problem until 2019, there is the big risk of having no A ppellate Body and 
losing the whole dispute settlement mechanism in  the multilateral context. Therefore, we believe it 
is vital to enter solid discussions to overcome this crisis. Considering the urgency of the matter, 
any proposal to address the concerns o n the working procedures of the Appellate Body should be 
discussed separately and should not prevent the Appellate Body to fully perform its functions.  
  
Lastly, we welcome the work in the Informal Working Group on MSMEs and e -commerce and share 
the view t hat the discussions on those platforms, done in an inclusive and transparent manner , will 
help solidify the global architect of trade.  
 
14. Colombia (Structured Discussions on Investment  Facilitation for Development)  
 
In keeping with the transparent and inclus ive nature of the Joint Initiative on Investment  
Facilitation for Development – I wish to inform all Members about the latest developments in the 
structured discussions since my last report at the HODs meeting of 24 July.  
  
Our most recent meeting, held on  21 September, focused on the third topic as identified in the 
Joint Ministerial Statement – namely the elements of an Investment Facilitation Framework that 
would: "enhance international cooperation, information sharing, the exchange of best practices, 
and relations with relevant stakeholders, including dispute prevention".  
 
The meeting was well attended. Members from different regions and at different levels of 
development, as well as both signatories and non -signatories of the Joint Initiative, engaged 
constructively, and shared their experiences with the implementation of investment facilitation 
measures.   
 
These discussions made it clear that many, if not all, participating Members are engaged in 
reforms to improve the business environment and to attr act FDI.  Many have already undertaken 
wide-ranging investment facilitation measures: domestically, for example by setting up online 
portals to ensure transparency in investment -related procedures, or designating a focal point to 
handle investors' complaint s; as well as bilaterally and regionally, by including provisions on 
investment facilitation in their RTAs.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 31 - 
 
  The September meeting followed our usual working methodology, namely: a detailed background 
Non-Paper as well as guiding questions shared in advance  of the meeting – which were 
complemented by  presentations made by experts. This time round by the ITC, the OECD, UNCTAD, 
and the WTO Secretariat.  
 
As I already reported to you in July, participating Members agreed to entrust me with the 
compilation of a " Checklist of Issues raised by Members" under my responsibility as Coordinator.  
The checklist reflects possible elements of a framework for facilitating foreign investments raised  
by Members in the discussions.  It doesn't provide a detailed explanation of the issues – rather, it 
simply organ ises them in a coherent manner.  It is a 'living document' that continues to be updated 
after each meeting in light of Members' inputs.  
 
Examples of elements most commonly mentioned by Members at the September meeting 
included: providing for regular exchanges of information and best -practices on investment 
facilitation measures among Members; and enhancing international cooperation for investment 
facilitation, notably through cooperation mechanisms between Members' investm ent authorities.  
 
Based on the meetings held thus far, the eleme nts in the Checklist are organis ed around four 
broad topics:  
 
1. Elements aimed at improving the transparency and predictability of investment 
measures;  
 
2. Elements aimed at streamlining and speeding up administrative procedures and 
requirements;  
 
3. Elements aimed at fostering international cooperation, information sharing, the 
exchange of best practices, as well as relations with relevant stakeholders, including 
dispute prevention; and,  
 
4. Cross -cutting issues such as , notably , the development dimension.  
 
An informal summary of the September meeting and the latest update of the "Checklist of Issues" 
will be circulated under my responsibility shortly.  
 
Also, let me remind delegations that relevant documents pertaining to the Structured Discussions 
are available online – on the Members' area of the WTO website.  
 
Now please let me take this opportunity to share with you the information about our next meeting 
on 26 Octob er, which is Friday next week. It will focus on a key cross -cutting theme, and core 
objective identified in the Joint Ministerial Statement: namely "facilitating greater developing and 
least-developed Members' participati on in global investment flows".  The meeting is taking place 
back-to-back with UNCTAD's World Investment Forum, which many of your high -level 
representatives and investment promotion executives will a ttend.  I encourage them to also attend 
our meeting in the WTO.  
 
To conclude, let me reaffirm my commitment, as the Coordina tor, to keep this process open -
ended, transparent and inclusive – and to engage with all Members to better understand your 
views and  possible concerns. Thus, I wish to stress my availability to meet with each one of you – 
and extend my invitation to all delegations to get involved in the Structured Discussions.  
 
15. Colombia  
 
Colombia wishes to reiterate the importance of defending the rules based multilateral trading 
system. We are faced with a situation which poses challenges and difficulties for the delica te 
balance of the institutional architecture of world trade. In such times, we must leave behind 
extreme positions and think about the higher objectives that the system represents: economic 
stability, progress and peace. We invite you to make decisions wit h a view to the long term.  
 
In recent years, it has become clear that improvements and adjustments need to be made in order 
to ensure the proper functioning of the organization. This also means that we have to  work to 
provide new rules that respond to the changes, challenges and new global realities that we are WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 32 - 
 
  facing. This is a Member driven organization, and therefore, it is our task to protect and 
strengthen the system as we seek to bring it up to date.  
 
Colombia is convinced of the need to address these challenges through a frank and constructive 
dialogue that ensures the continuity and steady improvement of the WTO as a key global public 
good. We are therefore willing to participate actively in the discussi ons on initiatives and proposals 
to strengthen the organization, taking into account that such discussions must represent the 
diverse interests of all Members, including the priority that must be given to resolving the current 
deadlock in the Appellate Bod y. 
 
16. New Zealand  
 
I would like to thank the Chairman for his report on his  activities as Director -General and the 
Negotiating  Chairs for their updates.  
 
Firstly, in terms of the core negotiation agenda:  
 
On Fisheries S ubsidies, we are now only 14 months awa y from the 2019 deadline given to us by 
Ministers to conclude negotiations (consiste nt with implementing SDG 14.6).  We were pleased to 
see that the first set of Incubator Groups was a constructive exercise. From our perspective, the 
Incubator Groups did th eir job in engaging frankly and in generating creative ideas. A key 
challenge however, as we look to take ideas forward, is ensuring that these are consistent with 
what Leaders and Ministers have told us to do. For example, any outcome that doesn' t lead to  a 
prohibition on subsidies contributing to IUU fishing, and certain harmful subsidies that contribute 
to overfishing and overcapacity will simply not achieve the mandate.  I was reassured to hear our 
Chair report that he is looking to keep the Negotiating Group on track to deliver the required 
outcome in 2019.  
 
On Agriculture, the WTO is the only organisation that can credibly do something about reducing 
the US$620bn in subsidies and other distortions to global trade in agriculture.  The playing field in 
agriculture is extremely bumpy.  Again , I was encouraged to hear our Negotiating Group Chair 
envisages a possible way forwar d in this important discussion.  We must look at the global picture, 
and find ways of reducing trade distorting support.   
 
Secondly, as  the global economy has evolved , we need to demonstrate the ability o f this 
organiz ation to respond to contem porary issues and challenges. The Joint Initiative s are important 
in this regard.  As others hav e remarked this morning, the E -Commerce Joint Initia tive process in 
particular is of key interest to business as was e vident at the Public Forum.  New Zealand is 
participating actively in support of this p rocess moving to the next step.  Also notable at the Forum 
was the strong interest in sustainability issu es.   
 
Thirdly, the system ic challenges facing the organiz ation have been well highlighted for many 
months.  
 
The Appellate Body situation is now truly at an impasse given we are now down to only three 
members. There is zero cushioning which means that we c ould see some appeals completely 
grounded at any point from now on, not merely at a certain point in 2019.  We ha ve long referred 
to this as an "impending" issue. Well now it i s here and we need to discuss how to move forward 
to resolve it.  
 
More broadly,  there are now several WTO moderniz ation discussions in play, with the objective of 
improving the system. This is to be welcomed. I hav e emphasised before how critical the rules -
based multilateral trading system is for a small Member such as New Zealand. W e are engaged in 
the Canadian initiative, which Canada spoke to this morning. We also take a close interest in other 
ideas and proposals which are being worked on by some Members, and look forward to engaging 
on those in due course.   
 
Others have  talked t his morning about the 'keys to success' and there are many. But ultimately, if 
we are to be successful, there is no substitute for leadership and en gagement – or as Mexico put it 
'political will'  – including  from the large Members. The stakes are high. As the Director -General  
described , we are beginning to see the negative impacts f rom the current trade tensions.  When 
the IMF and World Bank join with the WTO Director -General to warn of the consequences for the WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 33 - 
 
  global economy from developments in the trading  system , we all need to pay attention.  We have a 
collective responsibility to try to ensure those threatened consequences do not actually happen.  
 
17. China  
 
First of all, I would like to thank the Director -General for his  briefing, and the Chairs of Negotiating 
Groups for their respective reports.  
 
Though we had a Summer break, the trade tension has not come to a break yet ，with the United 
States initiating further trade protectionist measures, including the imposition of 10% tariffs to 
$200 billion wo rth of Chinese products in September.  
 
I want to quote the words used by Mr. Rufus Yerxa, President of the US National Foreign Trade 
Council, in the Public Forum early this month: "I represent US -based multinational companies that 
are engaged in global com merce. Once I told a trade colleague in the US Administration that, the 
thought that we are go ing to address problems of 21st century economy, by trying to d evelop 
policies to protect 20th century industries, using a 19th century tool lik e tariffs, in purs uit of 
17th century mercantilism, is going to lead to just an incredible increase of, not only the 
tremendous uncertainty to business, but the great tensions around the world."  
 
It is very true.  
 
By raising tariffs and erecting trade barriers, the United S tates is hurting its own companies, 
Chinese companies, companies of other countries, and the global industry as a whole.  
 
Those measures have jeopardis ed the normal flows of trade and resources allocation across the 
world, disrupted the global value chain and the international division of labo ur, and upset market 
expectations and certainties. And because of the interconnections among countries through trade 
and economic links, they will also produce extensive negative spill -overs, and reduce the efficiency 
of the global economy.  
 
Coming specifically to our organization, we regret to see that, as the US continues to block the 
appointment process, only 3 Members of the Appellate Body are left. The entire dispute settlement 
system is in severe crisis.  
 
Ever sin ce Augus t last year, more than 100 WTO M embers voiced serious concerns by means of 
joint proposals, joint statements or interventions at various occasions. Recently, the EU, Canada 
and Honduras put forward some concrete suggestions as well.  
 
China apprecia tes tho se efforts, and calls upon WTO M embers to earnestly a bide by the DSU 
provision that " vacancies shall be filled as they ari se", to initiate the selection process as soon as 
possible.  
  
On Fisheries Subsidies, the form of "incubator -group discussion"  is creative. We think this is a 
bottom -up approach as Members'  interests and concerns could be covered and discussed in the 
process.  
 
Just to highlight that transparency and neutrality are important. Information should be timely, fully 
and inclusively shar ed in the discussion. Par ticularly, developing countries'  concerns should be duly 
taken into account.  
 
On Agriculture, China echoes the statement to be made by Indonesia on behalf of the G-33. As the 
top priori ty, China firmly believes that M embers should make concerted effort to reach a 
permanent solution on public stockholding for food security purposes  and a special safeguard 
mecha nism for developing M embers as mandated. For domestic support, the reform must be in 
the right dire ction and th e AMS of developed M embers must be removed first in order to address 
the asymmetry and unfairness in agriculture trade rules.  
 
On e-commerce and investment facilitation for development, as always, China supports to have 
the informal discussion under the mu ltilateral framework, focusing on how to address the concrete 
concerns and practical difficulties of developing countries.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 34 - 
 
  I would like to thank Ambassador Gonzalez for his introduction on the structured discussion of 
investment facilitation for de velopme nt, and welcome broader participation of WTO Members in 
this process.  
 
There are also many activities focusing on this important topic taken place in the past two months, 
including the successful Astana High Level Forum hosted by Kazakhstan. In those events, the role 
of investment facilitation measures in helping attract and retain FDI, fostering development, 
modernization and growth, were highly recognis ed. Interests and support for the ongoing efforts in 
the WTO regarding investment facilitation for development have been brought to a new level.  
 
As announced by Ambassador Go nzalez , later this month, we will discuss how to facilitate greater 
developi ng and least -developed Members'  participation in global investment flows. As the 
coordina tor of FIFD , China sincerely hopes to see more M embers, especially the developing ones, 
to participate in the discussions.  
 
Last but not least, there are ma ny informal discussions on the "WTO reform" in and outside 
Geneva.  
 
Yes, indeed, the WTO is not perfect.  
 
Hence, China supports  necessary improvement of the organization and the multilateral trading 
system  to keep pace with the times  especially when its authority and effectiveness are being 
challenged and as it now faces an existential crisis.  
 
I agree with what the Director -General just said that  the purpose of the reform is to fix the specif ic 
problems, and make the system work better. We  should be cautious not  to undermine the core   
values and basic principles of the WTO such as non -discrimination, diminish the development right 
of developing countries, or weaken the spirit of consensus.  
 
China believes that any kind of reform should be a mutual, comprehensive and gradual process, as 
it is a common cause of 164 WTO M embers. No one can be left. No one can be singled out either. 
Particularly, developing countries'  interests should be strongly voiced and fully reflected in this 
process.  
 
18. Senegal  
 
Let me begin by thanking the Director -General  and all of t he Chairs of the Negotiating Group for 
their respective reports.  
 
It is a fact that little progress has been made in the different areas of nego tiation, and Members 
continue to reiterate well known positions, reflecting the deep divergences on how to find lasting 
solutions to the remaining Doha Development Agenda issues or how to tackle the new challenges 
posed by digitalization and its impact on world trade.  
 
In the negotiations and other discussions taking place at the WTO, it is essential to remember and 
take into consideration the principl es and objectives on which our o rganization was founded. 
Indeed, our work must at all times  be guided by inclusiveness, of which consensus based decision 
making is an essential component, and by transparency, equity, and above all compliance with the 
commitments undertaken. Development and the integration of the developing countries and LDCs 
in international trade and in global value chains must remain at the heart of the multilateral trade 
negotiations.  
 
It is urgent and absolutely essential, in this connection, that solutions be found to the difficult 
issues of agricultural subsidies that disto rt the international market, fisheries subsidies, the 
implementation of paragraph 44 of the Doha Declaration, and improvement of market access for 
the products and services of the LDCs.  
 
My delegation believes that for many developing countries and LDCs, t ackling these priority issues, 
alongside the emerging world trade issues such as electronic commerce, would be a demonstration 
of the WTO's credibility and relevance.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 35 - 
 
  In this context, we call upon Members to show greater flexibility and political will, firstly to revive 
the multilateral trade negotiations, and secondly to solve the question of renewing the members of 
the Appellate Body.  
 
These two issues are keys to the functioning of our o rganization. The Appellate Body crisis 
unquestionably threatens t he WTO's negotiating function and affects its stability, credibility and 
predictability. We need to deal with these matters urgently; we cannot afford to wait until this 
increasingly troubled institution has been reformed.  
 
Regarding the informal work curr ently under way to reform the WTO, my delegation has taken 
note of the concerns raised by certain members, in particular as regards transparency and 
notifications, plurilateral negotiations and the approach to consensus, special and differential 
treatment,  evaluation of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures in the light of 
over capacity problems in certain sectors, forced technology transfer, and the functioning of the 
Appellate Body.  
 
We note that some of these issues are not new, and are of crucial interest to the developing 
countries and the LDCs. My delegation has already expressed its views on the importance of 
improving transparency in the implementation of Members' obligations and on the need to take 
account of the real constraints fa cing certain members in this respect. We have also stressed the 
need to preserve the necessary policy space s o that certain Members of this o rganization could 
regulate certain activities or sectors or support the development of their production sectors in a 
context in which studies have shown that "trade finance represents one of the top three obstacles 
to exporting for half of the countries in the world".  
 
My delegation calls for inclusive discussions within the relevant WTO bodies on all of these 
question s, in particular the Appellate Body issue, on the basis of concrete proposals, with a view to 
finding cooperative solutions to the problems and constraints facing certain members, in particular 
the developing countries and the LDCs.  
 
Finally, my delegation  endorses the statements made by South Africa on behalf of the African 
Group, Malawi on behalf of the ACP and the Central African Republic on behalf of the LDCs.  
 
19. European Union  
 
We thank the Director -General  for convening this meeting today and for the de briefings regarding 
recent contac ts. We were happy to hear the Director -General  and many other Members 
underli ning the great value of a rules -based multilateral trading system. However, what is plain for 
all to see is that the WTO  is shaking in its foundat ions. We are witnessing trade tensions 
unprecedente d in the history of this organiz ation. But  the recognition of crisis would not  do. The 
problems wo uld no t go way in and of themselves. It is high time we go from observation to action. 
Status quo is not an  option. If we do  not act, we are on the road to abandoning the rules -based 
system in favour of power -based trade relations, wher e we know the weak will suffer.  
 
We are particularly worried about the situation surrounding the Appellate Body. The blockage o f 
appointments, hostage -taking of the dispute settlement system, and its eventual crippling cannot  
be accepted as a 'new normal'.  We have listened to the concerns expressed and have set out a 
number of ideas on how to address them in our WTO moderniz ation paper, which we published on 
18 September. We are ready to engage in discussions with all Members to find viable solutions.  
 
Of course, it is clear, that the Appellate Body situation is not simply an isolated incident. It is a 
reflection of a  broader malai se in this organiz ation linked to ineffective, outdated or insufficient 
rules on the one hand, and the lack of transparency and proper monitoring on the other. All of 
these issues need to be considered and addressed if we are to get out of our current pred icament.  
 
The EU's WTO moderniz ation paper sets out our ideas on what is needed to fix the multilateral 
system. It is our contribution to the debate and we invite others to come with concrete ideas while 
welcoming those already made.  
 
The European Union is firm in its belief that it will not be possible to exit the current trade crisis 
without addressing the distortions that have led to the increase in tensions in recent years. The 
key here is to update the WTO's rulebook on 'level playing field' issues a nd barriers to services and WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 36 - 
 
  investment that cripple the trading environment, and to ensure that Members take up 
responsibilities and behave in a manner commensurate with their size and importance in the 
trading system.  
 
This does not mean that other issues should be forgotten. On the contrary, all issues of interest to 
Members need to be considered. There is good work taking place on e -commerce, investment 
facilitation, domestic r egulation and MSMEs. Fisheries S ubsidies talks have restarted although r eal 
negotiations have not yet resumed for which there is a clear need as time is ticking toward the 
SDG deadline. And there are several other issues.  
 
It is incumbent upon all of us to come forward with fresh proposals and negotiate to equip the 
WTO with t he rules it needs to stay relevant for the world economy of today.  
 
