WT/MIN(17)/ST/108  
 
5 January 2018  
(18-0099) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Eleventh Session  
Buenos Aires, 10 -13 December 2017  Original: English  
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. MS  MAXINE P.O. MC CLEAN  
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN  AFFAIRS AND FOREIGN TRADE  
BARBADOS ON BEHALF OF  THE AFRICAN , CARIBBEAN & PACIFIC COUNTRIES (ACP)  
It was my honour to represent the states of the ACP as Coordinator at the historic 10th WTO 
Ministerial meeting in Nairobi, Kenya in 2015.  At this 11th meeting I am pleased to represent my 
distinguished successor, the Honourable Carl Greenidge, Vice President and Minister of  Foreign 
Affairs of Guyana who regrets that he cannot be here today.  
 
Minister Malcorra, I congratulate you on your election to the Chair of this Eleventh WTO Ministerial 
and thank the Government and people of Argentina for their warm welcome and hospitali ty.    
 
In preparation for this meeting, we, the ACP Trade Ministers, met in Brussels in October where we 
adopted our "ACP G roup Ministerial Declaration on the Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference "-- the 
first submission into the basket to go to MC11.  We i nvite Ministers in Buenos Aires to review what 
more than 60 Members of the WTO, have set as priorities for their Ministerial.    
 
We welcome the entry into force of the TRIPS and Public Health amendment which supports access 
to medicines for our weakest Me mbers, and the entry into force of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement.  
 
As we commence MC11, we must emphasise our deep concern that negotiations in Geneva 
collapsed because of a failure to agree on cardinal principles.  These principles relate to the 
integrity of the multilateral rules -based trading institution.   
 
At this important moment, the multilateral rules based trading system faces uncertainty.  The ACP 
strongly supports a multilateral rules based trading system that provides both protection and 
opportunities for all ACP countries and especially the least developed, small and vulnerable among 
them. These states need a transparent and fair multilateral trading system where their collective 
voice can advance their collective interests. That is why we s igned on to the Marrakech agreement 
and to the Doha Development Agenda.   
 
We know that when we met in Nairobi two years ago, the commitment to the WTO Doha 
Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations was questioned by some Members.  Nevertheless, we 
achieved a consensus committing all members to advance negotiations on outstanding DDA issues.  
We know that food insecurity, income inequality and lack of economic opportunity are increasingly 
global problem.  MC11 must have outcomes that convince the world that the  WTO remains 
relevant and can contribute through increasing trade opportunities to resolving the challenges that 
are collectively ours.  
 
The ACP Group will continue to do its part.  The ACP has tabled proposals in three important areas 
this year and contin ues to engage actively on them.  
 
Our proposal on fisheries subsidies rules and our negotiators have led the efforts to fulfil the 
objectives of Sustainable Development Goals target 14.6.  At this Ministerial, we must have a 
mandate to continue the negotiations after MC11 in hopes of a ful ler outcome at the next 
Ministerial and before the 2020 deadline.  It would also send an important signal if we were to 
agree, not to provide subsidies that contribute to illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing WT/MIN(17)/ST/108  
 
- 2 - 
 
  activities.  The message would have more resonance if we could agree to meaningful flexibilities 
and capacity building for tackling unregulated and unre ported fishing activities.  
 
As a part of the G90, we submitted a proposal on areas that would provide critically needed policy 
space to promote t he industrialization, structural transformation and diversification of our 
economies. We ask your support and agreement across the WTO membership on these proposals.  
 On agriculture domestic supports, our proposal seeks to remove entitlements and practices  that 
have become obstacles to the agricultural trade from our Members. Some progress should be 
made in this arena as well.  
 
On all other areas in the DDA of common interest, we must agree to work, in a manner as we did 
in Bali on Trade Facilitation, in o rder to yield more concrete agreements.  
 
Regarding new issues and new mandates, we support endorsement to continue in exploratory 
frameworks, consistent with what we agreed in Nairobi that multilateral negotiations are not 
launched unless by consensus of t he Membership.  
 
I must call your attention to those nations that have been decimated by hurricanes and other 
disasters.  In this devastated state there is no trade to speak of, and no infrastructure to 
implement rules as though it is business as usual. Ce rtainly, these economies are good citizens in 
the multilateral rules -based trading system, and otherwise would diligently ob serve the rules.   
In this situation, these nations ought to receive meaningful attention in terms of WTO rules so that 
they can rec onstruct and rebuild.   
 
I reiterate as I close that for the ACP, the WTO "s important work on trade as a vehicle for 
development, should not be denied, delayed, nor undermined. The countries of the ACP anticipate 
that we can achieve meaningful outcomes at MC11.  
 
Before we leave we must also provide a clear mandate to our negotiators, instructing them on 
their return to Geneva, to resume work in 2018, building on the work of 2017 and this Ministerial.  
Their work must be based on proposals and must be focus sed on obtaining convergence for a 
meaningful, development centred conclusion of the DDA commitments.  We must also work all 
WTO dossiers, in a manner that creates an increasingly transparent and fairer global trading 
system that promotes development for a ll our countries.   
 
The ACP looks forward to continuing our engagement in a productive manner towards the 
attainment of these goals.  
 
__________