RESTRICTED  
  
WT/GC/M/165  
 
21 February 2017  
(17-1059) Page: 1/97 
General Council  
7 December 2016    
 
 MINUTES OF THE MEETI NG 
HELD IN THE CENTRE W ILLIAM RAPPARD ON 7 DECEMBER  2016 
Chairperson: H.E. Mr Harald Neple (Norway)  
At the outset and throughout  the meeting, t he Chairman, the Director -General and several 
delegations bade farewell to  Amb. Michael Punke  (United States) , Amb. Hamish McCormick 
(Australia), Amb.  Modest Jonathan Mero  (Tanzania), Amb. Roderick  Van Schreven (The 
Netherlands), and Amb. Anayansi Rodr íguez Camejo (Cuba), who were leaving their post at the 
WTO, and expressed appreciation for their  valuable contribution during their time as Permanent 
Representatives.  
 
1   FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF SOMALIA AND DEMOCRAT IC REPUBLIC OF TIMOR -
LESTE – REQUESTS FOR ACCESSI ON PURSUANT TO ARTIC LE XII  ................................ .... 3 
2   REPORT BY THE CHAIRM AN OF THE TRADE NEGO TIATIONS COMMITTEE  ..................  11 
3   IMPLEMENTATION OF TH E BALI AND NAIROBI O UTCOMES  – STATEMENT BY  
THE CHAIRMAN  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  14 
4   WORK PROGRAMME ON SM ALL ECONOMIES – REPORT BY THE CHAIRM AN OF 
THE DEDICATED SESSIO N OF THE COMMITTEE O N TRADE AND DEVELOPM ENT .............  18 
5   WORK PROGRAMME ON EL ECTRONIC COMMERCE – REVIEW OF PROGRESS  ..............  19 
6   THE DEVELOPMENT ASSI STANCE ASPECTS OF CO TTON – STATEMENT BY THE 
DIRECTOR -GENERAL  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 32 
7   WTO ACCESSIONS: 2016  ANNUAL  REPORT BY THE DIRECT OR-GENERAL – 
STATEMENT BY THE DIR ECTOR -GENERAL  ................................ ................................ ...... 33 
8   DATE OF THE ELEVENTH  SESSION OF THE MI NISTERIAL CONFERENCE  .....................  36 
9   REVIEW UNDER PARAGRA PH 8 OF THE DECISION  ON THE IMPLEMENTATIO N 
OF PARAGRAPH 6 OF TH E DOHA DECLARATION O N THE TRIPS AGREEMEN T AND 
PUBLIC HEALTH  – REPORT OF THE COUNC IL FOR TRIPS  ................................ ................  36 
10   PROCEDURE FOR THE IN TRODUCTION OF HS 201 7 CHANGES TO SCHEDUL ES 
OF CONCESSIONS USING  THE TARIFF SCHEDULES  (CTS) DATABASE – DRAFT 
DECISION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  38 
11   WAIVERS UNDER ARTICL E IX OF THE WTO AGRE EMENT  ................................ .........  38 
11.1   Introduction of Harmonized System 2002 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 
Concessions – Draft de cision  ................................ ................................ ............................... 39 
11.2   Introduction of Harmonized System 2007 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 
Concessions – Draft decision  ................................ ................................ ............................... 39 
11.3   Introduction of Harmonized System 2012 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 
Concessions – Draft decision  ................................ ................................ ............................... 39 
11.4   Introduction of Harmonized System 2017 changes into WTO Schedules of Tari ff 
Concessions – Draft decision  ................................ ................................ ............................... 39 WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  11.5   United States – Former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands – Extension of waiver 
– Draft decision  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................. 40 
11.6   United States – Trade Preferences granted to Nepal – Draft decision  ............................... 40 
11.7   European Union – Application of Autonomous Preferential Treatment to the 
Western Balkans – Extension of waiver – Draft decision  ................................ .......................... 40 
11.8   Cuba – Article XV:6 of GATT 1994 – Extension of waiver – Draft decision  ........................ 40 
11.9   Review of waivers pursuant to Article IX:4 of the WTO Agreement  ................................ ..41 
11.9.1    Preferential Treatment to Services and Service Suppliers of Least -Developed 
Countries, granted on 17 December 201 1 until 31 December 2030  ................................ .......... 41 
11.9.2    Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for Rough Diamonds, granted on 