We can collectively take a small step in the right direction already in the coming weeks by 
engaging in a constructive manner on the issue of improving the work of the WTO's regular 
commit tee. Here , a particularly important area of reflection is how to improve transparency and 
strengthen compliance with existing notification obligations. We look forward to engaging with the 
broader Membership on this issue.  
 
Let me repeat once more that do ing nothing is the surest way to the demise of the WTO and 
70 years of work on the rules -based multilateral trading system. The EU has made and will further 
make proposals in various domains to shore up the WTO. We intend to engage with Members in 
various configurations over the coming month to pursue the WTO moderniz ation debate.  
 
20. Zimbabwe  
 
Let me at the outset, thank the Director -General and the Chairs of the Negotiating Groups for the 
reports. Our priorities regarding the DDA negotiations are well known and so today I will just make 
short and preliminary interventions on the Appellate Body impasse a nd current proposals on 
modernis ing the WTO.  
 
The Dispute Settlement System is under threat and  at a high risk of collapse if M embers do not 
resolve the issue of selection of Appellate Body members urgen tly. In this regard, we remind 
Members to be mindful of the serious repercussions that the current impasse will have on the 
functioning of the DSB and t he credibility of the WTO. Rule -making in the WTO will lose purpose if 
the DSB is not functioning well. Let us therefore all commit ourselves to resolving this matter 
before the WTO renders itself redundant.  
 
Regarding the recent proposa ls on WTO Reform, my delegation' s view is that any such effort 
should be in lin e with the existing WTO mandates, be inclusive and should promote the 
development aspirations of developing countries. Furthermore , the refo rms should strengthen the 
multilateral trading s ystem as an inclusiv e, fair, and balanced and rules -based organiz ation. An 
assessment of what is at stake in the WTO is necessary as this will provide an understanding of 
the challenges to be addressed.  
 
I would like to underscore that the successful conclusion of the DDA remains a priority for many 
developing countries such as our own and in this regard, any proposed reform should not 
undermine progress in this round of negotiations.  
 
Let me end by recalling the 2018 Trade and Development Report which alludes to the fact that 
trade has not brought about the anticipated d evelopment gains in most developing countries and 
that in such circumstances, these countries still need to preserve as well as expand policy spac e to 
promote industrialization.  Therefore, any reform should not contain new measures that place 
limitations o n the ability of developing countries to adopt trade -related development policies. 
Rather, the WTO has a big role to play in increasing policy space through Development Facilitation.  
 
As I conclude, let me associate my delegation with the statements  made  by the ACP and Africa 
Groups, the G -33 and the C-4. 
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 37 - 
 
  21. Australia (Joint Statement Init iative on Electronic Commerce)  
 
I thank the Director -General  on his  activities and assessment of  the challenges facing the WTO.  I 
would also like to thank the C hairs of the Negotiating Groups for their updates.  
 
I will first provide a brief report on progress in the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic 
Commerce on behalf of the co -conveners (Australia, Japan and Singapore).  
 
The e -commerce Joint Statement initiative has m et six times since it was launched at MC11. Since 
my last report to this meeting in July, the initiative has  moved to a new phase of work. In 
September, we commenced a deep dive into the issues raised by participants in their written 
submis sions and presen tations – focusing on: digital trade facilitation; market access; bus iness 
trust; and transparency. Members shared examples of domestic laws and regulations as well as 
text-based examples of relevant provisions in regional and bilateral trade agreements.  We will 
continue this phase of work on the remaining issues  in further meetings this year.  The next 
meeting, scheduled for 31 October and 1 November, will focus on: facilitating electronic 
transmissions; flow of information; consumer trust; and infrastructu re gaps and the digital divide.  
 
We have recently conducted Ambassador -level informal consultations on the initiative and next 
steps. We thank all those that participated in these consultations and extend an open invitation for 
further consultations with a ny interested Member.  
 
The E -Commerce Joint Statement Initiative remains open to all Members that share the objective 
of conducting exploratory work toward future WTO negotiations on trade -related aspects of 
electronic commerce.  Exploratory work under thi s initiative has been transparent and member -
driven.  
 
In order to enhance transparency, all documents related to this initiative, including submissions, 
presentations and meeting reports, are available to WTO Members online and I refer Members to 
these rep orts for further information.  
 
22. Australia  
 
Australia is increasingly concerned about escalating trade tensions and the impasse in Appellate 
Body appointments.  Each of these developments on their own is of major concern, but together 
they constitute a severe  risk to the multilateral trading system and to world trade.  
 
As the Director -General noted recently at the Launch of World Trade Report , continued escalation 
of trade tensions risks having a major global economic impact.  
 
As a strong supporter of the mu ltilateral trading system, we believe we must work urgently to 
strengthen and modernise the WTO so that it is abl e to deal with these tensions. The future of the 
multilateral trading system – which is vital to global ec onomic stability and to Members'  collective 
prosperity – depends on us doing so.  
 
Indeed , at the recent G20 Trade Ministers'  meeting in Mar del Plata, Minister s agreed on the 
urgent need to " improve the WTO to face  current and future challenges."  
 
For Australia, this includes two important tasks:  
 
• strengthening the  functioning of the WTO , and  
• updating WTO rules to reflect the reality of the modern global trading environment.  
 
On the first task, in order to have a well -functioning WTO , we need a strong, effective, fully 
functioning dispute settlement system.   
 
We are deeply concerned about the ongoing Appellate Body impasse and are committed to work, 
as a priority, to u nlock the appointments process.  We recognise the need for improvements to the 
dispute settlement system  and ask all Members  to join us and engage in good faith in this 
important effort.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 38 - 
 
  We also need to improve the WTO' s monitoring function and welcome the efforts of several 
Members to develop proposals on ways to impro ve the WTO' s transpare ncy and notification 
processes.  We look forward to working closely with Members to take these ideas forward.  
 
On the second task – updating WTO rules – there is a strong need for timely and pragmatic action 
to ensure the WTO rules remain relevant, including looking at those related to the ca uses of 
current tensions.  Not to do so could lead to a further escalation in tensions.  
 
We heard this message repeatedly during Public Forum we ek, particularly from industry.  Indeed, 
the recommendations from the ICC and B20 underline the importance of the WTO rulebook 
equipping us to deal with modern trade issues.  
 
For this reason, we joined the Joint Statement Initiatives on e -commerce, services domestic 
regulation, investment facilitation and MSMEs in Buenos Aires.  
 
Each of these initiatives is a good exa mple of new ways of working, allowing constructive 
engagement on issues of interest to Members and demonstrate flexibility and pragmatism.  
 
Digital trade is growing rapidly and is transformative. It is an increasingly powerful economic 
enabler and provides  new opportunities to access international markets for broad segments of 
society including women, MSMEs and rural entrepreneurs.  
 
We are very pleased with the progress in the E -Commerce Joint Statement Initiative and the fact 
that participants remain focus ed on the goal of moving to WTO negotiations on e -commerce.  It is 
important that we deliver outcomes in this area so that our businesses and consumers can fully 
capture the opportunities offered by digital trade as soon as possible.  
 
We also stand ready to  engage in discussions on e -commerce under the 1998 Work Program me, 
including on the customs duties moratorium.  
 
Australia is also pleased with the ongoing engagement by many Members on Services Do mestic 
Regulation.  We have made substantial progress; are close to concluding text on core disciplines; 
and remain on track to deliver on the commitment under the Joint Ministerial Statement to 
conclude negotiations in advance of the next Ministerial Conference.  
 
At the sam e time, we believe it essential that the WTO continues to focus on addressing important 
outstanding issues, including development issues.  
 
On agricultural reform, addressing the high levels of global trade distorting domestic support mus t 
remain a priority . This is a common problem for us all, and deserves a common solution.  
 
Australia, along with other Cairns Group members, has been working hard to provide the data and 
analysis to help  us identify solutions to today' s problems in agricu ltural trade.  And we  will continue 
to work to develop approaches that support the agricultural reform agenda . 
 
We must also continue to press ahead with negotiations on Fisheries Subsidies in order to deliver 
on the commitm ent our Ministers made at MC11.  And, like others, we were pleased by the posit ive 
and open engagement in the 'incubator groups'  and welcome this approach as a useful new way of 
working.  
 
Australia appreciates the efforts of several Members in recent months to drive forward work to 
modernise and strengthen t he WTO.  
 
In particular, we welcome the EU' s concept note, the recent joint EU/Jap an/US Trilateral Trade 
Minister's statement, and Canada' s discussion paper on strengthening and modernising the WTO 
(JOB/GC/201) , all of which outline important areas of focu s. 
 
In recent months, activity has begun on a number of these themes and Australia is an active 
supporter of this work.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 39 - 
 
  Australia remains fully committed to the multilateral trading system, and resolved to work with all 
Members to improve and strengthen t he WTO to ensure that it is fit to meet the challenges of 
today and capture the opportunities of the future.  
 
23. India  
 
We thank the Director -General for convening this informal  meeting of the TNC and for his  report 
and assessment as the Cha ir of the TNC.  We also thank the Chairs of the Negotiating Groups for 
their reports.   
 
India associates itself with the statement to be made by Indonesia on behalf of the G -33.  
 
It is a matter of grave concern th at the crisis facing the organiz ation has deepened furth er with 
escalating trade friction and the Appellate Bod y now reduced to three members.  This is seriously 
impacting the functioning of the dispute s ettlement mechanism of the WTO.  With every passing 
day, we are moving closer to a trade war and complete coll apse of the rules based system.  
 
In these difficult times, let me put forward our views on a few important issues and some ideas on 
the way forward.  
 
Appellate Body  
 
The existential crisis facing the Appella te Body is our gravest concern.  With only 3 Members left, 
its effectiveness is compromised, and with the continuing impasse, its future is a question mark. 
The looming paralysis and possible disappearance of the Appellate Body will be the death knell of 
the dispute settlement system, wh ich in spite of its limitations, has served us well.  
 
In this context, the topmost priority for the Membership needs to be to break the impasse in the 
filling up of the vacant positions  of the Appellate Body members.  A number of ideas have been 
floated to  address the issues raised, and we are open to engage on any or all of them; and to 
focus our efforts on arriving at a break through in this important area.  A swift and independent, 
two-stage dispute settlement system is necessary, we believe, for fair enfo rcement of the rules of 
international trade and preserv ing the credibility of the WTO.  Therefore, this needs to be at the top 
of the agenda in the coming weeks and months.  
 
Effects of globalization  
 
Today, we see a strong backlash against free trade and g lobalization, not only in developing 
countries, but also in the developed world. The reason for this is that trade has been less inclusive 
than promised and mo re disruptive than anticipated.  Clearly, free trade has no t led to inclusive 
development.  The tot al exports of LDCs are still only about 1% of total exports; only 5% of the 
population in the developing world can buy products on e -commerce platforms due to the digital 
divide, manifested in limited broadband connectivity as well as low digital lit eracy.  In India, a 
fledgling but vibrant electronics industry has been almost completely wiped out after joining the 
ITA-I in 1997, while in the last 8 years, our exports of goods as a proportion of GDP in percentage  
terms have reduced by a third.  In the US as w ell, we hear of the grave crisis that the steel 
industry is facing, requiring resort to unilateral measures. Such consequences, and the policy 
responses which they invite, have the potential of derailing the growth in trade, and its 
consequential benefits like the jobs it creates.   
 
Reforms  
 
In this scenario, it is not surprising that reform is the flavour of the season and a number of ideas 
on reforms are being presented informally.  We thank the proponents for their efforts and would 
like to enga ge with a ll of them.  However, we would like to caution, that without a system of 
enforcement of existing rules, the appetite for making new rules or for reforms would be poor.   
 
Some of the ideas on reforms being floated, in their breadth, novelty and potential im pact are akin 
almost, to launching a new Round, even when we still need to address some of the Doha issues, 
build on the work done and harvest some outcomes.  We have been proponents of reforms of the 
Uruguay Round agreements like the Agreement on Agricultu re and believe, that though reforms 
may be necessary, and even help enhance the effectiveness of the organization, the need at this WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 40 - 
 
  time, is to follow approaches that build and enhance trust among Members, and provide a healing 
touch, rather than those tha t: 
 
• may increase divergences or are divisive or  
• freeze the inequities against the developing countries and LDC interests or  
• perpetuate the monopoly of platforms and thwart competition or  
• go against the development focus which is part of the basic structure  of the organization 
or 
• seek to dump principles of non -discrimination and consensus which have made the WTO 
inclusive or  
• those that do not address the asymmetry of existing agreements or  
• those that would compromise the ability of developing countries and L DCs to fight 
hunger and poverty which are still huge challenges for them.   
 
Role of Secretariat  
 
India is deeply concerned at the WTO Secretariat becoming a party to the recent  report by 
international organiz ations on WTO reforms. No doubt the issue of institutional reform of  the WTO 
is important for some M embers. But this issue is best resolved by the Membership without the 
Secretariat offering its suggestions. If at some stage the Membership collectively and with 
consensus seeks the wisdom of the Secre tariat on this issue, as well as any other issue, then we 
would certainly welcome the views of the Secretariat. In absence of any explicit request from the 
Membership by consensus, we expect the Secretariat to act with restraint in this matter so that 
the Member -driven character of the WTO is preserved.  
 
We are also ready to work with Members to enhance transparency and effectiveness of the WTO.  
We have, in this context, brought up -to-date our subsidies notifications in the areas under 
negotiati ons – both Agriculture and F isheries . 
 
Negotiating Function  
 
As far as the negotiating agenda is concerned, our pr iority for a package including Agriculture and 
Fisheries S ubsidies is well known and h as been repeatedly articulated.  We consider these 
important areas of work. The mandate to agree and adopt a permanent solution for public 
stockholding for food security for all developing countries and LDCs needs to be implemented with 
urgency.  I would like to state that attempts to seek justification for the need of a p ermanent 
solution for Public Stockholding on Food Security at this stage amounts to reneging on the decision 
of Ministers. Further, we believe that the subsistence agriculture subsidies of developing countries 
cannot be treated on par with the huge trade d istorting AMS av ailable to developed countries.  The 
per capita subsidy of US$ 200 per year given by India to its farmers, cannot gen erate exports or 
distort trade.  Similarly, the problem of unsustainable fishing has arisen due to over exploitation of 
ocean s and huge subsidies to industr ial fishing in a few countries.  It certainly cannot be attributed 
to the less than the US$ 1 per week given to 2 million subsistence fishermen in India. This 
support, however, is  critical for their livelihood and, if withdraw n, will lead them to destitution.  
Thus, disciplines in this area need to preserve and protect sch emes targeted at such marginalis ed 
groups and leave space for the development of their capacity to improve their lot.   
 
E-Commerce  
 
E-Commerce has created new and exciting opportunities in global trade. At the same time, it also 
poses significant infrastructure and regulatory challenges especially for developing countries which 
may lose out on these opportunities due to the huge digital d ivide. As the digital revolution is 
unfolding, there are still large gaps in our understanding on issues like effects of e -commerce on 
competition & market structures, issues related to technology transfer and the gaps in policy in 
this area in several cou ntries.  
 
Advance of digital technologies, automation and robotization will result in the loss of a large 
proportion of traditional  jobs in the technology sector.  Developing countries, like India, therefore, 
need to maintain policy space to formulate a pol icy on ownership, use and flow of data in sunrise 
sectors like cloud computing, data storage, hosting of servers as well as in big data analytics and 
M2M communication in  the era of internet of things.  We are, therefore, committed to reinvigorate 
work on t he multilateral track, with its non -negotiating mandate, to understand these issues WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 41 - 
 
  better, which will build a strong foundation for the future of e -commerce, which, in turn, would 
benefit us all.  
 
Conclusion  
 
To conclude, in our view, the need of the ho ur is to engage constructively and collectively to 
address t he challenges facing the organiz ation which include unilateral measures, the crisis in the 
Appellate Body, rising tide of protectionism and the impunity with which some of the core 
principles of t he multilateral tra ding system are being breached.  To this end, India stands ready to 
constructively engage and will work to stre ngthen this multilateral organiz ation.  
 
24. Republic of Moldova  
 
The Delegation of the Republic of Moldova commends the comprehensi ve and very usefu l report 
presented by the Director -General  in His Excellency's capacity as the Chair of the Trade 
Negotiation s Committee, as well as the reflections of other Chairs expressed today.  
 
As a signatory of a number of Joint Ministerial D eclarat ions in Bueno s Aires, during the period 
following the last General Council, the Republic of M oldova continued to participate in the  work of 
the joint initiatives.  
 
In particular, as part of the Joint Declaration on Trade and Gender, the Republ ic of Moldova  has 
organis ed in June the Workshop on Enhancing the Participation of Women Entrepreneurs and 
Traders in Government Procurement. We expre ss our appreciation for the Director -General's  
participation at this event and for attaching great importance to the ge nder issue in the WTO 
system. We also  thank the WTO's Intelle ctual Property Division , the EBRD and other WTO 
Member's active engagement in the discussion. The workshop was the first out of a seri es of 
events dedicated to trade -related gender imbalances and  women empowerment after Buenos 
Aires. Dedicated discussions and experience sharing events  are an important tool to promote the 
idea of inclusive trade and gender -sensitive policies in all the sectors and areas of economy.  
 
In the continued negotiations on  agriculture related aspects, the R epublic of Moldova would like to 
reiterate the importance of the implementation of the Paragraph 31 of the Nairobi Ministerial 
Declaration  and the co mmitments undertaken by all WTO M embers to eliminate all types of 
agricu lture subsidies, which is essent ial in mitigating the distortive  effects in the agriculture sector 
and in advancing domestic reforms. We look forward to continue the negotiation process in the 
WTO regarding the public stock holding and special safeguard me chanism, by respecting the 
principles of inclusiveness, non -presumption, parallelism and transparency.  
 
Regarding the negotiations  on Agriculture , as a member of the Article XII Group, the Republic of 
Moldova would like to express its support for the state ment delivered by Panama on behalf of our 
group and to echo the idea that we need to work towards reducing imb alances in the commitments 
under taken by the Members of the WTO through a con structive negotiations process.  
 
The principle of achieving a balanced outcome should  guide our work  in all the negotiati ng fora, in 
all the trade areas  that are currently being negotiated , if we want to ensure a non -discriminatory 
trading system that will benefit all and will ensure a level  playing field.  
  
This mea ns that we ha ve to address the gaps that  can be observed among the WTO M embership 
and work towards mutually beneficial outcomes in the field of the dispute settlement system, in 
order to  avoid the impass e in the A ppellate Body. As the Director -General  mentioned today, our 
system is not perfect,  but refl ects our work, our commitments and  our involvement.  
 
On this and other topics , we look forward to co ntinue our dialogue to make the multilateral trading 
system  up-to-date and able to respond  to the  needs of a  rapidly developing  society.  
 
