WT/MIN(17)/ST/18  
 
13 December 2017  
(17-6895) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Eleventh Session  
Buenos Aires, 10 -13 December 2017  Original: English  
 
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. MR  RAMON M. LOPEZ  
SECRETARY / MINISTER , DEPARTMENT OF TRAD E AND INDUSTRY, PHIL IPPINES  
PHILIPPINES  
Allow me first of all to express our gratitude to the Government and People of Buenos Aires for 
hosting this important Ministerial Conference in this lovely country.  
 
The Philippines remains committed to contribute towards the effective functioning and 
enhancement of the multilateral trading system under the WTO. Our agenda  is clear, focused and 
consistent. President Rodrigo Duterte has placed singular importance in making Philippine 
economic growth more inclusive. He elevated this in APEC by advocating Inclusive Regional 
Cooperation among his fellow leaders. In ASEAN, our c hairmanship focused on Inclusive Regional 
Integration. And here at the WTO, his directive is to ensure that Inclusive Globalisation is at the 
front and center of our agenda. Thus, it is important to ensure that in everything we do, there is 
conscious effor t to empower and capacitate those who are weak and spread the gains to those 
who have less. We have to ensure that in Globalisation, everyone emerges as winners. No one 
should be left behind.  
 
Inclusive and equity, however, hardly exist in Agriculture with  the continued reluctance of a few 
members with large subsidy and protection entitlements in making real reform commitments.  It is 
high time that members make bold contributions today, once and for all, to address these gross 
imbalances and inequities in agriculture. I therefore call on members to substantially reduce, 
towards elimination, trade -distorting subsidies by phasing out AMS and limit supports at the 
product -specific level.  
 
Developing countries and LDCs must also be provided with an accessible and effective trade 
remedy tool, through establishment of a Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) that can protect 
their small and subsistence farmers from import surges and price depressions and shields them 
from subsidised exports. After more than a decade o f negotiations for SSM and ministers’ 
reaffirmation of our political commitment, developing countries and LDCs cannot get back home 
empty -handed once more.  
 
On MSMEs, our economy is comprised mainly (that’s 99.6%) of small enterprises that serve as the 
backbone and the prime mover of both domestic and regional growth. The decisions we make 
must therefore be effective and meaningful to them. In this regard, the Philippines support s the 
establishment of a work programme on MSMEs that would further enhance th eir ability to 
participate meaningfully in international trade whether directly or as part of global value chains. 
There must be more of competence and capacity building sharing. This work program should also 
look at the different characterisations of MSME s at national levels to create the appropriate support 
and assistance for them. Let us work towards positive efforts such as aligning size definition to 
ensure that real MSMEs, particularly those in developing countries, secure a share in the growth in 
international trade commensurate with the needs of their development.  
 
As an archipelagic state with the fourth longest coastline in the world and with coastal 
communities that rely heavily on the sea for livelihood and sustenance, the Philippines has a 
profound interest in fisheries. Consistent with the core principles of fairness, any multilateral 
outcome on fisheries subsidies disciplines must work to curb the subsidization of fishing activities.  
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  E-commerce, on the other hand, is a powerful platform for j ob creation and development. It has 
the ability to enhance innovation, expand consumer options, bridge producers with users, and 
proliferate global connectivity. WTO members can contribute towards enabling developing 
countries to take full advantage of the  benefits of e -commerce and the digital economy by building 
on the several technical assistance and development aspects of the 1998 work programme. The 
Philippines also supports the two -year extension of the moratorium on the customs duties on 
electronic t ransmissions.   
 
Finally, while challenges face the WTO and the multilateral trading system, the DDA remains as 
relevant today as it was 16 years ago. Each one of us here must preserve the basic principles and 
advance the objectives underlying the multilat eral trading system.  
 
In summary, the Philippines’ priorities for MC11 are: 1) eliminate trade -distorting domestic 
support and export subsidies; 2) SSM for agriculture; and 3) a Ministerial decision on an MSME 
work programme that considers development levels. In addressing these, we will continue to 
uphold the DDA.  
 
The Philippines is willing to make progress wherever possible based on common efforts and joins 
others in engaging constructively in all areas of WTO work to achieve concrete outcomes at MC1 1 
that are beneficial to all Members, particularly for the developing and the Least -Developed 
Countries (LDCs). Empowering the least is the best legacy the current participants in the WTO of 
today can leave for the future generations.  
 
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