RESTRICTED  
  
WT/MIN(17)/SR/6  
 
26 January 2018  
(18-0631) Page: 1/4 
Ministerial Conference  
Eleventh Session  
Buenos Aires, 10 -13 December 2017    
 
 
SUMMARY RECORD OF TH E CLOSING SESSION  
HELD AT THE HILTON C ONVENTION CENTRE,  
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENT INA ON  WEDNESDAY, 13 DECEMB ER, AT 6.15  P.M. 
Chairperson : Her Excellency Ms Susana Malcorra (Argentina ) 
Subjects discussed : 
 
1   ACTION BY MINISTERS (AGENDA ITEM 2)  ................................ ................................ .. 1 
2   DATE AND VENUE OF TH E TWELFTH SESSION (A GENDA ITEM 3) AND 
ELECTION OF OFFICERS  (AGENDA ITEM 4)  ................................ ................................ ...... 2 
3   CLOSURE OF THE SESSI ON ................................ ................................ ..........................  3 
ANNEX 1 – STATEMENT S BY INDONESIA AT THE INFORMAL MEETING AT THE 
LEVEL OF HEADS OF DE LEGATION ON 13 DECEM BER 2017  ................................ ..............  4 
 
1. The Chairperson  called the  meeting to order.  
2. She said that Members had had three intense days of discussions on various issues in 
plenary sessions, in open-ended informal meetings on specific issues led by the facilitators, during 
many hours of informal consultations, in an informal Ministerial Dialo gue and in various other 
events. She was very grateful for all the work and efforts that had gone into each of tho se 
processes.  
1  ACTION BY MINISTERS (AGENDA ITEM 2)  
1.1.  The Chairperson  drew attention  to the request for accession in accordance with Article XII of 
the Marrakesh Agreement submitted by the Republic of South Sudan on 5 December 2017 in 
document s WT/MIN(17)/16  and WT/MIN(17)/16/Add.1 . She recalled that she had already brought 
the request to  their attention during the 12 December Informal M eeting at the level of Heads of 
Delegation , and further recalled that  the General Council had recently granted Sou th Sudan 
Observer Status for MC11 . As had been mentioned at th e Informal Meeting, she unders tood that 
the reaction to South Sudan's  request for accession to the WTO was also  positive. Therefore, she 
propose d that the Ministerial Conference agree d to establish a Working Party with the standard 
mandate and composition with the view to considering that request . 
1.2.  The Ministerial Conference so agreed . 
1.3.  The Chairperson  noted that the next  matter under that agenda item  concerned  decisions by 
Ministers and work programmes relating  to the outcome of the work and  the discuss ions on 
various issues that had  taken place during the preparatory phase of the  Conference and at the 
Conference itself. As Members had already discussed in the Informal Meeting at the level of  Heads 
of Delegation  that afternoon , there was agreement  on a draft Ministerial Decision on the W ork 
Programme on Small Economies which the General Council  had agreed to submit to the Ministerial 
Conference for action contained in document WT/MIN(17)/W/2 and the draft Ministerial Decision 
on Fisheries Subsidies contained in document WT/MIN(17)/W/5. Furthermore, as a result of the WT/MIN(17)/SR/6  
 
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  Informal Meeting at the level of Heads of Delegation, they were now in a position to adopt the 
draft Ministerial Decision on Electronic Commerce contained in WT/MIN(17)/W/6 and a draft 
Ministerial Decision on TRIPS Non -Violati on and Situation Compla ints in WT/MIN(17)/W/7. In that 
regard, the Ministerial Conference took  note of the statement s made by the delegation of 
Indonesia during the  Informal M eeting  at the level of Heads of Delegation1.  
1.4.  She therefore propose d that the Ministeri al Conference adopt  the relevant decisions on the 
issues c overed in all of the documents she had  just mentioned. In so doing, she understoo d that 
all delegations agree d that there continued  to be a strong commitment to advance negotiatio ns on 
all remaining issues , including on the three pillars of agriculture, namely domestic support, market 
access and export competition, as well as non -agriculture market access, services, development, 
TRIPS, rules, and trade and environment . 
1.5.  The Minister ial Conference so agreed2. 
1.6.  The representative of South Sudan , speaking as an Observer , thanked the government and 
the p eople of Argentina for their warm hospitality and for th e excellent organization o f the 
Conference. That wa s a historic moment for the Re public of South Sudan. Its  desire to join the 
WTO from the onset of  their independence had  always been driven by the need for developme nt. 
As a landlocked LDC that had been  born out of conflict with an inhe rited fragility, South Sudan had  
always been commi tted to promote economic cooperation w ith nations across the globe. His 
delegation  recogniz ed the role of the WTO Membership in providing a level playing field in 
international trade contributing towards poverty eradication by creating jobs for the vulnera ble and 
promoting peace -building. Furthermore, South Sudan wanted  to attract foreign direct investment 
and to have access to international trade as mu ch as the other countries' desire to trade with 
others. That could not be achieved w ithout acceding to the  WTO. The Government of South Sudan 
stood  committed to undertake the requir ed reform for  WTO accessions in accordance with the 
principle of the rule of law, transparency, good governance and respect for human rights. On 
behalf of the Government of South Su dan, he express ed its  highest gratitude to the entire WTO 
Membership fo r accepting South Sudan's request by formally establishing its accession Working 
Party. His delegation also thanked the WTO  Secretariat  and the EIF for their institutional support.  
1.7.  The Chairperson  said that for all of those in volved in the beginnings of that new State, it was  
a very special moment to see South Sudan  starting  the pro cess of accession to the WTO. She  
wished South Sudan  every success.  
1.8.  She then noted that the next matter und er that agenda item related  to the reports of the 
General Council and the rep orts of the WTO bodies that had  been submitted to the Ministerial 
Conference. She  invite d the Ministerial Conference  to take note of those reports.  
1.9.  The Ministerial Conference so agreed . 
2  DATE AND VENUE OF TH E TWELFTH  SESSION (AGENDA ITEM  3) AND ELECTION OF 
OFFICERS (AGENDA ITE M 4) 
2.1.  The Chairperson  recalled that the Rules of Procedure for Sessions of the Ministerial 
Conference required that the date of each regular session should be e stablished by the Ministerial 
Conference at a previous Session. The Rules also provided for the election of a Chairperson of the 
Ministerial Conference and three Vice -Chairpersons to hold office from the end of the Session until 
the end of the next regular  Session. In accordance with established practice, she proposed that the 
Ministerial Conference requested  the General Council to hold consultations with a view to deciding 
on the date and venue as well as on the Officers of the Twelfth Ministerial Conference.  
2.2.  The Ministerial Conference so agreed .  
                                                