We are  pleased to o bserve continuous work of many M embers in the f urtherance of the Buenos 
Aires J oint Outcomes . I take this opportunity to thank Kazakhstan, for organis ing the Investment 
Facilitat ion Forum in Astana this Sept ember . The Moldovan delegation was pleased  to participate in 
interesting and productive discussions on investment facilitation related measures, good practices,  
lessons learned and ways to move  forward . 
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 42 - 
 
  The Republic of Moldova is pleased to note the posit ive trend in TFA implementation . The active 
engagement with the notifications process  that many M embers have sho wn is commendable. At 
the same time, I would  like to thank the Secretariat of the Trade F acilitation Committee for their 
work to compile and dis seminate all the relevant informat ion, and the Trade F acilitation Facility for 
organis ing a  series of experience sharing workshops. The Republic of Moldova was pleased to 
participate last week in these worksh ops and share our state of play in the moderniza tion of the 
transit regime and  transit facilitation  process . 
 
The Republic  of Moldova strongl y believes that our communication and d iplomatic skills will 
facilitate  us to be  open towards the initiation  of a constructive dialogue which will bring a common  
result for the world  trade system.  
 
I am also pleased to announce that the Repub lic of Moldova will host the regional workshop  on 
government procurement for Cent ral and Eastern Europe, Central Asian  and the Caucasus 
Countries next week, between  23-25 Octo ber in Chisina u. The workshop is organis ed in 
partnership with EBRD and the WTO Secretariat, with the participation of more than 2 5 countries 
and Deputy Director -General Alan Wolff.  
 
We urge all  Members to engage constructively with  the view to  ensuring an  effect ive, relevant  and 
operative  World Trade Organiza tion. We need to tackle the challenges before us and the 
differences through dialogue and serious engagement  in order to avoid systemic blockages, 
market uncert ainty and increase consumer and business confidence in international  trade.  
 
25. Uruguay (Informal Working Group on MSMEs)  
 
I would l ike to start by commending the Director -General for his  report and those of the various 
Chairs of the Negotiating Groups. As the general coordinator of the Informal Wor king Group on 
MSMEs, I would like to make reference very briefly to three activities that are linked to the area of 
our endeavour.  
 
First, I would like to highlight that our group actively participated in the recent Public Forum. At 
that time, we were able  to underscore the importance of technical assistance and capacity 
building. Without prejudging any further information that the delegations of El Salvador and the 
Philippines may wish to bring forward, I would like to point out that during this session, w e 
focused on the main challenges that MSMEs are facing especially when it comes to globalising their 
work. We can confirm the very important role played by proper technical assistance and capacity 
building when it comes to the various efforts that seek to surmount the various barriers.  
 
Second, I would like to point out that on 31 October, there will be a further session that will be 
held on the basis of the Work Programme that was sketched out in Buenos Aires. This will be 
under the leadership of Bahrain.  We will be focusing on the proper use of the internet as a tool 
that is available to MSMEs making it possible for them to win over further international markets 
and get a foothold in them.  
 
Finally, I would like to announce that we have a further channel  of communication that brings 
transparency to our Informal Working Group. Here , I am referring to the newsletter focusing on 
the work that we carry out in our Informal Working Group to help MSMEs. As we see it, this 
communication channel will make it possi ble to have the proper dissemination of the work that is 
engaged by the Informal Working Group. This will make it possible to draw us closer to the private 
sector and other sectors that are taking interest in our endeavour and our work programme.  
 
In conc luding, I would like to recall that in our group, there are some 88 members, and we are 
open to input from the tota lity of the Membership of this o rganization. Transparency is one of the 
fundamental principles for the operation of our group. Furthermore, I  would like to point out once 
again that our group is fully open  to bring on board more members. W e would  also like to have 
inputs and comments from members and non -members alike.  
 
26. Costa Rica  
 
This is my last intervention at the TNC/HODs as I am terminating my post at the end of November 
and I will unfortunately not be present at this week 's General Council meeting. For that reason, 
please allow me to share with you and colleagues a few words of farewell.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 43 - 
 
  The last four years have been the richest  professional experience in my life, in which I have 
developed a wealth of information, contacts and understanding of the world as seen through the 
lens of trade. I find multiple parallelisms between the realm of trade and the realm of peace, which 
is the lens I previously utilis ed to view and understand the world. Trade is one of the most tangible 
scenarios through which peace can be  forged. In times of so -called "trade wars" , what I see is an 
immense opportunity for peace through trade.  
 
Among the wide v ariety of lessons I have learned during the past years, there are three particular 
ones I would like to share with you today.  
 
The first lesson is that an organization like the WTO is a public good, and as such, it is not 
susceptible to the paradigm of di sruptive innovation that has become dominant in the field of 
business during the last couple of decades. That  innovation paradigm refers to "creative 
destruction" , through which you destroy what already exists by creating something better, faster, 
cheaper to replace the status quo. With a public good this is hardly possible. Public goods are at 
the mercy of the tragedy of the commons, where ownership is diffuse, leadership is scarce, and 
there seems to be no sense of urgency. So, any attempt at disruptive i nnovation on a public good 
hardly illustrates creative destruction and feels more like destructive destruction. If we want to 
reform the areas susceptible of improvement, we must have a very clear collective sense of 
purpose, or why improvement is needed, a very clear collective vision about how these 
improvements would be implemented, and with a clear collective intention to create s hared value, 
making sure every M ember will contribute and be better off at the other end of the process than 
with the existin g status quo.  
 
The second lesson is that development must be intentional. There are no special formulas that can 
be copy -pasted from one country to another. A nation must show resolve to make progress 
through the firm aspiration of achieving prosperity fo r all its citizens. This means that, before 
development becomes a multilateral or plurilateral endeavo ur, it must first and foremost be a 
unilateral effort. It also requires sustained commitment through various generations of 
government officials to make s teady – if slow  – pace forward. Moving two steps forward and then 
one step back is all but ineffective. Also on development, you have heard me say many times that 
technology  is today a great tool to help M embers leapfrog their developmental challenges. 
Nevertheless, I have come to the realization that technology is merely a tool to scale up solutions 
and to make them cheaper. The trillion -dollar question is which solutions, for which problems, at 
which costs, for what benefits, do we want technology' s leapf rogging effect. To illustrate, we have 
been speaking for almost three years about the Fourth Industrial Revolution, trying to identify 
what it means, what opportunities it brings, what pitfalls must be avoided. Meanwhile, more than 
half of humanity still l ives in what could be considered as the clash of revolutions, still struggling to 
move on from the first industr ial revolution, unable to fulfi l the coverage of electricity – which was 
the promise of the second industrial revolution  – while there are more than four billion people 
without access to ICT infrastructure – which was the promise of the third industrial revolution. So, 
as we speak about the wonders of artificial intelligence, albeit urgent and necessary, cannot 
overlook where more than half of us still stand in our path and pace of progress.  
 
The third lesson is that context is everything. The context in which this organization turned the 
century was configured in the Doha Round. That agenda needs to be updated into the present 
context of geopolit ical, socioeconomic and environmental constraints. Any topic discussed in this 
house should be tested regularly against two large contextual accelerations that have already 
started affecting every human activity and will do so in the immediate future: clim ate change and 
the recently mentioned fourth industrial revolution. Since the Paris Agreement, the world has been 
moving decidedly fast towards climate action. How this will affect agriculture, energy, 
transportation, manufacturing, or international invest ment, should be studied closely at this 
House. Coming back to the fourth industrial revolution, it is a series of disruptive technological 
innovations that are shifting long -standing paradigms: artificial intelligence, automation, robotics 
and the replacem ent of human labo ur; 3D printing and the replacement of large manufacturing, 
logistics and consumption trends; blockchain, and the fast, reliable and trustworthy cross -border 
movement of capitals without intermediaries; and quantum computing, the next gene ration of 
computing power and speed. This hopeful voice might seem contradictory with what I mentioned 
before regarding technology and development. But the truth, the fact, the reality, is that these 
transformations are happening, before our eyes, at a ver y fast pace, and this massive wave of 
change cannot be stopped or blocked or delayed or derailed, let alone by politics. Technology has 
been consistent bypassing any and all regulations that have become obsolete. This House should WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 44 - 
 
  take note, especially in its negotiating function. The next ten years will see accelerated penetration 
of these business trends in the entire universe of commerce and the question we must ask 
ourselves is how can the WTO influence them through the lens of trade.  
 
I wish to conclu de by thanking all of you for all the lessons you have taught me, for your kindness 
and constructive engagement in absolutely every interaction we have had. It has been an hono ur 
to represent my country, an exciting adventure to be here during these memora ble years in the 
history of the multilateral trading system, and a sincere pleasure to have met you all.  
 
May peace prevail in trade.  
 
27. Republic of Korea  
 
We thank the Director -General  for conveni ng this meeting and sharing his  asses sment on the 
current situation. We would also like to congratulate him  on a suc cessful Public Forum. This year' s 
Forum provided a valuable chance to listen to the various opinions on the multilateral trading 
system and its future. In particular, the sessions were insightful in  that it shed light upon a 
constantly changing world and how the multilateral trading system  can maintain its relevance.  
 
Just before the summer, Korea highligh ted the huge effort of the WTO M embers to deal with 
substantive issues in this ever -changing wo rld. In this regard, the negotiations on fisheries 
subsidies is one area where a fruitful  outcome can be anticipated. E -Commerce is another area of 
importance where we can expect good progress.  
 
First, the negotiations on fisheries subsidies is keeping an  exemplary track record by following its 
work programme under the stewardship of the Chair of the Negotiating Group on Rules. Korea has 
been working closely with other M embers of the Incubator Group since last month, with a view to 
making a breakthrough in  the negotiations. Korea sees much value in this new p rocess, given that 
it provides M embers with a good opportunity to see the old and contentious issues from a fresh 
angle. Korea will continue to play its part in this process, so that the Members will be  able to 
achieve a meaningful outcome in the fisheries subsidies negotiations.  
 
Second, active discussions under the Joint St atement Initiative on E -Commerce herald a positive 
result going forward. In this regard, we would like to express our appreciation  to the co -
conveners, Australia, Singapore and Japan, for their leadership. Korea will continue to participate 
in this exploratory work with a view to moving on to the negotiating phase sooner rather than 
later.  
 
A couple of weeks ago, the world underwent another change, unfortunately a change which we, 
the Members, have constantly pointed o ut as a concern. Since 1  October, only three Appellate 
Body members remain incumbent, which is the bare minimum for the subsistence of the WTO 
Dispute Settlement System.   
 
Korea has been calling to the attention of the Members that the problem of prolonged vacancy in 
the Appellate Body combined with the increase of protective measures would potentially create a 
fundamental  crisis in the future of the multilateral trading system  and the WTO. It is high time that 
we bite the bullet and seriously join our heads and hearts together to solve this problem.  
 
Fortunately, many Members are engaging in such discussions in various groups and through 
different channels to find a solution. These Members are also exc hanging views on how to 
modernis e and update the WTO in order to restore its relevance. Korea, as one o f the world' s 
largest trading partners, is actively participating in these efforts. The Ottawa Ministerial to be held  
next week is another step in seeking a meaningful outcome in this regard. This initiative along with 
many others should converge in the end to reflect various perspective s and interests. Korea will 
continue to play a constructive role in this process and looks forward to shari ng views with other 
interested M embers.  
 
The WTO and its Members have a lot of work at hand and this includes work in progress to receive 
22 potential WTO Members. Although it will take a while, it could be an opportunity to provide 
fresh and positive input to  the WTO and to show to the world that this organization is evolving in 
the right direction. At the last General Council meeting  held in July, Korea was given  the hono ur to WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 45 - 
 
  chair the Working Party on the Accession of Uzbekistan. We have been engaging in meaningful 
discussion with the Secretariat and will continue to provide updates on its progress, as needed.  
 
It is no secret that WTO is going through a difficult time but it is also at an important juncture. Let 
me use this oppor tunity to encourage other Members to engage with each other and partic ipate in 
the efforts to modernis e and update the WTO with a realistic, pragmatic, and balanced approach.  
 
28. Chinese Taipei  
 
We thank the Director -General for updating us this morning on  the current development s.  
 
If we are asked to plac e all the possible approaches to  the issue of international trade governance 
in order of importance, the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Pe nghu, Ki nmen and Matsu 
sees the rules -based system of the W TO as being absolutely paramount. Indeed, we have always 
attached great importance to the multilateral trading system while we recognis e that the WTO is 
not perfect as the Director -General  and some Members said.  
 
However, despite the fact that the rules -based system of the WTO has contributed to global 
economic stability, prosperity and development since its establishment twenty years ago, with the 
evolution of technology the world is changing rapidly. What concerns us mo st today, therefore, is 
the WTO' s relevance to the world, both now and in the future. And, in addition, the ongoing 
blockade at the Appellate Body and the current trade tensions put extra strains on the WTO.  
 
Ours is a very trade -oriented and open economy, so we are particularly worried abou t this 
situation. In our view, the WTO is in urgent need of modernization if it is to carry out its primary 
role of ensuring a level playing -field and fair trade for all its Members. We very much welcome the 
reform initiatives coming forward at the moment.  We are ready to make our contribution to the 
reforms and will undertake all t he efforts necessary to modernis e the rules of the WTO.  
 
On the subject of transparency, we believe that this too is a critically important element of the 
WTO's multilateral tra ding system. It is essential that the notification obligations ensure that 
transparency is a basic and natural part of the process, and is practiced by all. We encourage 
every Member to fully comply with their notification obligations, otherwise the whole system will 
simply fail. In our view, some Members'  initiatives to improve notifications and enhance 
transparency will be a good start to strengthening the monitoring function of the WTO. We 
welcome the initiatives in this regard.  
 
On Fisheries Subsidies,  we commend the Incubation Group on its efforts. Bearing in mind the 
importance of the WTO's credibility at this time, we should all be making every effort to meet the 
only multilate ral mandate that came out of  MC11.  
 
On the Buenos Air es "joint initiative s" such as on e-commerce, domestic regulation, MSMEs, and 
women's empowerment, we support all the on -going efforts and we remain totally committed to 
their work.  
 
29. Indonesia (G -33) 
 
First of all, I wish to thank  the Director General for convening this meeti ng after the summer 
break, as well as for updating Members with his recent activities and  for his  assessment on the 
current situation. I wish to also thank  the various Chairs of Negotiating Bodies for providing 
Members with the state of play of discussion s in the respective negotiating areas.  
 
I will be speaking first on behalf of the G -33 which will be followed by  the statement of Indonesia.  
 
On behalf of the G -33, I wish to reiterate th e Group' s views that  Members must continue their 
work based on Article 20 of the Agreement on Agriculture and existing mandates given by Bali, 
Nairobi and pre ceding Ministerial Conferences.  
 
In the post-Buenos Aires context, the G -33 supports the COA  SS' way forward Sep tember – 
December 2018, a part of which, Members conti nue to discuss the issue of Public Stockholding f or 
Food Security Purposes and S pecial Safeguard Mechanism  in a more focused, substantive and 
more expeditious manner , as per the mandate.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 46 - 
 
  It is the G -33's firm view that the establishment of a permanent sol ution for the PSH, and an 
accessible, simple and effective SSM, both volume and price based, remain to be the priority for 
the Group. Solutions for those issues are needed by majority of developing Members in this House 
to address persistent problems relat ed to food security, livelihood security and rural development.    
 
The G -33 remains committed to constructively engaged in any process deemed necessary to move 
the negotiation forward.   
 
30. Indonesia  
 
Indonesia fully shares the views that Members have to  intensify the ir work  in addressing various 
fundamental issues confronted by the WTO. After Buenos Aires, Indonesia has been following with 
concern the evolving developments that have hindered the multilateral trading system from 
working properly, such as Member' s continued divergent vi ews on how we continue our work in 
the negotiati ng areas; increasing unilateralism; and continued impasse in the selection of 
Appellate Body members. Indonesia w ould like to reiterate its view that it is Member s' collective 
responsibility to address those challenges with a sense of urgency, to safeguard an open, 
predictable and rules -based multilateral trading system embedded in the WTO.  
 
In this regard, let me share one of  the main takeaways from the IMF and World Bank Annual  
Meeting that was recently hosted by Indonesia in Bali. During the meeting, the urgency to 
strengthen the multilateral trading system has been reiterated by many. Current trade tensions 
will only pose risk for global economy and create high uncertainty in global trading system. We 
should therefore work together to address trade tensions and increase our cooperation in 
improving the system.  
 
Despite lack of political guidance from Buenos Aires and current uncerta in political environments, 
work in Geneva sha ll be continued. Members should  transform their political will  to strengthen an 
open, predictable and rules -based multilateral trading system embedded in the WTO into concrete 
ways.  
 
In continuing our work, unfinished work  from Bali, Nairobi and Buenos Ai res based on existing 
mandates agreed by Ministers and progress achieved so far, shall be immediately taken up. 
Indonesia believes that Members should also continue to use  an incremental and pragmatic 
approach in addressing various issues that Members, par ticularly developing and least -developed 
ones, are confronting with.  
 
Allow me now to offer Indonesia' s views on some important issues, and how we can make 
progress.   
 
On Agriculture, while fully support ing the G -33's views on PSH and  SSM, Indonesia welc omes 
Member s' contributions on several import ant issues. They reflect Member s' great interest  to move 
the Agriculture negotiations forward. While welcoming those submissions, Indonesia is of the view 
that any initiative shall be directed to address  the imbalances and inequities inherited from the 
Uruguay Round and  the specific needs of developing and  least-developed country Members.      
 
On Fisheries Subsidies, Indonesia commends the efforts of the Negotiating Group o n Rules Chair to 
intensify work  in following -up the Buenos Aires Ministerial Decision, with a view to agree by the 
next Ministerial Conference an agreement on comprehensive and effective disciplines that prohibit 
certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and o verfishing, and eliminate 
subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing . We al so note that the 
mandate urged M embers to address the development aspect through special and diffe rential 
treatment for the least -developed countries a s well as developing countries. It is our view that the 
fisheries subsidies negotiation will need to include provision s on special and differential treatment.  
 
On Development , Indonesia re affirms its view  that development elements have been integral parts  
of various WTO Agreements, with a view to , among other s, assisting developing and LDC  Members 
to reap  equitable benefits from the multilateral trading system. Recognis ing this issue has been 
currently perceived by some Members as a hurdle i n many areas of  the negotiation.  Indonesia 
suggests that Members need to intensify interaction in a more pragmatic manner to strike the 
right balance.   
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 47 - 
 
  With respect to some "new initiatives" , while considering their important role in current economic 
realities, Indones ia continues to uphold its view that Members should be open -minded and in an 
exploratory mode in continuing the conversations, with a view to improve  their understanding. In 
those efforts, "development" and " special and diffe rential treatment principles"  must remain to be 
at the centre of our work .  
 
