WT/MIN(13)/12  
 
3 December 2013  
(13-6603)  Page: 1/3  
Ministerial Conference 
Ninth Session 
Bali, 3-6 December 2013  Original: English  
 
CAIRNS GROUP COMMUNIQUÉ 
BALI, 2 DECEMBER 2013 
The following communication, dated 2 December 2013,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Australia on behalf of the Cairns Group.  
 
_______________ 
 
We, the Ministers of the Cairns Group1, met in Bali on 2 December to discuss our common 
interests in agricultural trade and trade policy, including the agricultural elements of the Bali Package at the 9
th WTO Ministerial Conference and the future of the multilateral agriculture 
negotiations. 
 Bali Package 
 
We are disappointed that we are not yet in a position to say we have successfully concluded a “Bali Package.” Tremendous efforts have been made this year to negotiate a package which would include trade facilitation and some elements of development and agriculture. This package has 
importance beyond its individual decisions. It is a signal to the world that the WTO has the 
capacity to reach negotiated outcomes on trade issues at the multilateral level, including on agriculture. For this reason we urge all WTO Members to engage constructively in Bali in order to 
find a path forward for the multilateral trading system. 
 From the Cairns Group's perspective, Members' willingness to negotiate this year marks an 
important opportunity for broader re-engagement on agriculture over the coming year. For the 
Cairns Group, agriculture remains a central pillar of the negotiations, given the significance of the agriculture sector to jobs and growth. Agricultur e trade reforms can only be addressed fairly and 
effectively through the WTO. 
 
We are extremely disappointed the WTO membersh ip did not agree to put an end to export 
subsidies this year as agreed in the Hong Kong WTO Ministerial Declaration. It is unacceptable that 
these most trade distorting measures remain in agriculture more than half a century after their 
elimination for industrial products. While the recommitment to the complete elimination of export subsidies; commitments to continue the reform; and sustained lower spending on export subsidies 
are important pre-conditions, our resolve to see the final elimination of agricultural export 
subsidies remains as strong as ever, as well as our determination to ensure disciplines on all export measures with equivalent effect. We will use the potential opportunities provided by enhanced transparency on export subsidies, and a planned review at the next Ministerial 
Conference, to push for our desired end result. There is no justifiable reason to maintain 
agriculture export subsidies which are an anomaly in the multilateral trade rules system.  
The Cairns Group recognises that food security is a complex and multi-faceted issue. We 
understand that open, fair and well-functioning markets spur investment, and create new opportunities for growth in output and improvements in farmers' incomes. Furthermore, we 
recognise policies which distort trade and production in agricultural products can impede long term 
food security. We fully support the central role of the FAO in the global governance of food security. The Cairns Group has pursued reforms through the Doha agriculture negotiations so 
                                               
1 This statement was agreed by Argentina, Austra lia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, 
Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Uruguay and Viet Nam. WT/MIN(13)/12 
 
- 2 - 
 
  vigorously because, amongst other things, we recognise that trade policy reform has a role to play 
in addressing food security. In the pursuit of outcomes this year we are pleased Members have 
affirmed not to distort trade.  
The reform-oriented proposed outcome on TRQ admi nistration seeks to improve the operation of 
tariff rate quotas, this represents a small step towards improving the existing Uruguay Round disciplines on market access. 
 
On the issue of cotton, we welcome the commitmen t to improved transparency on market access, 
domestic support and export subsidy measures as  they relate to the cotton trade. We support 
these efforts as a stepping stone to achieving a final outcome on cotton, in accordance with the 
Hong Kong mandate, bearing in mind the significance of this issue as a developmental outcome, 
particularly in Africa.  
We recognise the continued efforts of the Chai r of the Special Session of the Committee on 
Agriculture and the new impetus given to negotiations by the efforts of the WTO Director General.  
Getting agriculture negotiations back on track 
 While we are striving to achieve some outcomes this year, it is also important to reflect upon what we have yet to achieve. The elements of the Bali  Package all have their origins in the Doha draft 
agriculture modalities. However, the bulk of these modalities have yet to be delivered upon. We 
need to secure a way ahead for the Doha Round negotiations which will deliver genuine reforms in accordance with the Doha mandate including special and differential treatment. To this end, we 
will continue to work on the basis of the draft modalities.  
 While we wait to see the final outcomes on the Un ited States Farm Bill and the final approval of 
the European Union Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform package, we consider some of these 
policies would fall short of the types of reforms envisaged in the Doha Round mandate. Cairns Group Members understand reforms should not be delayed waiting for "better times". We encourage Members to continue reforms as these reforms have the potential to offer direct 
benefits in terms of improved productivity and budgetary relief and also significant positive effects 
for the global trading system.  
In the absence of negotiations multilaterally, the bound levels of tariffs, domestic support and 
export subsidy measures remain the same as the high levels locked in during the Uruguay Round. There is still considerable scope within the existing WTO agriculture commitments to increase 
levels of support and protection and distort international trade. Our objective remains to level the 
playing field by substantially improving market access, eliminating export subsidies and significantly reducing the level of trade distorting domestic support, and resisting efforts to go backwards.   
 
In this regard, we need to devise a way to get agriculture negotiations back on track. While agricultural production and trading patterns continue to evolve, it is still the case that delivering on 
a comprehensive package of agriculture trade refo rms, in accordance with the Doha mandate, 
would go a long way to improving food securi ty, development and addressing some of the 
inequities inherent in the current trading system. 
 
Specific Actions  In this context, the Cairns Group calls for th e immediate post-Bali wo rk programme to take 
forward agriculture issues as a priority given their importance to development, in particular in 
developing countries. This work programme should be implemented in accordance with the Doha mandate, and take account of up-to-date information and trends in agricultural trade, including 
through the enhanced transparency. Through these efforts we will seek to build the necessary 
political consensus to bring the agriculture negotiations to a conclusion.  
The Cairns Group moving forward 
 The Cairns Group has always sought to promote further agriculture trade reform in order to create a fairer and more predictable trading environment for all agriculture producers. The Cairns Group 
continues to be concerned by the trend of import restrictions inconsistent with the Agreements on WT/MIN(13)/12 
 
- 3 - 
 
  the Application on Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Measures and on Technical Barriers to Trade on 
agricultural products and stresses the importance of relying on science-based approaches to resolving market access issues. We must limit the potential for overly complex SPS measures and technical regulations, including food labelling, to act as barriers to trade. 
 
We are pleased Viet Nam has formally joined the Cairns Group at this meeting as our 20
th Member. 
We believe that Viet Nam will make an invaluable contribution to our ongoing efforts to improve 
the situation of farmers, including in particular those in developing countries. 
 We appreciate the presentation by our Farm Leaders following their own meeting in Bali and will look to continue to engage them actively in the coming months in our forward work planning. We 
also express our deepest gratitude to Indonesia for hosting this Ministerial Meeting. 
 
__________