1 At its request, the statements by  Indonesia at the Informal Meeting at the level of Heads of Delegation 
on 13 December 2017 can be found in Annex 1 of this document.  
2 The decisions were circulated as follows: Work Programme on Small Economies in WT/MIN( 17)/63 -
WT/L/1030 , Fisheries Subsidies in WT/MIN( 17)/64 -WT/L/1031, Work Programme on Electronic Commerce in 
WT/MIN( 17)/65 -WT/L/1032 and TRIPS Non -Violation and Situation Compl aints in WT/MIN( 17)/66 -WT/L/1033 . WT/MIN(17)/SR/6  
 
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  3  CLOSURE OF THE SESSI ON 
3.1.  The Director -General  made his closing r emarks, circulated in document WT/MIN(17)/74. He 
then thanked the Chairperson for working tirelessly over the last year to get them to that point 
and for managing the running of the Conference in an extremely competent manner. With her 
efforts to promote p olitical dialogue she had forced Members to confront some of the issues that 
he had mentioned in his closing statement. He was profoundly thankful for that and hoped 
Members would take that forward. The Director -General then presented to the Chairperson a 
ceremonial gavel as a token of gratitude. He hoped that she would continue to wield it with the 
wisdom she had shown that week.  
3.2.  The Chairperson  thanked the Director -General for his kind words and for his leadership and 
all the efforts he had put in during the preparatory period of the Conference and over the past few 
days. She extend ed her gratitude  to the three Vice Chairs for helping her in her work as the MC11 
Chairperson and to the Minister -Facilitators for their tireless efforts.  She recognize d the wor k of 
the WTO Secretariat who had helped in  ensuring the  efficient conduct of their work. She  
commend ed the team from Argentina that had been  set up to ensure that everything ran  smoothly 
– from the minute MC11 participants  arrive d at the airport up until t heir departure. T he Argentine 
team had made them feel at home at all times. She thanked everyone for all the work that had 
been done.  
3.3.  She then provided a  summ ary of the main points that had  emerged from the conversations 
and negotiations held over the  past three days of the Conference. The summary was being  
submitted under her own responsibility and in her  capacity as Chairperson of the C onference , and 
was then circulated in document WT/MIN(17)/67 .   
3.4.  The Eleventh Session of the Ministerial Conference  closed  at 6.55 p.m. 
_______________  WT/MIN(17)/SR/6  
 
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  ANNEX 1  
STATEMENT S BY INDONESIA AT THE INFORMAL MEETING AT THE LEVEL OF HEADS O F 
DELEGATION ON 13 DEC EMBER 2017  
At its  request, the statement s by Indonesia  at the Informal M eeting at the Level of Heads of 
Delegation on 13 D ecember 2017  are included below as part of the Summary Record of the 
Closing Session  of the Eleventh Session of the Ministerial Conference.  
 
_______________  
 
 
First Intervention  
 
On the issue of e -commerce, our delegation  would like to recall our statement1 which was 
delivered this morning during th e e-commerce meeting. Indonesia attaches great importance to 
the e -commerce discussion  and understand s that it could serve as a tool to support economic 
development for many Members.  
 
With regard to the discussio n on the moratorium on custom s duties on electronic transmissions, it 
is our understanding that such moratorium shall not apply to electronically transmitted good s and 
services. In other words, the extension of the moratorium applies only to the electronic  
transmission and not to the products or content which  are transmitted electronically.  
 
The Indonesian Head of Delegation  share d this understanding with the Director -General  and his 
team yesterday and today  and the y responded with a positive confirmation.  For this reason, we 
would like to insert a footnote i n the outcome document which states  "it is understood that such 
moratorium shall not apply to electronically transmitted goods. " 
 
Second Intervention  
 
Indonesia notes  that our proposal to add a footnote  cannot reach consensus. In the spirit of 
flexibility we can go along with the draft Ministerial Decision on E -Commerce.  
 
We would also like to get assu rance that our understanding o r position regarding the footnote be 
reflected and recorded in the Minute s of this m eeting as well as at the Plenary Meeting . 
 
__________  
                                                
1 See also the  statement circulated in WT/MIN(17)/68.