Finally, please be assured of Indonesia' s readiness to be actively and constructively engaged in 
any necessary process after the summer break, particularly in finding acceptable soluti ons that will 
address ever ybody' s interest s and concerns.  
 
31. Switzerland  
 
The WTO faces serious challenges.  
 
The strong growth of the global economy is increasingly being overshadowed by risks that might 
slow down economic development. These include growing trade tensions.  
 
Furthermore, the transformation of the modern economy by digital technologies will increasingly 
shape world trade in the future.  
 
The WTO should be responsive to those and other relevant developments and continue to provide 
a negotiating platform to devise  solutions to current challenges.  
 
This is crucial  in particular where the st akes are high and fully recognis ed by the international 
community as is the case of the negotiations on fisheries. It is therefore key to ensure the 
completion of these negotiatio ns on time.  
 
Furthermore, we consider that the Buenos Aires Joint Initiatives are valuable additions to 
multilateral efforts. They provide interesting avenues for the future of global trade rules.  
 
Let me – apart from MSMEs and Investment Facilitation – highlight the Joint Initiative on e -
commerce.  
 
E-Commerce is a global phenomenon that calls for global governance. And part of this governance 
should be developed in the WTO context. Work on this issue is progressing well and Switzerland is 
willing to contri bute constructively to the talks and to bring them to the next stage.  
 
The escalating trade tensions are certainly a matter of concern to many. Protectionist measures 
are unlikely to produce any winner. The blockade at the Appellate Body is also putting th e system 
under strain. It is important that the pending process to refill the vacancies at the AB be resumed 
without delay.  
 
Severa l initiatives aiming at modernis ing the system show that Members are seriously preoccupied 
and looking for solutions. Even if  their understanding of the situation and of the way out of the 
crisis may differ. In this context, four challen ges seem to be paramount: first,  improving the 
efficiency of the WTO monitoring function including  transparency, notifications and th e functioni ng 
of WTO committees; second,  safeguarding and strengthening  the dispute settlement system; 
third, modernis ing the Trade Rule s for the Twenty -First Century; fourth,  elaborating a new 
approach to trade and development.  
 
Switzerland hopes that the various in itiatives on WTO reform will converge under the WTO 
umbrella. We are pleased to participate in and to support the process coordinated by Canada. 
However, for any of those efforts to succeed, the reform endeavours shall be as inclusive as 
possible. Therefor e, all major players will need to be at the table and willing to contribute their fair 
share.  
 
32. Benin (C -4) 
 
I am making this statement on behalf of the Group of the four co -sponsors of the Sectoral 
Initiative in Favour of Cotton (C -4). 
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 48 - 
 
  The C -4 thanks the Director -General for his report on the status of the multilateral trade 
negotiations and for the information he has shared on the developments that have taken place 
since July.  
 
We also thank the Chairs of the negotiating groups and bodies for the impetus they have given to 
our work.  
 
We support the statements made by the African Group, the LDC  Group, the ACP Group and the 
G-33. 
 
On the subject of cotton, we would like to inform all Members that we have invited the main cotton 
producers and exporters to pro vide statistical data and trade information on their levels of 
domestic support for the period 2001 2017.  
 
Responses from three Members, Brazil, the United States and the European Union, have provided 
some insight into the trends in domestic support for co tton production and the steps to be taken to 
properly follow through on the cotton mandate laid out in Geneva in July 2004 and at the Hong 
Kong, Bali and Nairobi Ministerial Conferences.  
 
The Group thanks those three Members and invites the other Members c oncerned to provide their 
statistical data and trade information on cotton.  
 
We would then be able to assess the levels of support provided and their impact on cotton 
production and exportation.  
 
We note that Canada, Australia and the other co -authors of d ocuments JOB/AG/138 and 
JOB/AG/143 had previously furnished information and data that were very useful for Members and 
that will help us continue our work and move it forward.  
 
The constructive spirit prevailing during the efforts of the Quad Plus group on  20 September 2018 
should be maintained.  
 
The C -4 calls on all WTO Members to contribute so that we may achieve concrete and measurable 
outcomes on cotton by MC12.  
 
33. Benin  
 
In its national capacity, the delegation of Benin would like to make the following c omments and 
recommendations regarding certain issues that WTO Members are currently working on or thinking 
over. 
 
The dispute settlement system is a central pillar of WTO operations, and the Appellate Body 
crowns the entire legal and adjudicatory structure  that implements the various WTO Agreements.  
 
Having been accepted, seen and treated as such since 1947 – for half a century already – the 
dispute settlement system and the Appellate Body should not be weakened, but rather maintained 
and enhanced.  
 
How can  this be done?  
 
By allowing them to continue their mission of handling the cases brought before them, on the 
basis of existing provisions, while we reflect on how to improve their underlying principles and 
rules of operation.  
 
As the law only provides for the future, it is clear that the Appellate Body must continue to 
function on the basis of the provisions of the Dispute Settlement Understanding until a reform 
leads to new measures and provisions being formulated and introduced.  
 
For this reason, the dele gation of Benin would like to recommend that the current Appellate Body 
deadlock be resolved so that we can move beyond this state of immobility.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 49 - 
 
  With respect to reform, the deliberations that this will entail should b e organis ed so as to be 
transparent a nd inclusive, and the points and issues to be addressed should be identified and 
agreed on by consensus, with a schedule of work that should in no event take precedence over the 
negotiating issues of the Doha mandate or later mandates, or relegate them to the background.  
 
My delegation will now comment on our work on special and differential treatment.  
 
We can follow up on paragraph 44 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration of November 2001, which 
asked us to make the rules of the various WTO Agreements precis e, effective and operational.  
 
The delegation of Benin shares the view that WTO Members should take a leap forward and 
provide appropriate flexibilities for developing co untry and, in particular, least -developed country 
Members to take account of their nee ds, priorities and concerns in terms of trade, finance and 
development, and integrate the development dimension into the rules, principles and mechanisms 
governing international trade.  
 
The delegation of Benin would like to thank and congratulate the Chair  of the Special Session of 
the Committee on Trade and Development, Ambassador Yee Woan Tan  (Singapore), for her 
commitment and readiness to facilitate efforts on special and differential treatment.  
 
The delegation of Benin calls for renewed commitment from  Members on this important issue and 
for further consideration of the proposals submitted, beginning with those submitted by the G -90, 
with a clearly laid out schedule of work and an approach that puts the substantive elements and 
arguments submitted by ot her Members side by side.  
 
We look at our world and our planet and see two  realities that must be recognis ed. 
 
They are:  
 
• technology, innovation, the digital economy and e -commerce;  
• the disruptions and upheavals caused by climate change in our human and natural 
environments (cyclones, floods, heatwaves, etc., with millions of human lives lost in a 
number of countries and regions around the world). These have detrimental effects on our  
health, economies and societies.  
 
With respect to technology, innovation, the digital economy and e -commerce, my delegation would 
like to highlight that they are the incontestable fruits of the process of change and transformation 
brought about by researc h, development and human intelligence, and we should seize their 
potential by making use of the instantaneity and the significant reduction, or elimination, of costs 
and distance that they offer to the majority of countries and people.  
 
But we must also de al with the challenges that they still pose for developing countries and, in 
particular, least -developed countries, most notably in terms of the digital divide, the weakness of 
digital infrastructures and of related human and institutional capacity, the po or reliability and 
security of certain means of payment and digital platforms, loss of tax revenue, areas of flexibility 
in legislation, etc.  
 
We must continue with consultations, the dialogue in progress and our exchanges of ideas and 
options on this topi c, as there is no denying that it permeates our daily lives and will shape the 
future of our economies and therefore our own future.  
 
This is the choice that the WAEMU countries, including Benin, made at a regional e commerce 
workshop held in Ouagadougou f rom 9 to 11 October 2018, when they committed to identifying 
the activities to be carried out within WAEMU in order to harness the potential of the digital 
economy and e -commerce and to deal with existing challenges and constraints.  
 
With respect to trade and the environment, which recent news from this summer and fall indicates 
we should be watching around the world, the delegation of Benin reaffirms that the two topics are 
interrelated and would like to recommend that negotiating efforts and deliberations  at the Special 
Session of the Committee on Trade and Development take into account the consequences of 
climate change and disturbance on human activity, our economies and our societies.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 50 - 
 
  Lastly, trade that is inclusive and an engine of growth, job creatio n, poverty reduction and 
sustainable development must fall within this vision and integrate the element of sustainability.  
 
34. Argentina  
 
We appreciate the Director -General's report and those provided by the Chairpersons  of the 
Negotiating Groups regarding th e current status of work in this o rganization. In the same way, we 
would like to acknowledge the work and thank the coordi nators of the groups on MSMEs , 
Investment Facilitation , Electronic Commerce and Domestic Regulation for their respective reports.  
 
On 14 September, the Ministers of Trade and Investment of the G20 met in the Argentine city of 
Mar del Plata, under the gene ral objective of the Argentine P residency to build consensus for a fa ir 
and sustainable development . In this context, it was reiterated  that international trade and 
investment continue to be important drivers of growth, productivity, innovation, job creation and 
development.  
 
The Ministers recognis ed the urgent need to discuss current developments in international trade 
and ways to improv e the WTO to face current and future challenges. From the discussions held, 
the Ministers agreed to work together to improve sustainable economic growth, keep markets 
open, address ec onomic development and revitalis e the international trading system.  
 
In accordance with the above, Argentina wishes to take this opportunity to reiterate its 
commitment to a  rules-based  multilateral trading system and to highlight the central role of the 
WTO as a natural institution to ensure transparency and stability in trade  relations.  
 
Undoubtedly, there are growing commercial tensions among some Me mbers  which must be 
resolved within the syste m of rules established by this o rganization.  
 
Likewise, we are particularly concerned about the critical situation of the Appellate Body which 
currently only has three of its seven  members. This body is an essential pillar o f the dispute 
settlement system  whose independence and impartiality must be maintained.  
 
We recognis e as a collective challenge to close the gap between the current  multilateral regulatory 
system  and the reality of the globalised international  economy.  
 
Therefore, we reiterate our country's willingness to work, in a constructive and inclusive manner, 
on the necessa ry initiatives that allow this o rganization to contin ue to play a centra l role in 
multilateral trade relations.  
 
35. Chad (LDCs)  
 
I thank the Director -General for convening this TNC meeting. I am taking the floor on behalf of the 
LDC Group.  
 
The LDC Group wishes to express its appreciation for your report on dis cussions and activities in 
the WTO as well appreciation to the Chairs of the different negotiating bodies for their reports . 
 
Since the resumption in September, our Group continues to advance its priorities and objectives in 
view of  a better integration in to the multilateral trading s ystem.  
 
In order to do so, we focus, among other things, on the concrete implementation of decisions 
taken in our favo ur during previous Ministerial Conferences. In this regard, our Group recently 
submitted a communication, on 2 October , regarding elements for a review of the operation of 
notified preferences as required under the Nairobi Ministerial Decision on Implementation of 
Preferential Treatment in favour of Services and Service Suppliers of Least Developed Countries 
and Increasing LDC Participation in Services Trade in WT/L/982. The group was encouraged by the 
notifying Members engagement on this communication in the Council for Trade Services last week 
and looks forward to working with all Members to initiate the review process in the nearest future.  
 
Furthermore, our Group submitted a communication on rules of origin earlier this year, requesting 
developed and developing country Members to report to the Committee measures that are taken 
to implement the Decision, for th e purpose s of evaluation of the Decision' s operationalization.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 51 - 
 
  Beyond these issues, we also submitted a proposal to the TRIPS Council requesting better 
implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. We submitted a communication on the 
importance fo r developed country M embers to make LDC specific reports, for purposes of clarity 
and better precision on incentives offered.  
 
Also, our Group, in line with our LDC Trade Ministers Declaration adopted in Buenos Aires, has 
addressed the issue of graduation.  In this regard, the group submitted a proposal in the Council 
for Trade in Goods and in the General Council on the need to rectify  a technical oversight in 
Annex  VII of the Agreement on Subsidies and  Countervailing Measures and the Doha 
Implementation Iss ues Decision, on the possibility for graduating LDCs to continue to benefit from 
flexibilities contained in Article 27.2 of the SCM Agreement, as long as the country's GNI per capita 
does not exceed US$1000. We urge all Members to give positive considerati on to this proposal.  
 
Regarding A griculture, our group remains focused on the need to address domestic support that 
has distorting effects, and most especially for cotton. Also, we recall the importance of a 
permanent solution for public stockholding for food security purposes that takes into account the 
possibility of developing programs that are not yet existing in LDCs.  
 
Regarding Special and Differential Treatment, the LDC Group continues to stress the need for the 
full implement ation of P aragraph 44 of the Doha Mi nisterial Declaration . Fulfilling  this mandate in 
our view would include  Special and Differential T reatment provisions in the WTO A greements that 
allow economic actors in our countries to grow local produc tion capacities there by energis ing 
local, domestic and regional markets  and our economies and ultimately improving employment 
and the qua lity of living for our people. The G -90 proposals on S&DT continue to provide the best 
basis for taking work forward in this regard. In parallel, we will continue making proposals in WTO 
regular bodies, in line with the objectives expressed by our LDC Ministers in Buenos Aires.  
 
With re gard to ongoing discussions on f isheries, the LDC Group is actively pursuing an effective 
advancement of negoti ations towards a Decision by  MC12 and seeks to defend its interests 
regarding a prohibition of illegal fishing, disciplines against overfishing, preserving our rights under 
the customary laws of the sea and favouring sustainable development.  
 
Regarding WTO reform, the LDC Group is naturally concerned about the implications of such 
reforms as well as the situation facing the Dispute Settlement Body and at an opportune time will 
speak further on the issue but suffice it to say for now that any reforms must not undermine LDC 
interests and the principles o f consensus, inclusiveness and the rules -based multilateral trading 
system.  
 
36. Paraguay  
 
I would like to thank the Director  General and the Chairs of the Negotiating G roups for the repor ts 
they have presented us today  which will help delegations outline and prepare for the work ahead. 
We are pleased to see that some of the discussions ar e moving forward and hope that M embers 
can act and engage constructively in the upcoming months, so we can achieve meaningful results 
at the next Ministerial Conference.  
 
With this aim, I would like to express the importance of departing from entrenched positions and 
repeated political statements and get into analysis based on data and evidence to help resolve the 
discussions, most notably in the Agricultural reform discussion .  
 
Paraguay has always advocated for meaningful reforms in Agriculture and will continue to do so. I 
thank Ambassador Ford for his efforts towards this goal and appreciate the format proposed for 
the debate. We would also like to thank the delegations of Canada and Australia for the work they 
presented in the last CoA  SS meeting, which provided interesting data to help further the 
argumentation in the domestic support pillar.  
 
Though we believe addressing domestic support is very important in this debate,  most notably 
given that in the curre nt international context, some M embers have been increasing the levels of 
support  that lead to trade distortion.  We are demanders of results in market access and cannot 
conceive a meaningful reform without progress in t his pillar. In this respect, Paraguay will be 
presenting on JOB/AG/139, co -sponsored by Uruguay, at the next CoA  SS meeting and hope 
Members can engage constructively in the upcoming debate.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 52 - 
 
  Regarding Trade Facilitation, we would like to thank the Secreta riat and the Trade Facilitation 
Facility f or the excellent work in organis ing the last Committee on Trade Facilitation and the 
thematic Workshop on transit issues. We consider that both activities were a success taking into 
account the numerous experiences  shared by Members on the progress made on the 
implementation of their commitments related to the TFA.  
 
From the perspective of landlocked developing countries, trade facilitation and transit are of the 
outmost importance for overcoming the disadvantages our geographical condition presents and in 
advancing our objective to transform from landlocked to land -linking countries. This 
transformation will come hand in hand with actions directed to overcome the infrastructure gap 
and lack of connectivity LLDCs ar e bound to confront.  
 
In this sense, we would like to congratulate the initiative to establish a Trade Facilitation 
Agreement Facility Grant Program, which will provide financing for the design and implementation 
of category C provisions.  However, we need  to stress the importance of sustainable funding as well 
as continuous technical assistance of the Secretariat to connect Members with donors and achieve 
100% compliance.  
 
Paraguay, as a landlocked developing country, has strived to incorporate concerns i n its own 
proposal for a specific Work Program me for landlocked developing countries in the WTO with a 
focus on trade facilitation, trade in services, e -commerce, WTO Accession proceedings and Aid for 
Trade which are a very important tool kit of resources t o assist and develop financial as well as 
technical assistance for these countries.  
 
On systemic issues, we express our deepest concern regarding the current situation of the 
Appellate Body. We have now entered uncharted t erritory in the history of the o rganization with a 
fourth vacancy at the Appellate Body with the expiration of the term of Mr. Shree Baboo Chekitan 
Servansing  last 30 September . This places an additional constrain on the world trade system and 
its ability to enforce its rules. Members ne ed to find a negotiated solution to resolve the impasse in 
filling  all vacancies and restore the Appellate B ody to its full capacity. In this line, Paraguay 
welcomes the proposal circulated by Honduras (JOB/DSB/2), which addresses issues regarding 
Rule 15 of the Appellate Body Working Procedures for Appellate Review. The only way forward is 
constructive dialogue and real engagement from all WTO Members at the upcoming DSB meetings, 
starting with the one that will be held on  29 October , when this proposal wi ll be further discussed.  
 
Finally, I would like to express the willingness of my delegation to engage others with respect to 
their proposals and initiatives regarding a reform process of the WTO. We have taken note of the 
EU's proposal on the modernization  of the WTO and we strongly encourage all M embers to engage 
in a constructive dialogue and exercise aiming towards a meaningful reform. Paraguay will sha re 
preliminary comments with the entire M embership regarding this proposal in due course.  
 
We strongly believe that discussions should be conducted in an open and  transparent manner, 
where all M embers have the potential to participate. We all have a role to play in the 
strengthening of a system that has delivered predictability and stability in global trade  for seven 
decades.  
 
Paraguay would like to see a more functional and stronger WTO, one that is able to produce and 
deliver better results and to ensure that international trade flows as smoothly, predictably and 
freely as possible.  
 
37. Vanuatu (Pacific Group ) 
 
I am delivering this  statement on behalf of the Pacific Group. Our Group also supports the 
statemen ts made by the ACP and the LDC G roups.  
 
Our Group wishes to express to the Director -General our gratitude for his  compr ehensive report 
and commend his tir eless efforts to support M ember s in progressing our work.  I also wish to thank 
the Chairs of the Negotiating Group for their reports and for their continuing efforts to try to help 
Members move the negotiations forward in these trying times. Trying times, because we are 
witnessing a declining interest in the mandated negotiations and a shift in the emphasis to areas 
that are not mandated, such as the new issues and more recently, the WTO reforms.  There may WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 53 - 
 
  be some merit in these areas and we do not doubt th eir importance, but perhaps we should focus 
our attention to first delivering on the mandates we have.  
 
