WT/MIN(17)/ST/103  
5 January 2018  
(18-0094) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Eleventh  Session  
Buenos Aires , 10-13 December 20 17 Original: Spanish  
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. MR  HERALDO MUÑOZ  
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS  
CHILE 
I would first like to assure you all of Chile's firm and unwavering commitment to the rules -based 
multilateral trading system embodied by the WTO .  
 
May I also , through you, Madam Chair, thank the Government and the people of Argentina for 
hosting this Conference and for their generous  hospitality. I wish you every success in leading our 
work and can assure you of our wholehearted support in this process . 
 
Distinguished Ministers :  
 
We have gathered together at this meeting with the same spirit and political will that we show on a 
daily basis when  working with our officials to reach substantive agreements in the Org anization's 
various bodies. Amongst other things , we have to keep moving forward with the reduction of 
trade -distorting agricultural subsidies, reduce the abusive use of anti -dumping measures, ban 
subsidies harmful to fisheries, promote  trade in services, and, in general, bring down the barriers 
that affect the participation of developing and least developed countries . 
 
With regard to this last point , we welcome the entry into force of the Trade Facilitation Agreement  
and the Protocol a mending the Agreement  on Trade -Related Aspects of Intellectual Property 
Rights .  
 
In both its regular work and negotiating functions , the WTO is the only multilateral body that 
provides legal cover  and security for the trade of all its Members, whatever the size of their 
economy or level of development. It is therefore vital that we address the pending issue of the 
Appellate Body 's composition as soon as possible  and strengthen our dispute settlement system . 
 
Our experience of international trade shows the positive effects of openness and integration in a 
global market based on WTO rules. This process of opening up trade, combined with social 
policies, has improved the wellbeing of our population .  
 
The WTO that emerges from th is Conference must be even stronger than before . 
 
To ensure this,  we need to resolve outstanding issues and reach consensus on issues relevant  to 
the new economic environment ; we need to make sure that international trade is  inclusive, fair, 
development -centred, and socially and environmentally sustainable, in line with the 2030 Agenda 
to which we are committed .  
 
Accordingly , we consider it vital to address issues pertaining to gender, the environment, 
investment facilitation, electronic  trade and, in particular, the global trade integration of micro, 
small and  medium -sized enterprises . 
 
With regard to the  aforementioned  enterprises , Chile, as coordinator of the WTO MSME Group, 
which comprises  Members of different sizes, with different le vels of development and from 
different regions, calls upon Ministers to approve the creation of a work programme, so that 
together we can establish  how the WTO can promote this sector . In our countries, MSMEs  account  
for more than 90% of enterprises and 70 % of jobs .  WT/MIN(17)/ST/103  
 
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Our Organization must open up its windows and let the paradigm  shift blow in. This shift is being 
felt in all areas, and particularly in the global economy. If we are  to support the integration of our 
economies into 21st century interna tional trade and the so -called Fourth Industrial Revolution, w e 
need to create spaces in which to reflect on the role that the WTO plays in an economy based on 
knowledge, technological cha nge and artificial intelligence.  Together we must resolve the problems 
of the present, and , looking ever forward,  work to integrate ourselves into a future that is already 
here. 
 
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