In thi s connection, the Pacific Group  has been working actively and constructiv ely within the ACP 
and the LDC G roups to advance the negotiations on our priorities as mandated by MC11 and in the 
remaining Doha issues in line with P aragraph 3 1 of the Nairobi Declaration.  
 
On Fisheries Subsidies, the Pacific Group reiterates the significance of this  negotiation to our 
region. As Small Island Developing S tates, the fisheries sector is a critically important sector for 
our livelihood security, as well as our social, economic and sustainable development. Th e Pacific 
Islands Forum Leaders'  ongoing commitment to the region' s Blue Pacific of 2017 and their 
endorsement of the 2018 Commonweal th's Blue Charter reflect the value and identity we hold to 
reinforce our shared stewardship of the Pacific Ocean a nd its sustainable development.  We 
therefore see that the WTO can contribute to that aspiration through discipl ines on harmful 
fisheries subsidies.  
 
In this regard, the Pacific Group remains committed to delivering on the MC11 mandate to 
conclude an agreement on Fisheries Subsidies in 2019 which is also in k eeping with the deadline of 
SDG 14.6.  The Group notes that  the current text is heavily bracketed and much work remains to 
be done to bridge the divergences amongst Members i ncluding on fundamental issues.  The Group 
therefore commends the work undertaken in the September cluster, and hopes that work in the 
remaini ng months of  2018 will complete the streamlining and move to a consolidated text, deepen 
the text -based negotiations and translate new ideas from the Incubator Groups to support text -
based discussions. The Pacific has always maintained that they are  not th e cause of overfishing. 
Therefore, the Pacific Group further underline s that an outcome on Fisheries S ubsidies must also 
respect the mandates of SDG  14.6 and MC11, to provide appropriate and effective special and 
differential treatment for developing count ries, including pre serving the sovereign right of Small 
Island Developing S tates over their national jurisdictions and support to their development efforts 
in line with SDG 14.7.  
 
On Development and the SDT proposals of the G -90, the Pacific Group stresses  the importance of 
these proposals in promoting value adding, economic diversification and indus trialization of our 
economies. The Pacific Group encourages Members to find ways to address these proposals in a 
meaningful way to support and integrate the sma ll and weaker M embers like us that are already in 
the margins of the global trading system.  
 
On Agriculture, the Pacific G roup highlights the need to reduce agricultural subsidies that support 
imbalances in global agriculture trade and continues to support  the ACP proposal as providing a 
way forward for discussions.  
 
Finally , the Pacific Group expresses its commitment to the multilateral rules -based system of the 
WTO which provides predictability and  certainty for all WTO Members.  In recent months these 
rules have come under threat with the continuing trade tensions and counter -measures by major 
WTO Members as well as informal t alks relating to WTO reforms. These developments could 
inadvertently adversely affect the trade of very small WTO Members like our G roup and we 
encourage the Members concerned to find ways to urgently address these. Any discussions on 
WTO reforms should not leave anyone behind especially the small and weak.    
 
38. Jamaica  
 
I thank the Director -General for his report. I also wish to convey  appreciation to the Chairs of the 
various Negotiating Groups for their comprehensive reports on their respective mandates.  
 
Background  
 
Developments within the multilateral trading system have presented unique challenges for the 
functioning of the WTO. Si gnificant divergences exist among Members on very important issues, 
especially those relating to the successful integration of developing countries and LDCs into the 
global economy. Unfortunately, as a result of these developments, certain Members have res orted 
to using unilateral approaches to resolve issues that would more effectively be addressed through 
dialogue and diplomacy. A dded to these developments,  some Members are questi oning the very 
ability of this o rganization to resolve these issues. The WTO  has, therefore, found itself at a WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 54 - 
 
  crossroads, in which the way forward requires inclusive, open and c onstructive dialogue among its 
Membership. Jamaica stands resolute in its conviction that the WTO has the required framework 
and capacity to resolve trade -related issues of concern to the multilateral trading system.  
 
Trade tensions  
 
Jamaica attaches great importance to the preservation of the multilateral trading system. In this, 
we are fully cognizant of the fact that trade remains the key pathway to econ omic growth and, 
importantly, developing countries'  ability to achieve the targets established by the 2030 Age nda 
for Sustainable Development , which received the full endorsement and commitment of global 
leaders in 2015. We know from experience that the im pact of trade measures on an unintended 
target can obliterate decades of progress made by our countries in the area of trade and 
development. Jamaica is especially mindful that apart from the direct impact on the Members and 
entities concerned, these measu res have indirect and often unintended consequences on other 
Parties,  with devastating consequences. Jamaica therefore  supports the call for rest raint and 
reason within the WTO  and a cross the global trading system  as we recognis e that any escalation 
will undoubtedly have a de -stabilis ing effect on global trade and economic growth. The multilateral 
trading system remains particularly valuable to small, vulnerable developing economies, like 
Jamaica. It is within this context that Jamaica views unilateralism as a serious systemic risk to the 
sustainability and operability of the multilateral trading system.  
 
Appellate Body Impasse  
 
Jamaica remains concerned that, to date, we have not been able to resolve the impasse over the 
filling of vacant seats on the Appe llate Body. Jam aica, like all Members, recognis es the vital role 
played by the dispute settlement system of the WTO, the very foundation of this House, and urges 
that Members redouble their efforts to engage actively and constructively with a view to ensur ing 
the prompt filling of the vacancies on the Appellate Body.  
 
Doha Negotiations  
 
With regard to the Doha Declaration, we t ake this opportunity to emphasis e the importance of 
arriving at an outcome on Fisheries Subsidies by December 2019, guided by the Ma ndate issued 
by Ministers at MC11 in Buenos Aires. Any outcome agreement on fisheries subsidies should allow 
developing countries the necessary policy space to pursue the sustainable management and 
development of their fisheries sector, and not create unin tended negative impact. Jamaica' s 
participation in the negotiations is critical to safeguard the invaluable contribution of fisheries to 
national food and nutrition security, job creation and livelihood. During the negotiations, issues of 
importance to Jam aica are being reiterated. These  issues include, coastal states'  sovereignty and 
sovereign rights within their maritime space as enshrined in international law; appropriate special 
and differential treatment for developing countries and LDCs, and preservat ion of policy space to 
allow developing countries to support fisher folk in improving their competitiveness, fishing 
practices and value -added production.  
 
Jamaica continues to cautiously follow and monitor the operation of the Incubator Group process. 
We firmly believe that the fisheries subsidies negotiations should be open, transparent and 
inclusive  in order to promote the widest p ossible ownership of an outcome  and that any form of 
deviation from these principles should be strongly discouraged. Jamaica  pledges  its cooperation 
with the Chair' s initiative. We expect that the proceedings of the Incubator Group initiative would 
be open to continuous review and streamlining over the period of its operation, to ensure that it is 
fulfilling the agreed objectiv es. Jamaica looks forward to participating in a comprehensive review 
of the process no later than December 2018, with a view to determining whether the initiative is 
adding value to the work of the Negotiating Group. We should not hesitate to abandon the p rocess 
at any time, if deemed necessary.  
 
In the negotiations on agriculture, Jamaica attaches particular importance to outcomes on a 
Permanent Solution on Public Stockholding  for Food Security Purposes , the Special Safeguard 
Mechanism  and Domestic Support , and urges Members to show flexibility towards this end. 
Agriculture remai ns the key component of Jamaica' s food and nutrition security, and has important 
essential linkages to other key sectors of the economy on which we depend for foreign exchange 
earnings, job creation and family welfare, and rural development and transformation. Hence, we 
have a special interest in stability and predictability in global agricultural trade. The negotiations WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 55 - 
 
  on agriculture are also particularly important to the implement ation of goals number 1 and 2 of the 
UN Sustainable Development Goals, to which all of our governments aspire.  
 
Services make a vital contribution to Jamaica' s economy, accounting for over 70% of GDP and 
68% of our labour force. An outcome in the area of  Services, including with respect to future work, 
will provide tangible economic benefits for developing countries like Jamaica. Jamaica is, therefore, 
disappointed with the pace at which discussions are progressing in the Special Session of the 
Council on  Trade in Services.  
 
On special and differential treatment, we must deepen our engageme nt in this very important 
area. The vital link between trade and development is indisputable. We must therefore show 
flexibility and a willingness to find solutions to t he concerns of all Members, particularly those of 
developing countries and LDCs.  
 
Way forward  
 
The WTO remains indispensable to the multilateral trading system,  the global economy and 
Members'  efforts to achieve their national development objectives, as we ll as the targets of the UN 
sustainable development goals. As has been said in many fora, " if the WTO did not exist, it would 
have had to be created" . Such an institution is worthy of being preserved, and strengthened, not 
re-invented. Like other organizat ions, the WTO is not perfect.  
 
If we decide, however, to take another look at its structure, operation and rules, as well as the 
heterogeneity of its Membership, inclusiveness, transparency and a willingness to exercise 
flexibility must form the basis of such discussions.  
 
We must build upon the achievements of the WTO, including the Tr ade Facilitation Agreement  and 
the amendment to the TRIPS Agreement and constructively engage for the benefit of all, especially 
the most vulnerable. We must ensure that no  Member is left behind.  
 
In closing , Jamaica would like to express its support for the statement made by Haiti on behalf of 
CARICOM, Malawi on behalf of the ACP Group and Indonesia on behalf the G -33. 
 
39. Russian Federation  
 
I would like to thank the Director -General and the Negotiating Group C hairs for their update s on 
the state of play.  
 
One month ago, the  G20 trade ministers recognis ed "the urgent need to discuss current events in 
international trade and ways to improve the WTO to face c urrent and future ch allenges" . They 
recommended that leaders address these issues at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November.  
 
Regarding the first part of this message, we fix the emergence of a new factor influencing world 
trade. I mean unilateral protec tionist actions of  a major WTO Member  which are contrary to the 
rules of the multilateral trading system.  
 
At a time when the largest architect, contributor and beneficiary of the system explicitly ignores 
the general rules of conduct, c oordinated efforts of WTO M embers are  needed to restore the 
effectiveness of  the organization and to minimis e the damage caused by unjustified policies.  
 
It is important that our efforts in Geneva be complemented by various international fora. At the 
G20 M inisterial M eeting in Buenos Aires , Russia suggested that the G20 Working Group on Trade 
and Investment could serve as a platform for collective decisions and recommendations on how to 
make the organization work efficient ly through greater capital -based officials'  involvement. With 
this in mind, I believe that our work on the future reform should include:  
 
• addressing the policy of some Members of unilateral restrictive measures in violation of 
the provisions of the WTO agreements to safeguard the system;  
 
• improvement of the functioning of the dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO, 
including the  appointment of Appellate Body m embers;  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 56 - 
 
  • tightening control over implementation of Members'  obligations;  
 
• developing new multilateral rul es in areas of e -commerce, MSMEs , investment 
facilitation and  services.  
 
Having said that, I would like to stress that Russia welcomes the idea of the WTO improvement. 
We call upon the proponents to act fast to submit their proposals for the consideration of the 
whole Membership.  
 
While we examine t he reform of the organization, Russia remains committed to advancing the 
WTO's negotiating agenda . By addressing core issues in Agriculture and Fisheries S ubsides, as well 
as in other areas, we will ensure that the WTO's trade rules remain relevant for tra de in a 
globalis ed economy.  
 
Russia welcomes the resumption of agriculture negotiations after the summer break. During the 
discussions on domestic support in September, M embers were involved into deeper interaction 
with one another. In general, the level of engagement has been constantly improving since last 
year. We are looking forward to the meeting on market access next week, for which greater level 
of expertise will be needed.  
 
We appreciate the incubator  group process in the fisheries  subsidies negotiations under the 
leadership of Ambassador Roberto Zapata. It proved to be very useful as it provides sufficient 
transparency for all Members. We should maintain the constructive attitude, while also keeping in 
mind that the results of our brainstorming exercise should even tually convert into tangible 
negotiating progress in line with SDG 14.6. Against this backdrop, I hope that after this autumn 
session, the process will shift gears to a higher mode, and the Group proceed with the future 
disciplines'  architecture.  
 
Russia p lays an active role in substantial ongoing e fforts under the Buenos Aires "Joint Initiatives"  
which we look upon as a valuable addition to the multilateral format. We are satisfied with high 
level of interest shown to e -commerce, domestic regulation in ser vices, MSMEs and investmen t 
facilitation and inspire the M embership to engage more.  
 
40. Oman  
 
We would like to join other  delegations in thanking the Director -General for his report. W e 
associate our delegation with the statement that will be made by P anama o n behalf of Article XII 
Members.   
 
The WTO has gone through many ups and downs since 1995. From Seattle to Doha to Cancun, 
then Hong Kong, Geneva to Bali, Nairobi and Buenos Air es. There were times when some M embers 
and civil society organizations thought  that WTO is coming to an end. The WTO survived against all 
odds. Today, the WTO and the multilateral trading s ystem ar e facing again new challenges. Some 
say this time it is more serious. It i s about the ideology and not only about commercial interests.  
The basic principles of the WTO's establishment are challenged. The situation in the AB and in 
some pending issues is worrying  so a discussi on about WTO reform is welcomed. B ut it has to be a 
balanced, transparent and inclusive one. The discussion is going to be a very long, deep, and wide 
conversation that will h ave to cover priorities of all Members, and that will require a high level of 
political guidance and engagement. It will also need pro per preparations to avoid repeati ng past 
mistakes.  There will be a need to look at the current mandates, our achievements, our failures and 
then conduct an overall evaluation of the situation before we decide how to move forward.  
 
Two tra cks process will undermine the multilateral t rading system. Protectionism is n ot the best 
way to protect any M ember's interests. Consensus is the only way to protect the rights and 
obligations of all M embers.   
 
As an Article XII M ember  that made extensive commitments , Oman believes that we need to 
address the parity betw een commitments of Article XII Members and original M embers especially 
developed ones in order to achieve a l evel playing field. Evaluating M embers ' commitments and 
filling in the gaps will be the first ste p forward towards improvement and correction of the system.   
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 57 - 
 
  With regards to the ongoing negotiations , Oman would like to thank the Chairpersons of the 
various Negotiating G roups for their reports. We welcome the positive development in the area of 
fisheries subsidies negotiations, particularly the emplo yment of novel ways to enhance M embers' 
understanding of complex concepts. As a member of an incubator group, we are pleased to note 
that discussions in these groups generated a number of useful ideas and  enhanced our 
understanding of M embers' positions. Oman has important interests in the fisheries sector which is 
one of the main sectors that it relies on in its plan to diversify the economy. Members can continue 
to count on this delegation to participate actively in these negotiations and others.  
 
41. Japan  
 
Japan appreciates the Director -General's  report and those provided by the Negotiating Group 
Chairs.  
 
WTO Reform  
 
I would like to start with a remark on WTO reform. Japan is deeply concerned by the recent 
escalating tensions surrounding international trade. We firmly believe that all trade measures 
should be consistent with the WTO A greement. Having said that, we are all aware of t he growing 
criticism of the WTO's failure to fulfi l its intended role. So the key question now is not whether to 
reform the WTO, but how to reform the WTO.  
 
In this respect, Japan welcomes the various initiatives toward WTO reform that have been 
proposed in different configurations. One example is the initiative led by Canada, whose  efforts we 
highly appreciate. Japan intends to proactively participate in this initiative, and hopes to engage as 
many Members as possible in further discussions, thus ensuring transparency and inclusiveness for 
other WTO Members.  
 
To further strengthen t he WTO, in collaboration with the US and the EU, Japan will submit a 
proposal on strengthening notification requirements to enhance transparency for the purpose of 
improving the monitoring function of the WTO. We intend to further improve the proposals thr ough 
consultations with the Members. To this end, we have already begun reaching out to Members.  
 
In order for the WTO to rema in relevant, we need to modernise it in response to today' s changing 
environment and needs. "The World Trade Report 2018" , publish ed by the WTO Se cretariat this 
month, has analys ed the impact of digitalization on trade as well as its implications for the WTO. 
The report was most helpful to understand recent trends in trade, trade policy issues and the 
multilateral trading system, and  Japan would like to compliment the staff of the WTO Secretariat 
on their dedicated work.  
 
In the same vein, the Public Forum has not only demonstrated the high expectations of the 
business community toward the WTO, but also convinced us once again that th e WTO must be 
capable of responding to the needs of the business community in order to remain relevant. In this 
regard, in addition to reinvigorating the 1998 Work Programme on E -Commerce, Japan intends to 
accelerate the exploratory work toward future WTO negotiations with the participation of as many 
Members as possible, while ensuring openness and transparency.  
  
Japan notes that positive progress has been made in the active discussions that have been held in 
some of the  other areas. For instance, on Fish eries S ubsidies, we are encouraged by the collective 
effort being made by the Members in the aim of contributing to the sustainability of fisheries 
resources by harnessing trade disciplines as enshrined in target 14.6 of the SDGs.  
 
Concerns about the Dispu te Settlement  System  
 
Let me briefly turn to the WTO dispute settlement system. As we all know, as of 1 October, the 
number of Appellate Body members is down to three, the minimum number required for the 
Appellate Body to hear an appeal under the DSU. This  is against the backdrop of an ever -
increasing caseload that reached 11 appeals at the end of last month. Should the Appellate Body 
cease to operate, the entire dispute settlement system could be brought to a halt. In short, the 
WTO dispute settlement syst em is in a critical  condition, and all WTO Members'  serious 
engagement and collective actions are urgently required.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 58 - 
 
  On that note, Japan is encouraged by the increasing engagement of the other WTO Members in 
our common endeavour to find a concrete solutio n to the challenge we are facing. Japan will 
continue to work w ith interested WTO Members  to restore the proper functioning of the WTO 
dispute settlement system, including the Appellate Body.  
 
42. Uganda  
 
I would like to thank the Director -General for his report. My delegation also appreciates the Chairs 
of the diffe rent Negotiating Groups  for their efforts to move the negotiating work forward.  
 
At the outset, my delegation aligns itself with the statements made by South Africa on behalf of 
the African Grou p, Malawi on behalf of the ACP Group, Chad on behalf of the Central African 
Republic for the LDCs, and Indonesia on behalf of the G -33. 
 
The WTO was created principally to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as 
possible among its Me mbers. True to that, the WTO, as for over two decades, provided an avenue 
especially for the resolution of trade disputes without resort to global war or violence. This same 
avenue has prevented protectionism with all its repercussions on the development a nd growth of 
various economies.  
 
It is however important to stress that the many successes recorded by this organization over the 
period of time have not been by chance but rather by a great deal of and commendable respect for 
and careful observation of al l rules pertaining to this organization by all stakeholders. 
Unfortunately, the smooth, predictable and free -trading environment that has been facilitated by 
this organization through its rules is being threatened by the actions of some of those that have 
benefitted from them the most.  
 
Interestingly, it is puzzling that those Members who for long have opposed adjustment to the rules 
even in the face of clear Ministerial Mandates are now championing ideas for fundamental changes 
to the same rules in advocat ing for the new rules and reforms which will only result in further 
marginalization of some of our economies.  
 
On the question of reform, I would like to assure that my delegation is not objectionable to the 
reforms per se. My delegation objects to any ki nd of reform conceived to meet individual, selfish 
motives. It has taken us about over seventy years to think about reforms of the United Nations. It 
is only now that we are trying to take measures to carry out some reforms. For the WTO, it is now 
about tw enty years and we are talking of reforms. My delegation hopes that the reforms we want 
will be those that wil l help us accelerate the finaliz ation of unfinished mandates of the DDA. For 
example, I would very happily hear about the reform which can enable u s to know how best we 
can handle the SDT proposals which have alluded us for quite a long time. Any idea of reform that 
shall circumscribe the DDA's unfinished agenda will not of course be acceptable.  
 
We cannot deny the fact that the benefits of multilat eral trade have not been shared equally by all 
participating Members. Some of our countries continue to lag behind in the face of challenges 
arising from relatively small domestic markets with the high dependence on imported goods, 
technologies and managem ent practices as well as general lack of the financial and human 
resources required to actively pursue the innovation in the midst of reduced development 
cooperation. The ultimate question for us is how to move up the global value chains or facilitate 
industrial enhancement.  
 
In our efforts to address these challenges and answer these questions, my delegation attaches 
great importance to the WTO and the opportunities that it represents. This explains why we have 
consistently pushed for the preservation of policy space in negotiations. And it is in this spirit that 
my delegation has always questioned the essence of negotiating new rules when the enforcement 
mechanism of already existing rules is in shambles. Today, my delegation wishes to emphasis e 
and put t he same question to this Council for consideration.  
 
In the same vein, my delegation continues to reaffirm all outstanding multilateral Ministerial 
Mandates and urge Members to pursue the full implementation of all decisions agreed to by all 
Members. In t his regard, my delegation stressed the critical importance of full implementation of 
all decisions in favour of LDCs including Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreement which requires 
developed country Members to provide technical, financial cooperation in  favour of developing and WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 59 - 
 
  least-developed country Members in order to facilitate the implementation of the agreement. 
Furthermore, we urge Members to give positive consideration to the proposal by the LDC Group on 
Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement in the TRIPS C ouncil.  
 
Regarding the Ministerial Decision on the Implementation of Preferential Treatment in favour of 
Services and Services Suppliers of LDCs and Increasing LDCs' Participation in Services Trade 
contained in WT/MIN(15)/W/39, in order to achieve the mos t out of this decision, my delegation 
urges Members to move fast to initiate the process of review of the notified preferences in the CTS 
as mandated by the decision.  
 
Similarly, my delegation recalls Paragraph 44 of the Doha Mandate to review the special and 
differential provisions with the view to strengthen them and make them more precise, effective 
and operational in the CTD SS.  
 
Finally, my delegation would caution that inward -looking solutions are not the way for this great 
organization. Multilaterali sm must be strengthened to work and work for all. It is indeed insincere 
to castigate unilateral protectionist measures of one Member in one breath and at the same time 
advocate for a so -called flexible multilateralism all the while proclaiming a commitmen t not to 
leave anyone behind. Words must be followed by actions in the correct way and that is how we will 
ensure the trade benefits for all.  
 
43. Angola  
 
My delegation aligns itself with the statements made by South Africa on behalf of the African 
Group, Chad  on behalf of the LDCs, and Malawi on behalf of the ACP Group.  
 
I would l ike to thank the Director -General for his  report on the state of the negotiations as well as 
the Chairs of the Negotiating Groups for their comprehensive reports.  
 
May I emphasise th at governments have the primary responsibility for national development. In 
fact, in some countries such as Angola, the government intervenes in the economy for example by 
trying permanently to target national resources from the low value -added sectors to higher 
productivity ones. It is therefore crucial to ensure the State's ability to promote development 
policies in the interest of its people.  
 
We also consider fundamental the balance between our international obligations and commitments 
with provision of  an adequate policy space guaranteed by special and differential treatment 
provisions. Political space is central to us developing countries as recognis ed in Agenda 2030 for 
Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Agenda for Financing for Development a nd it allows 
us to define our national priorities according to our own interests while ensuring our active 
participation in the multilateral trading system.  
 
We believe that the existing WTO Agreements characterised by benefit imbalance in favour of 
develo ped countries have not been truly able to cope with special needs of certain countries such 
as the LDCs. Existing provisions of SDT and future provisions strengthening them and making 
them more precise, effective and operational as mandated by Paragraph 44  of the Doha Ministerial 
Declaration partially attenuate the imbalance of existing agreements. Therefore, any reform of the 
multilateral trading system in this area must take into account of this reality and respect the 
mandate for the development of this negotiation round. As highlighted in the ACP Group's 
statement, we believe that the G -90 proposal on special and differential treatment should be given 
priority.  
 
Finally, we call for an intensification of our negotiation work in order to achieve respecti ve progress 
especially on issues crucial to development. In this line, we consider essential to fulfil the mandate 
of the Ministers to conclude the negotiation on fisheries subsidies by end of next year. For Angola, 
the negotiation must preserve sustainabi lity, develop our fishing industry – mainly artisanal and 
for subsistence. We also believe that it is important that common ideas and understandings shared 
during informal meetings as well as during thematic seminars and workshops related to issues 
under n egotiation are reflected in Member's position  during the discussion of the text proposals.  
 
Recent discussions in the CoA SS have shown once again that majority of Members consider the 
reform trade -distorting domestic support including the elimination of A MS entitlements for WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 60 - 
 
  developed countries as extremely important and should move to the phase of text -based 
negotiations as soon as possible.  
 
44. Nepal  
 
I thank the  Director -General for his opening statement and briefing. I also thank the negotiating 
Group Chairs for their reports.  
 
My delegation associates itself with the statement delivered by the Central African Republic as  the 
coordinator of  the LDC Group.  
 
Rules-based international trade and the WTO system of global economic governance have 
contributed significantly to global economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction, and can 
further play a crucial role in achieving inclusive prosperity and development in line with the 2030 
Agenda for Sustainable Development. The LDCs, the most disadvantaged an d least inte grated 
economies among the WTO M embers , are looking for more opportunities in trade in order to step 
up on the development ladder. However, the escalation of global trade tensions rising into trade 
wars and possibility of another round of reces sion have posed serious threats to the functioning of 
the multilateral trading system and severely impacted the interests of the poorer countries which 
are least integrated into the system.  
 
The relevance and credibility of the WTO is an age of hyper glob alization is not an issue to be 
questioned but in reality it is being severely challenged. Strengthening the WTO is e xtremely 
important for all WTO M embers as it has far reaching implications in the growth and expansion of 
international trade, global econo my and achieving the commitments of internationally agreed 
development frameworks such as the SDGs and the Istanbul Programme of Action for LDCs.  
 
The LDCs, including my country , are faithful supporter s of the rules -based multilateral trading 
system and i t should deliver to them. The LDCs want our economic development to be inclusive 
and sustainable, enabled by more thriving trade, pa rticularly export trade. We are however  
suffering from structural constraints, low productivity, low value addition and prim ary produ ct 
traps in our export markets.  As a shared responsibility, it must be acknowledged that the basic 
objectives of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing  the WTO have not been materialis ed in the 
case of LDCs.  
 
Without export promotion, increased pro ductive capacity building, industrialization, diversification 
and structural transformation of the economy of the most disadvantaged group of countries, 
achieving globally agreed objectives and commitments would be a far cry.  
 
Rapid advancement in science and technology, rise in digital trade, global value chains and 
services trade, and renewed interests in industrialization have brought with them new c hallenges 
and opportunities to M embers commensurate with the level of their development. They need to be 
reflected in an inclusive manner in t he revitalization of the WTO.  
 
In this context, my delegation believes that strengthening the three pillars of  the WTO system to 
render them fully func tional in the interests of all M embers is of vital importance. Strengthening 
the dispute settlement pillar by fixing the impasse in the WTO dispute settlement system should 
get our priority. Similarly, reinforcement of the negotiating pillar with a balanced approach 
between Doha and new issues in an open -ended and outcome -oriented manner is fundamentally 
important. Likewise, the transparency and monitoring mechanism has to be strengthened.  
 
The second aspect is focus ed on the implementation of the past decisions and declaration in letter  
and spi rit to deliver results. The LDC -related past decisions including DFQF, preferential rules of 
origin, preferential treatment to the services and services providers of the LDCs, te chnology 
transfer, among others  need considerable focus for results on  the ground. The interna tional 
support mechanisms  need to go hand in hand to intensify implementation.  
 
Development should be at the centre of WTO revitalization and reform. The special and differential 
treatm ent should be an integral part  of WTO rules to  provide intended benefits, particularly to the 
low-income countries. Accordingly, the process of the WTO reform should be bottom -up, 
participatory and transparent. Such reform should support industrialization, job creation, export 
promotion, enhancing pro ductive capacity and standard of living of low -income countries.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 61 - 
 
  Finally , my delegation looks for a balance d, equitable and inclusive process in the inte rest of the 
LDCs in revitalis ing and taking the WTO and the multilateral trading system forward.  
 
45. Trini dad & Tobago  
 
We thank the Director -General for convening this meeting and for the report on his activities since 
we last met in this format. W e again express our appreciation for this expression of transparency. 
I also wish to thank the Chairpersons of th e Negotiating Groups for their comprehensive reports.  
 
The positions of Trinidad and Tobago remain firmly aligned with those expressed through the 
groupings to which we belong. At this juncture, my delegation endorses statements delivered on 
behalf of the CARICOM , the ACP Group of States and the G -33. 
 
As a Small Island Developing State, I must emphasis e that development issues are crucial and 
remain of significant interest to my delegation and other developing countries. We are concerned 
that trade is not inclusive for all Members. We need to achieve progress under th e Doha 
Development Agenda mandate and we must respect the centrality of development in the work of 
our o rganization. The importance of Special and Differential Treatment  in economic development  
must not be challenged. All Members must give priority to this critical area. Provisions for Special 
and Differential Treatment are an integral part of the WTO Agreements and we hope that there will 
be more positive engagement from all Members.  
 
In the  area of E -Commerce, we recognis e its potential as a driver for economic growth and we 
welcome the information sharing and exploratory discussions. While it is accepted that E -
Commerce has the potential to enhance the competitiveness and efficiency of firms a nd also 
promote new economic opportunities, as a country we see the need to secure policy space to 
develop responses to digitization, data localization, data flows etc. We continue to work on 
implementing our legal and regulatory framework to encourage and  protect bu sinesses and 
consumers using E -Commerce.  
 
We commend the work being done in the area of women and trade and congratulate the WTO on a 
successful, relevant and thought -provoking Public Forum.  
 
In Agriculture, we have noted the direction proposed  by the Chair of the Committee on Agriculture 
in Special Session, as presented for the period September to December 2018, and support the 
continuation of agriculture negotiations within the framework of addressing the needs of Sm all, 
Vulnerable Economies . 
 
One area where we have seen some progress and engagement is in the area of Fisheries Subsidies 
negotiations. We would wish to see intensified engagement from all Members, mindful that 
appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for develo ping country Members and 
least developed country Members should be an integral part of the negotiations. We look forward 
to the incubator group process having a positive effect on our deliberations.  
 
With respect to the grave situation facing the Dispute S ettlement Mechanism with the ongoing 
impasse, we encourage Members to work together to achieve an acceptable outcome in the 
shortest possible time.  
 
We have heard the informal calls from so me quarters for reform in this o rganization and we would 
urge that  any consideration of this idea must be centred on ways to meaningfully make trade 
inclusive for all Members, regardless of size or circumstance and thereby contribute to 
development.  
 
Allow me t o reiterate Trinidad and Tobago' s commitment to a rules -based multilateral trading 
system that is predictable, transparent, consensus -based and which supports inclusive growth and 
development.  
 
46. Cambodia  
 
I thank the Director -General for his report and for his  great effort to move the negotiations 
forward. I would also thank the Chairs of Negotiating Groups  for their updates.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 62 - 
 
  Cambodia associates itself with the statement made by Chad on behalf of the LDCs.  
 
I would like to re -emphasise that my delegation stro ngly supports the WTO multilateral trading 
system. It plays a very crucial role in promoting economic development, creating jobs, reducing 
poverty and boosting growth of global trade.  
 
As we are in the weakest group in this house, Cambodia counts on trade preference as well as 
special and differential treatment as important tools to reach our development goals. In this 
regard, my delegation urges Members to pay more attention to the submission of the LDC Group 
and call upon Members to speed up and fully imp lement previous mandates and decisions for LDCs 
particularly those Members who have been providing and notifying their preferential rules of origin, 
Services Waiver and DFQF.  
 
On the way forward, we would like to request that any outcome resulting from WTO  negotiations 
especially on the possible reform must be maintained and include the benefits and interests of the 
LDCs.  
 
With regard to the dispute settlement system, my delegation appreciates Members for their efforts 
in the WTO discussion and negotiations . We support and encourage Members to find win -win 
solution s for the Selection of Appellate Body members without delay.  
 
Finally, we look forward to working closely with all Members to achieve meaningful outcomes and 
to keep the well -functioning of this or ganization.  
 
47. Hong Kong, China  
 
I thank the Director -General and the Chairs of the various Negotiating G roups for the reports.  
 
It is encouraging to see a lot of hard work being done to advance the Fisheries negotiations, both 
in terms of finding creative s olutions through the incubator groups, and in terms of str eamlining 
the negotiation text. Hong Kong, China  is mindful that we h ave a deadline of 2019 to meet.  We 
will continue to contribute to the negotiations and work towards this common goal.  
 
Hong Kong,  China  is a well -known demandeur of Services negotiations. Together with other like -
minded Members, we have been trying to advance the negotiations on Domestic Regulations, by 
intensifying text -based discussions and resolving differences, so that a more ma ture proposal can, 
in due course, be made avail able to the broader Membership.  We also support the proposal jointly 
made by Chile, Panama, Mexico and New Zealand to reinvigorate Services market access 
discussions in the WTO.  We believe the WTO has the capa city, and indeed, a need, to re -engage in 
market access negotiations, so that Members can continue to add value to their commitments.  
 
At the same time, we are party to some of the Joint Statement initiatives which seek to address 
issues pertinen t to trade  in the 21st century.  Thanks to the dedication and leadership of the 
coordinators, the exploratory talks on e -commerce are making good progress.  Hong Kong, China 
has been an active participant  and looks forward to the dis cussion entering the next phase  when 
we will have greater clarity on wh at specific elements to work on  as well as when and how 
negotiations will be conducted.  
 
Apart from e -commerce, Hong Kong, China  also supports the structured discussions on Investment 
Facilitation and MSMEs. Although I d id not personally attend the High -Level Forum in Astana, I 
would like to congratulate Kazakhsta n on the success of this event.  Investment Facilitation, like e -
commerce and MSMEs, are initiatives open to the entire M embershi p. Events like the High -Level 
Forum, the many sessions in the WTO Public Forum, and the upcoming e -commerce/MSMEs 
workshop on 31 Oct ober, all testify to the groups'  rigorous outreaching efforts. Hong Kong, China  
encourages Members who have not yet participated in these initiatives to join  us, so that you can 
also play a constructive role in shaping the multilateral outcomes.  
 
Hong Kong, China  engages in these negotiations and discussions with enthusiasm, not because we 
think everything is fine, or that it is just business a s usual. No. W e know the system  is undergoing 
difficult times but it is precisely because of that  that we have to keep the WTO going – keep t he 
system valuable and relevant  despite the challenges we face.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 63 - 
 
  We have been talking about challenges for some  time already.  Have things i mproved since the 
summer break? Not really. Globa l trade tensions have not eased. L arge-scale unilate ral measures 
are still in force. V acancies in the Appel late Body have only increased. This is deeply troubling.  
This is no t right and cannot be th e new norm . 
 
Hong Kong, China insists that Members should take their WTO commitments seriously, and should 
not test the limits of the multilateral trading system with u njustified unilateral actions. The WTO is 
and must remain  a rules -based  organization. Obligations must be honoured  and Appellate Body 
vacancies must be filled without further delay.  
 
I am sure Hong Kong, China  is not alone in wanting to pres erve and strengthen the system.  Many 
Members who have voiced concerns about the current situatio n and hope to  find solutions through 
reforms  share this aim.  
 
If we recogn ise that the WTO is not perfect,  that there is room for improvement and that any 
healthy organiz ation has to constant ly review its operations to keep up with the times, then we 
should be prepared to consider reforms with a positive attitude and an open mind.  
 
The EU has p ut up a comprehensive proposal.  Canada is le ading a similar discussion. Hong Kong, 
China  sees value in having all these conversations.  There is an imminent need to introduce 
changes, to make the WTO more efficient, effective and relevant.  
 
I do not intend t o comment on the specifics here  but I can share with you what Hong Kong, China  
believes is importan t in taking these conversations forward.  
 
First, it is important that we build our p roposals on shared values.  Fundamental to this is our trust 
in multilateralism and our respect  for international cooperation.  We can call the WTO reform a 
success if it is achieved by all of us working  together for the public good. It cannot be a success if 
we end up generating greater discord, division and mistrust.  
 
Second, it is important that there is engagement across the membership, and that this is done in a 
transpare nt and inclusive manner.  For an institutional reform that affects all WTO Member s, we 
are accountable to the M embership as a whole, not just to Members who have particular concerns 
to address or particular interests to pursue.  In defining our future partne rship, every Member 
should have a say.  
 
Third, it is important that we debate rationally, without prejudice and without coercion.  Many of 
the reform proposals have far -reaching implications for the system and for its Members.  If 
stakeholders are not truly convinced of the necessity and the merits of these proposals, it will be 
difficult to expect effective implementation down the road.  
 
Now that the moderniz ation proposals have been put forward, it is time for all Members to reflect 
deeply on them a nd try t o work our way through. Hong Kong, China  appreciates the efforts of the 
proponents, and will participate actively in the process.  
 
48. Panama (Article XII Members)  
 
I am speaking on behalf of t he Group of Article XII Members.  
 
Three months have passed since ou r last TNC meeting and our work  as a Group has not stopped. 
We ha ve continued holding meetings in an array of subjects with other Members including the 
participation of many Members in Astana last month at the 7th China Round Table. Our Group 
remains commi tted to strengthening th e multilateral t rading system and to a more open and 
balanced trade.  
 
Wide gaps remain between the concessions made by the Group of  Article XII Members and the 
original Members of the WTO. We must address these important difference s to achieve a level and 
fair playing field for all Members.  
 
Notwithstanding the individual position s of Article XII Members in the Agriculture negotiations, it is 
undisput able that no Article XII Member  has nearly the same amount of entitleme nts in domes tic 
support as the o riginal WTO Members. The disparity in Agriculture Market Access is even more WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 64 - 
 
  striking. The average agriculture bound tariff of the original Members of 60% is four times higher 
than that of the Article XII Members.  
 
We find analogous situations in Non -Agriculture Market Access. The average bound tariff of all 
original Members at 34% is three times the average of Article XII Members. In terms of bound 
coverage Article XII Members have 100% coverage. This is not the cas e for many of the original 
Members whose binding coverage average is 74.5%, and only 37 of the original Members have 
100% coverage.  
 
In Services, Article XII Members on average have commitments in 107 sectors, whereas the 
average original Member has commi tments in 42. The average non -Article XII Developing Member 
has commitments in 44 sectors, and the average non -Article XII developed Members has 94. 
Article XII Members have also undertaken more commitments in virtually every subsector.  
 
The data is clear . Article XII Members have made larger and m ore extensive c ommitments than 
the original Members. These gaps will surely widen as the currently acceding governments are 
asked to leap over an ever -higher bar of commitments in their path to WTO Membership.   
 
We must continue our work to strengthen all sectors and pillars of our m ultilateral trading system 
and part of this work must address the imbalances in the commitments of all Members. This can 
only be achieved through the promotion of dialogue, inclusiveness and the sharing of information 
amongst the entire Membership. Our group stands ready also to promote the accessions of new 
Members in any way we can.  
 
I take thi s opportunity to reiterate our g roup's commitment to a successful outcome in the ongoing 
negotiations to ensure fair play conditions for different groups of WTO Members.  
 
49. Panama  
 
Panama is ready to achieve extensive progress in the services and agriculture sectors under the 
integrated agenda, as well as in other areas such as e -commerc e. 
 
The negotiations on services are a neglected part of the built -in agenda of the WTO Agreements, 
which is why we are seeking, together with Chile, Mexico and New Zealand, to initiate exploratory 
discussions on market access.  
 
In agriculture, in addition  to adopting new disciplines, it is important for Members to work on the 
ground with existing disciplines. We feel that notifications and transparency in this sector are a 
high priority, and we have shown this through compliance with our notification commi tments.  
 
In the negotiations to eliminate fisheries subsidies, together with five other Latin American 
countries we have worked extensively on an equitable, effective and transparent proposal to 
establish disciplines on fisheries subsidies. We thank the Ch airman for the work programme and 
for all his efforts to help narrow the gap between positions by introducing new ideas. Still, we must 
not leave aside the progress achieved in the negotiations as reflected in the discussion texts which 
are part of the Bue nos Aires mandate. We believe that all efforts must focus on moving forward on 
the basis of those texts.  
 
We are aware of the Members' interest and concern when it comes to addressing issues that would 
enable us to modernise and adapt our o rganization to c urrent trends.  
 
However, we must avoid repeating past errors: any initiative in favour of dialogue on improvement 
is welcome, and it is crucial that such processes should guarantee the participation of all WTO 
Members, without distinction as to their level  of development and regardless of the size of their 
economy or their share in world trade.  
 
Having said this, we reaffirm our readiness to participate in any discussions that will enrich and 
strengthen the multilateral trading system.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 65 - 
 
  50. Kenya  
 
My delegation  associates itself with the statements delivered by Malawi, South Africa and 
Indonesia on behalf of the ACP, African Group and the G -33 respectively.  
 
We thank the  Director -General for his comprehensive report and the Chairs of various Negotiating 
Groups f or their updates on the state of on -going discussions and consultations on various 
subjects, under consideration.  
 
Kenya is concerned that increased protectionism by some Members and the current stalemate in 
the Dispute Settlement Body  will ha ve a detrimen tal effect on the multilateral trading system.  We 
therefore urge all M embers to engage constructively to unblock the current impasse in the DSB, to 
allow the process for the app ointment of new Appellate Body m embers to commence.  
 
We also note that little progress has been achieved in the negotiations since MC11. This is partly 
due to the entrenched positions of Members. However, we remain committed to co nstructive 
engagement with all M embers based on the mandated issues.  
 
On specific issues under negotiati on, Agriculture is of key interest to Kenya. Domestic Support in 
agriculture is a priority for my Government and therefore we expect concrete results in this area. 
We are also looking forward to fruitful deliberations on the issue of Public  Stockholding fo r Food 
Security  that will lead to an agreement on a permanent solution without any further delay.   
 
On Fisheries Subsidies, we are pleased by the progress made and commit to participate 
constructively in the negotiations to achieve a demonstrable outcome on Fisheries Subsidies in line 
with the 2019 Buenos Aires mandate and the 2020 deadline for SDG 14.6. An outcome on fisheries 
should contain tangible Special and Differential Treatment provisions that will support and facilitate 
current international efforts towards exploiting the "Blue Economy"  for jobs and wealth creation . In 
that regard, we call upon M embers to focus greater efforts on text -based discussions and finding 
ways of integrating the ideas gene rated by the informal Incubator  Group discussions i nto the work 
process.  
 
On D evelopment , we note the concern about the lack of progress in the Special and Differential 
Treatment negotiations. This is an import ant area of interest to Kenya. Our position is that the G -
90 proposals tabled in 2017 re main the basis for discussions.  However, we are open to any 
proposals, suggestions and new ways that could help unlock the current stalemate. We therefore 
appeal for understanding and flexibility on the part of the Membership in order to realise real 
progress on S& DT to allow the most vulnerable M embers to benefit from such provisions.  
 
We further high light the initiative by Canada, in which Kenya is participating,  on building 
consensus on how to  strengthen the WTO and modernis e the trade rules to address the 21st 
century challenges facing the multilateral trading system.  In that regard , we are of the view that it 
is important to seek ways to strike a balance on the process and approach to  achieve the desired 
outcomes. We nevertheless maintain our position which  is strongly in support of the multilateral 
approach  that provides for inclusivity, transparency and is led by developmental concerns.  
 
In conclusion, as has already been mentioned by the representative of Canada, Kenya will be co -
hosting toget her with Can ada and Japan, the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi 
from 26 to 28 November. The C onference is also being co -sponsored b y Portugal, Norway, t he 
United K ingdom, Fiji, China and the EU. This will be the first global c onference on the sustainable  
blue economy which is expected to bring participants together to discuss ways of harnessing the 
potential of our oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers to improve the lives of all, particularly people 
leaving in developing count ries, women and the youth. The C onference will also provide an 
opportunity to leverage the latest scientific advances and best practises to build prosperity, while 
conserving our waters for future generations.  
 
We will sh are more information about the C onference later this week.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 66 - 
 
  51. Egypt  
 
Egypt would like to associate itself with the statement of South Africa on behalf of the African 
Group, and would like to thank the Director -General and the Chairs of Negotiating Groups for thei r 
efforts and updated reports.  
 
• Egypt considers that the well-functioning of the WTO Dispute Settlement System – 
including of its Appellate Body – is a key priority for the multilateral trading system.  
 
• We stress on the importance of transparency, inclusivene ss and building trust regarding 
any calls or initiativ es. More importantly, is the need for proper policy space and 
effective treatment to address the developmental needs of developing countries.  
 
 
• Egypt reiterate its continued openness and will ingness to engage with the Director -
General and all  esteemed Memb ers, collectively and individually, to discuss our 
fundamental priorities and concerns.  
 
One Final note and Announcement  
 
From 11-17 December, i n collaboration with the African Union and the African Ex -Im Bank, Egypt 
will host The Intra -African Trade Fair,  the first of its kind in Africa, that provides a platform for 
sharing trade, investment and market information and enabling buyers and sellers, investors and 
countries to meet, discuss and conclude business deals.  
 
Analysis by the African Ex -Im Bank shows  that one of the main reasons why intra -African trade is 
low at around 15% compared to Europe (59%), Asia (51%), and North America (37%) is because 
of lack of access to trade and market information.  
  
An African Trade  Ministerial Meeting and Intra -African Trade Finance and Payments Conference will 
run alongside the Exhibition.  
 
Egypt welcomes everyone  to join and participate in these important meetings.  
 
52. Plurinational State of Bolivia  
 
We would like to express our sincere thanks for the report submitted.  
 
While we welcome the optimism and enthusiasm demonstrated to ensure that the WTO continues 
to make progress, we consider that we are now witnessing one of the most critical moments since 
the establishment of the organization.  
 
The critical juncture at whic h the WTO finds itself is due, among other factors, to the obstruction of 
the mechanism that ensures the authority of trade rules. We consider that we must prioritise 
discussions on resolving the Appellate Body issue.  
 
The delicate situation faced by multi lateralism with regard to addressing world trade challenges 
was not caused by institutional weaknesses in the organization or intrinsic shortcomings in the 
agreed system of trade rules, but rather by attitudes favouring plurilateral discussions that exclud e 
countries representing the majority of the world population and those representing populations 
with the greatest needs.  
 
Ten years ago, the President of Bolivia, H.E. Evo Morales Ayma, sent a letter to this organization 
and reminded it that, "The respect  for and the peaceful and harmonious complementarity of 
different cultures and economies are essential to save the planet, humanity and life."  
 
Making trade a plurilateral matter means revisiting the ghosts that threaten global peace  and the 
system of trad e rules.  
 
We have always criticis ed the imbalance in the organization caused by trade rules that have not 
taken into account the situation of developing countries. However, this does not mean that we 
could agree to eliminate multilateralism.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 67 - 
 
  Our criticism of the WTO's historical debt regarding development has no connection with the 
implementation of ideas that are not conducive to fostering consensus and the participation of all 
Members. We consider that multilateralism is the only path to building a fairer  global society.  
 
The Doha framework must be the substantive basis of the organization's work in order to achieve 
results which are balanced and which meet the development needs of its Members.  
 
53. Ecuador  
 
We thank the Director -General and the Chairs of the different negotiating bodies for their reports 
on the current state of play in the discussions.  
 
I would like to begin this statement by emphasising the importance that Ecuador gives to the 
multilateral trading system as the cornerstone of international re lations and, therefore, of 
negotiations in this organization.  
 
Many developing countries have expressed their disagreement with some of the outcomes of the 
system, such as the regressive impact on income distribution, the scant consideration given to 
devel opment and the lack of compromise demonstrated by various Members in response to efforts 
to move forward with issues on the Doha Development Agenda. However, we have not dismissed 
multilateralism. We have participated actively in the different negotiating committees and 
processes, and have promoted an agenda that would resolve the issues faced by developing and 
least-developed countries.  
 
My country has been a Member of this organization since 1996. At that time, we acceded to an 
organization founded upon t he adoption of decisions by consensus and the provision of benefits to 
developing countries in particular.  
 
It is for this reason that we are now deeply concerned by the proposals that seek to change the 
rules of a game that we have been playing for over 20 years. Changing conditions that, at the 
minimum, seek to ensure a level playing field for developing and least developed countries is not 
acceptable by any standards.  
 
We are also concerned by the emergence of a narrative which describes the existence o f 164 
Members as a "problem". In this regard, we kindly draw your attention to the recent report 
published by the IMF, World Bank and WTO Secretariat which not only reflects this stance, but also 
appears to legitimis e it. The Secretariat plays a fundamenta l role in this organization and we must 
preserve its independence and protect it from any pressure that may exist.  
 
In any case, we remain concerned that there are positions – even though they exist in the informal 
space that we occupy today – which seek t o change the navigation chart of the WTO without first 
addressing the most serious issue in this organization, which is the progressive paralysis of the 
Dispute Settlement Body. I cannot overstate the importance of this Body for small economies, 
which enab les them to address issues with their trading partners. We cannot hope to radically 
change the pillars of the system when, even as we speak, the dispute settlement function is under 
serious threat and is becoming gradually weaker.  
 
In this regard, we fully  agree with the countries that consider that we must initiate, without delay, 
the process to appoint the Appellate Body members and unblock the procedure, before 
substantively addressing the observations made by one Member on the functioning of the Dispute  
Settlement Understanding.  
 
Lastly, our negotiating positions are well -known. The reform of the agricultural sector is a promise 
which has been made to developing countries by the multilateral trading system since before the 
Uruguay Round, and which has be en renewed in the Doha Development Agenda and the outcomes 
of the succeeding Ministerial Conferences. Ecuador is participating with interest and openness in 
the analytical exercises based on the figures submitted by several Members. However, we hope 
that w e will soon be able to begin negotiations on the basis of the concrete proposals that have 
been placed on the table, in order to make use of the time remaining before the Twelfth Ministerial 
Conference.  
 WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 68 - 
 
  As regards the negotiations on fisheries subsidies, Ecuador considers that it is necessary for 
Members to determine which approach to take (list versus effects) as soon as possible, with a view 
to promptly initiating the negotiations on the basis of document 274. The disciplines must take into 
consideration  the specific realities and needs of all Members, particularly those for whom, like 
Ecuador, fishing is a development tool and an opportunity to improve living conditions for 
individuals, mainly those with limited resources and whose livelihoods depend on this activity. The 
disciplines must therefore clearly contain elements for the protection of small scale fishing, as well 
as special and differential treatment, thus protecting the necessary domestic policy space.  
 
54. Singapore  
 
Singapore reiterates our call for the majors to find ways for mutual accommodation that are WTO -
consistent to de -escalate current trade tensions which show little signs of abating.  
 
We apprec iate the Director -General's  untiring efforts in the interest of the system, particularly in 
these difficult times. The professional and quality work of the Secretariat, including its useful 
analytical reports, contribute immeasurably to our deliberations.  
 
During the Conference in Bali on 10 October, jointly organise d by the IMF -WB-WTO-OECD, the 
Director -General said that " (t)he trading system is not perfect – but it represents the best efforts 
of governments around the world, working together for 70 years, to find ways to cooperate  on 
trade issues.  (…) The system has real value.  So we have to keep working at it."1 
 
There are  signs that Members are indeed "working at it". Various conversations to strengthen the 
WTO are taking place, such as at the G20;2 the trilateral meetings of the  EU, Japan and the US;3 
the joint EU -China working group on WTO reform; and the Canada -led initiative, which Singapore 
is participating in. The EU has  released its concept paper on "WTO Modernization".  A new Global 
Dialogue on Trade platform4 was launched by the ICC, the WTO, the OECD and regional 
development banks for multilateral institutions, think tanks and businesses from around the world 
to get in on this debate.  
 
Within the WTO, reform was a key topic for discussion at the Public Forum, and at recent meetings 
of the Informal Group of Developing Countries, and the WTO Commonwealth Members Caucus.  
Honduras has tabled a paper at the DSB on "Fostering a Discussion on the Fu nctioning of the 
Appellate Body".  We look forward to more of such proposals to facilitate the WTO Membership' s 
focused engagement in understanding the various issues at stake an d developing solutions to 
them. All M embers have a role to play, though t he majors have a particular responsibility in 
leading and proposing feasible and pragmatic solutions.    
 
Singapore recognises that the rules -based multilateral trading system, embodied by the WTO, is 
facing critical challenges that are either longstanding  or new.  We therefore welcome any good faith 
discussions, including those conducted in the various small group initiatives a s they could be more 
efficient.  However, we also recognise that for any solutions to be considered legitimate, they must 
have the pa rticipation and endors ement of the wider Membership. This is one of the reasons why 
Australia, Japan and Singapore, as co -convenors of the joint statement initiative on e -commerce, 
have emphasised openness and transparency in the exploratory work with a vi ew to future 
negotiations.   
 
For the preservation of the system and the global public good, Members need to think longer term, 
and not only short -term expediencies and the pursuits of narrowly defined national interests.  
Being open to exploring fresh ide as and approaches which are presented in good faith is key if we 
want to see breakthroughs on core areas, including for fisheries subsidies, agriculture, 
development, and emerging issues.  We reiterate our call for the selection process to fill the 
Appellat e Body vacancies to proceed immediately and unconditionally.   
                                                
1 Speech by DG Roberto Azevedo, IMF -WB-WTO-OECD Conference "How Global Trade can Promote 
Growth for A ll", 10 October 2018, Indonesia.  
2 "Ministerial Statement", G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting, 14 September 2018, 
Argentina.  
3 "Joint Statement on Trilateral Meeting of the Trade Ministers of the United States, Japan, and the 
European Union", 25  September 2018, US . 
4 "Unique Business Initiative to Support Reform Process of Multilateral Rules -Based System Launched", 
ICC, 10 October 2018, Indonesia.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 69 - 
 
  55. Pakistan  
 
We thank the Director -General and the C hairs of various Negotiating Groups for their reports.  
 
On systemic issues, Pakistan would like to express its concerns on the continuously esc alating 
trade tension s and unilateralism between major trading partners. Such developments not only 
threaten the multilateral trading system, but also hurt development efforts of developing countries 
by disproportionately affecting the poor and vulnerable.  
 
The global economy can ill afford a trade war which has the potential to blow into a global crisis. 
Members must make efforts to de -escalate tensions and promote global economic recovery, and 
not go against it.  
 
The WTO' s dispute settlement mechanism is a highly effective and technically sound system which 
adjudicates on technical matters without impacting p olitical relationships between M embers. Along 
with its Appellate Body, it is an excellent mechanism for addressing the recent trade tensions. 
Particul arly, for small and vulnerable countries, the DSB presents an opportunity to redress their 
concerns in an amicable manner. We must make efforts to safeguard this system along with other 
fundamental pillars of the multilateral trading system.  
 
Discussions on the reform of the WTO are gaining currency. We must ensure that the proposed 
attempts at reform do not tilt the balance of rules and obligations against development and 
developing countries. Fundamentally, while contemplating new rules, care should be t aken to 
address the pending agenda of the WTO vis-à-vis developing countries and no new rules should be 
developed which would make it more burdensome for developing countries to achieve their 
objectives of sustainable economic development in their countries.  
 
Regarding ongoing negotiations, Agriculture reforms  is a priority for Pakistan and we expect 
substantive results in this area. We would like to express our satisfaction over the process being 
followed in special sessions currently. We expect that the future discussions will be transparent  
and inclusive as well. I n our opinion, we should first discuss the existing asymmetries in the 
agriculture agreement and try to remove them. For us, trade distorting AMS is an anomaly and 
should be eliminated. In our view, if we could successfully eliminate these glaring a nomalies then 
we would be able to create a conducive environment for a further look into possible reforms based 
on current trends.  
 
Pakistan is also concerned with the demands for equal co ntributions by all M embers irrespectiv e of 
their level of developme nt. We cannot simply ignore the principle of Special and Differential 
Treatment for all developing countries particularly for LDCs and NFIDCs. It is a basic pillar of the 
multilateral trading system – one that symbolises the WTO.  
 
Pakistan believes that an  outcome on cotton is vital for improving the credibility of the multilateral 
trading system. We achieved some success in Nairobi but more must be done to address 
distortions to trade caused by government support programs to cotton producers specially in 
developed countries. In our opinion, we should start by reduction in the trade distorting cotton 
specific domestic support in the form of AMS with the aim of eliminating it completely.  
 
We are satisfied with ou r progress so far on Fisheries S ubsidies in  the Negotiating Group on Rules . 
We would like to particularly appreciate the Incubator Group process followed in the last cluster. 
Many interesting options came out of these brainstorming sessions which in our view will help to 
break the impasse in the future. We will continue to participate constructively in the upcoming 
work in the fisheries subsidies clusters.  
 
On E-Commerce, Pakistan wishes to continue its positive engagement in the multilateral Work 
Programme mandated by the Ministerial Decision in MC11. Pakistan believes that only a deeper 
understanding of the issues in a multilateral setting will give true div idends in this area. Pakistan 
also feels that the issue of the moratorium deserves further di scussion  on both aspects, i.e. 
customs duties and the scope of electronic transmissions.  
 
Pakistan has been engaging in the initiatives on MSMEs and Investment Fa cilitation, and will 
continue to follow them keenly with a hope that they feed positively back into the multilateral 
system.  WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 70 - 
 
  To conclude, Pakistan wishes to stress on the importance of constructive engagement to ensure 
that the mu ltilateral system stays al ive for developing countries ' development needs . 
 
56. Haiti (CARICOM)  
 
I am delivering this statement on behalf of the CARICOM Group . 
 
The CARIC OM Group would like to thank the Director -General for his report and also for his  update 
on the state of play of the  negotiations and other activities. The CARICOM Group would also like to 
take this opportunity to thank  the Chairs of the Negotiating G roups and congratulate them for their 
reports.  
 
The CARICOM Group believes that the WTO is facing unp recedented challenge s and some M embers 
are attributing these challenges to the need for  the WTO to revise its rules, operations and 
institutional fram ework in pursuance of relevance.  The CARICOM Group, acknowledging the 
importance of the WTO to the multilateral system, stands  ready to actively engage in inclusive and 
developmental discussions.  
 
The CARICOM Group reiterates its concern relating to the  difficulties of the Appellate B ody in 
replacing members. While the rules of procedure of the AB should not be abused, the contin ued 
blockage of appointments will undermine the viability of the system with major consequences for  
the entire multilateral system.  
 
The CARICOM Group reiterates its concern about the climate of tension brought about by the 
implementation of new trade rest rictive measures. This may negatively impact global economic 
growth and severely affect the most vulnerable Members, including CARICOM members. Thus, th e 
CARICOM Group encourages all M embers to show restraint and political will to find a solution to 
their differences.  
 
The CARICOM Group recognis ed with  interest, the concern of most M embers on e -commerce. It 
therefore encourages the Secretariat to take the necessary measures, to assist developing States, 
in order to help them to address their shortcomings in  this area.  
 
The CARICOM Group stresses once again that it is paying close attention to the negotiations on 
fisheries subsidies, gi ven its importance of the ocean' s resources for food security, job creation 
and living conditions in the region. The Group is  pleased to contribute to the implementation of t he 
mandate given by Ministers at  MC11 in Buenos Aires to reach an agreement in 2019.  
 
The CARICOM Group reiterates its desire to see some significant headways in the area of market 
access. Given the importan ce of trade in services for the Caribbean region, the CARICOM Group is 
considering how to be more engaged  in order to better defend the interests of its Members.  
 
The CARICOM Group is still preoccupied wit h the lack of progress in the S& D negotiations. It 
reiterates its call for the implementation of P aragraph 44 of the Doha Declaration, whi ch would 
make the S& D provisions more precise, more effective and more operational.  
 
The CARICOM Group e ncourages all Members to fulfil  their obligati ons, by informing us about all 
measures taken to create more transparency within the World Trade Organization. This would, in 
effect, facilitate a better functioning of the multilateral trading system.  
 
57. Nigeria  
 
Our delegation would like to thank the Direc tor-General for convening this important meeting, 
ahead of the General Council. We believe this meeting would enable us to collectively reflect and 
address t he challenges facing our organiz ation. We thank the Director -Gener al for the 
comprehensive report o n the state -of-play and the frank assessment on the challenges facing the 
WTO, although daunting, but not insurmountable. We are also grateful to the Ch airs of the 
Negotiating Groups for the hard work  and the updates provided to us  on their respec tive work . 
Both reports provide  food for thought and strong  basis for our renewed and focu sed engagement. 
There is no doubt that these are extraordinary times for the WTO as an institution fo r public good, 
and for all its M embers as stakeholders. Therefore, we cann ot afford to be passive. The flip side of 
the crisis is the op portunity it presents, for the M embership to be creative, adaptable, develop new WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 71 - 
 
  attitudes and appetites. We value the role of the multilateral trading system, both as a negotiating 
forum for tr ade rules, and its dispute settlement and functions.  
 
The overall objective of Nigeria' s members hip of the WTO  is to ensure that our country actively 
participates and full y benefits from the organization  by promoting a more diversified and rules -
based eco nomy. Nigeria aims to effectively ensure a fair and equitable rules -based multilateral 
trading system, as well as securing platform for the domestic policy reforms, that would increase 
our country' s benefits in the international trading system. Therefore, our belief and expectation, is 
that the  WTO Rules would foster Nigeria' s trade and development o bjectives. As the discussions 
evolve, as we r edouble our efforts, and in light of the ongoing consultations in our capital, w e wish 
to briefly share Nigeria' s perspective of general nature.  
  
First, on the negotiating front, we note the progress of work, although uneven in differ ent areas, 
as reported by the Director -General  and the Chairs of the Negotiating Groups, and would like to 
underscore the importance of  sustaining the momentum, without backtracking.  
 
Second, outcomes in Agriculture, as the centre piece of the Doha Round, across the three pillars, 
are essential, especially to correct the existing imbalances, including tra de distorting domestic 
support.  A significant reform is needed, if we are to pursue the long -term goal of  establishing a fair 
and market -oriented agricultural trading system.  
 
Third, Development, Cotton and LDC  issues must remain central in our work. Special and 
Differential treatment mus t be integral part of the various pillars under negotiations.  
 
Fourth, the process of progressive liberalization in services, and future discipline on domestic 
regulations, should be consistent with GATS Articl e VI.4, and should also recognis e and accord d ue 
respect for national aspiration, level of development, and the siz e of the economy of individual 
Members. In this regard, we need an appropriate balance between ensuring transparency and 
predictability of our regulatory regime, and the right to regulate , including introducing new 
regulations so as to fulfil national policy objectives. Nevertheless, we are open to a robust 
Domestic Reg ulation Discipline that recognis es our level of development, regulatory and 
institutional capacity.  
 
Fifth, on a positive  note, the Rules negotiation on f isheries subsidies remains a bright prospect, 
with incremental progress and renewed technical engagem ent. We welcome the innovative 
"Incubator Groups"  process introduced by the Chai r, in response to the calls by M embers to shift 
gears and intensify discussions. This process must be inclusive, transparent and connected to the 
work of the Negotiating Group, and must add value to the work of the Negotiating Group, 
particularly, streamlining the negotiating text.  
 
Sixth, we must  prevent the escalation o f trade tensions amongst major M embers, because it has 
direct and spill -over impact on the entire M embership.  
 
Seventh, we welcome the ongoing discussions regarding the Buenos Aires joint initiatives, as 
active participant, we not e with encouragement, the level of engagements, as part of confidence 
building exercise, particularly, the transparent and inclusive approach to all the discussions. We 
must redouble our efforts to ensure that the WTO is respons ive to the needs of the enti re 
Membership, and of an evolving global econo my. Permit me to reiterate that Nigeria  is 
implementing a bold plan for structura l transformation to industrialis e as well  as diversify its 
economy. The " Smart Nigeria Digital Economy Project", is Nigeria' s response to an area of intense 
economy and technological activity by Nigerian youths, where there is a growing pool of talent. 
Therefore, it is our collective responsibility to ens ure that trade rules contribute  to narrowing the 
digital divide as well as enab le our MSMEs to be globally competitive by facilitating their 
participation in global trade. The Presidential Enab ling Environment Council was inaugurated in 
July 2016 as the present administration' s flagship initiative, to reform the business environment,  
attract investment and diversify the economy  in order to reduce our country' s overreliance on oil. 
Through systematic changes, we are repositioning regulations as facilitators of business, and are 
steadily improving transparency and efficiency of service delivery by the public sector.  
 
Eighth, i nvestment attraction and facilitation are key priorities for Nigeria, for growth and 
diversification. However, the  ongoing dialogue on this topic  should be designed and managed in 
such a way that is o pen and engage s all WTO Members  and without pr ejudice to the final WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 72 - 
 
  outcomes. On MSMEs, we support the ongoing dialogue led by Uruguay and others. Our objective 
is to facilitate and sustain a vibrant MSMEs sub -sector that will be a driver of national economic 
growth and employment.  
 
Ninth, given the fact that we are all at different levels of development, different and competing 
commercial interests, as well as different comparative advantages, there is the need for elasticity 
in the structure of the WTO, in order for  the organization to cope effecti vely with the diversity of 
the M embership. In this regard, we have the collective responsibility and obligation, not to allow 
the WTO to falter, particularly, at t his challenging period, when it i s more needed than ever bef ore. 
To contribute to solving the problems of its Members,  Nigeria believes that our principal objective 
at this critical moment is to work together to strengthen and preserve its dispute settlement, faced 
with unpre cedented crisis of legitimacy. Nigeria t herefore urges all M embers to constructively 
engage and find ways to overcome the impasse as a matter of urgency.  
 
Finally, Nigeria  considers the WTO as an indispe nsable multilateral institution. A s a result, we must 
collectively take necessary steps to make it function effectively  including its ability to respond to 
the needs and aspirations of its entire M embership . In this regard, if the reform  efforts are to be 
successful, leadership an d flexibility will be required.  Discussions must be inclusive, tran sparent, 
and the expected outcomes must be beneficial to all. While we see value in such  open and frank 
discussions. T he discussions should not in any way distract us from our negotiating agenda, a task 
that must be accomplished. We need to maintain a  sense of urgency on all issues especially  areas 
such as public stockholding for food security purposes and fisheries subsidies, with specific 
deadlines. At the appropriate time and after stockta king, we would need to prioritis e our work on a 
sequential basis  with incremental progress. Nigeria remains willing and committed to working 
closely with all Members, towards advancing the negotiating agenda, and also open to discuss ions 
on WTO reforms and moderniz ation, relative to our capacity and level of development.  
 
58. Afghanistan  
 
My delegation appreciates the Director -General's  report on activities and discussions at the WTO 
as well as the reports of the Chairs of the Negotiating Groups.  
 
As the latest Member of the organization, Afghanistan supports inclusive, open and transparent 
consultations and discussions to advance its priorities and objectives in view of better integration 
into the multilateral trading system.  
 
Afghanistan as the coordinator of the G7+ WTO Accessions Group calls upon all Members to 
support th e accession of current acceding States specially the fragile and conflict -afflicted 
countries in order to facilitate their desire for peace, prosperity and stability through trade and 
development.  
 
I also want to take this opportunity to thank the Governm ents of Kazakhstan and China and the 
WTO Secretariat for organising the Seventh China Roundtable.  
 
On substantive issues, Afghanistan associates itself with the statement delivered by the LDC 
Group.  
 
59. Cameroon  
 
We express gratitude to the  Director -General a nd the  various Negotiating Group Chairs for their 
reports. We also welcome those delegations who have taken the floor to express their views on the 
issues particularly with regard to the challenges faced by the WTO.  
 
We associate ourselves with the stateme nts made by the African Group, the G -90 and the ACP 
Group.  
 
Our statement will look at the principles that underpin this organization and look at how certain 
issues are undermining our current attempt at talks.  
 
We need to recognise that the organization i s no longer meeting the standard set by its founders.  
International trade challenges have grown. Some solutions have been found to current problems. 
Discussions have also stretched to other issues that have arisen. We welcome all of those parties WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 73 - 
 
  who over the years have contributed to maintaining applicable rules. There has been some positive 
synergy as we have seen in Agriculture, Trade Facilitation, Intellectual Property and Services, to 
name a few. Cameroon remains committed to fulfilling its obligations  in all of these areas.  
 
However, over the years, parties have also progressively come to terms of the fact that the WTO 
cannot be a panacea to all economic problems or global issues for that matter. Furthermore, we 
have seen that the rules that were laid down that give practical fair rules to all – both developed 
and developing Members – have come under pressure. And today, Members are no longer 
pretending that we can meet or create a perfect organization. It is far from it. It is also inevitable 
that the WTO cannot be held respon sible for all the ills faced by global trade. There are those 
views put forward by some countries on WTO reform.  
 
We acknowledge the legitimate right of any party to suggest ways in which this organization can 
be further strengthened in order to promote f air and mutually beneficial trade between all 
Members. Therefore, we thank the said countries for sharing their views on these matters. It is 
also worth noting that the reform of the WTO will be an urgent matter for several delegations. 
Developing countrie s have taken note of the practices of other countries and that with regard to 
the rules that they agreed to.  
 
In Agriculture, we will continue to follow negotiations and we are also looking at how current 
efforts are not meeting our expectations. We suppor t a multilateral, inclusive discussion here at 
the WTO which is underpinned by consensus. My delegation is also of the opinion that this 
approach should not be seen as a handicap to finding agreements that meet the needs of all 
countries. We need to accord  more flexibility to developing countries in their economic growth in 
line with infrastructure, economic and other challenges they face. Without that, we will not be able 
to overcome the disparity and inequality that exists.  
 
It is in this spirit of mutual  advancement that we come to the table to think about how we can 
strengthen the WTO. Consequently, Cameroon stands ready to assume its responsibility when it 
comes to the time that we need to lead these discussions forward. We therefore also call on other 
parties to bear in mind that the questions related to development, equity and fairness are things 
which needed to be given due attention. This is part of the legitimacy of the organization. It is for 
developing countries to find responses to the challenges  that have been mentioned.  
 
This debate is based on the assumption that we will reaffirm our commitment to the system as it is 
and that we will continue to adjust in the future that this organization requires – that we first 
consolidate and enforce the exi sting rules. It is only by doing so that we shall build enough trust to 
engage parties in a cool -headed reflection on how best to address the new challenges faced if need 
be. It is therefore paramount to take appropriate steps to ensure the smooth function ing of the 
dispute settlement mechanism. The foreseeable risk happening to this key organ of the WTO must 
further vindicate those who argued that this institution is not inclusive and only safeguard  the 
interest of some Members. We want to reiterate the readiness of Cameroon to find in liaison with 
all interested parties a consensus on this pressing issue and avoid paralysing the Appellate Body.  
 
It is also worth noting that the DDA needs a full conc lusion withou t undermining its foundational 
issues . This is not an issue of status. It has never been questioned in this organization. It is  more 
a question of clarity and fairness in the adoption of rules. We are trying to build mutual confidence 
to try t o enter into negotiations without any a priori suppositions but that involves avoiding the 
current bodies from falling into jeopardy including the dispute settlement mechanism. We cannot 
reject ideas nor can we turn away from them because they cannot meet our needs. It is also 
essential for some particularly when it comes to things such as digital trade that we recognise the 
importance of such an instrument in international trade. But developing countries lack the 
infrastructure tools and regulation to be a ble to ensure that they will find a suitable place within 
this. This is the same in many other areas. We need appropriate measures to be t aken so that the 
debates in these  issues are inclusive and respect the rights of every party. We need to take the 
time necessary to gradually meet the needs of all parties and do so by consensus. This needs to be 
done in an inclusive manner and it needs to be relevant to the organization and its work. This is 
before we start thinking about the vast reform program.  
 
We are  sure that Members will be able to rise to the challenge. There is no doubt that they are 
determined to work together in good faith to strengthen the organization an d to ensure that it has 
modernis ed rules. Our delegation stands ready to work constructivel y with all parties without any WT/GC/M/174  
 
- 74 - 
 
  exception so that we can work on achievements for the organization and to further improve it as 
we move forward.  
 
60. Sri Lanka  
 
At the outset, let me convey my delegation's appreciation to the Director -General and the 
Chairperso ns of the respective Negotiating Groups for their reports.  
 
As stated in my previous statement at the last TNC held on 26 July, we all are going thro ugh a 
challenging period. This h as reflected in the rule -based multilateral system and also in the global 
trading environment. It has been further aggravated by the decline of global investment by 23% 
as reported by UNCTAD. Today, UNCTAD reported that the global FDI level fell by 41% in the first 
half of 2018.  
 
Escalating global trade tensions has brought many  challenges in particular to small economies. My 
country, as a small and vulnerable economy and as a net -food importing developing country, is 
going through adverse experience in high -import based domestic inflation and local currency 
depreciation against US dollar.  
 
Sri Lanka is a great believer of the multilateral trading system. The current systemic issues that 
brought uncertainty to the multilateral rule s-based system are of great concern to us. My 
delegation believes that the significant changes taken  place in the global trading environment 
should adequately reflect in the rule s-based multilateral trading system without affecting its 
fundamental principles that we all negotiated and agreed to preserve. We also believe that any 
such reflection in the mu ltilateral rule s-based should be able to maintain the fundamental focus on 
trade and development. While accepting the need of reforms to the multilateral trading system on 
current realities, such reforms should not lead to dilute development needs of devel oping 
countries.  
 
With regard to the ongoing fisheries negotiations at the Negotiating Group on Rules, I appreciate 
the role of Ambassador Roberto Zapata as the Chair. We believe that the process introduced 
including incubator groups will facilitate broad er understanding on the issues at the table and 
aligning proposed disciplines with the objectives of SDG 14.6. Since we have a definite deadline for 
completion of our negotiation, my delegation believes that we need to intensify our engagement 
for a final outcome. Sri Lanka has, as a country, introduced many initiatives in disciplining IUU 
fishing and conversation and management of fisheries resources. We will continue to share our 
experience with Members.  
 
With regard to  Agriculture negotiations, we do hope that Members would be able to present a 
reasonable outcome for endorsement by Ministers at MC12. In this regard, my delegation 
associates with the statement made by Indonesia on behalf of the G -33. 
 
 
__________