12 December 2012 until 31  December  2018 ................................ ................................ .......... 41 
11.9.3    European Union - Application of Autonomous Preferential Treatment to the West 
Balkans, granted on 30 November 2011 until 31 December 2016  ................................ ............. 41 
11.9.4    Cuba - Article XV:6 of GATT 1994, Extension of waiver, granted on 
14 February  2012 until 31  December  2016................................ ................................ ............ 41 
12   COMMITTEE ON BUDGET,  FINANCE AND ADMINIST RATION – REPORTS ON 
MEETINGS OF NOVEMBER  2016  ................................ ................................ .....................  41 
13   INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE UNCTAD/WTO – REPORT OF THE JOINT 
ADVISORY GROUP ON IT S 50TH SESSION  ................................ ................................ ....... 42 
14   WTO PENSION PLAN  ................................ ................................ ...............................  44 
14.1   Amendments to the Administrative Rules of the WTO Pension Plan and of Rules of 
Procedure of the Management Board  ................................ ................................ .................... 44 
14.2   Chairmanship of the Management Board – Statement by the Chairman  ........................... 44 
15   REVIEW OF WTO ACTIVI TIES  ................................ ................................ ..................  45 
REPORTS OF:  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  45 
15.1   General Council, Dispute Settlement Body, and Trade Policy Review Body  ....................... 45 
15.2   Sectoral Councils  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......45 
15.3   Committees  on Trade and Development, Trade and Environment, Balance -of-
Payments Restrictions, Budget, Finance and Administration, and Regional Trade 
Agreements ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 45 
15.4   Working Groups on Trade, Debt and Finance and Trade and Transfer of Technology  .......... 45 
15.5   Committees under the Plurilateral Trade Agreements  ................................ .................... 45 
16   APPOINTMENT OF OFFIC ERS TO WTO BODIES  ................................ ........................  46 
16.1   Consultations on the guidelines for the Appointment of Officers – Report by the 
Chairman  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................... 46 
16.2   Announcement pursuant to paragraph 7.1(A) of the guidelines  ................................ .......49 
17   AFRICAN UNION LEVY – STATEMENT BY THE UNI TED STATES  ................................  49 
18   WTO YOUNG PROFESSION ALS PROGRAMME – STATEMENT BY THE 
DIRECTOR -GENERAL  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 51 
19   WORKING PARTY ON THE  ACCESSION OF BELARUS  – STATEMENT BY THE 
CHAIRMAN  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  52 
20   STATEMENT BY THE CHA IRMAN IN CONNECTION WITH ADMINISTRATIVE 
MEASURES FOR MEMBERS  IN ARREARS  ................................ ................................ .........  52 
ANNEX 1   THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL'S REPORT AT THE INFORMAL HEADS O F 
DELEGATION MEETING H ELD ON 1 AND 5 DECEM BER 2016  ................................ ...........  54 
ANNEX 2   STATEMEN TS BY MEMBERS AT THE  INFORMAL HEADS OF DE LEGATION 
MEETING HELD ON 1 AN D 5 DECEMBER 2016  ................................ ................................ . 56 WT/GC/M/165  
 
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1  FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF SOMALIA AND DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF TIMOR -LESTE – 
REQUEST S FOR ACCESSION PURSUA NT TO ARTICLE XII (W T/ACC/SOM/1  AND 
WT/ACC/TLS/1 ) 
1.1.  The Chairman  drew attention to the communications from the Federal Republic of Somalia 
circulated on 7 November  and from the Dem ocratic Republic  of Timor -Leste circulated on 
8 November  requesting accession to the WTO Agreement pursuant to A rticle XII.  
1.2.  Further to the circulat ion of the two applications, he  had conducted  consultations  with several 
delegations and group coordinators as stated in his  communication dated 17 N ovember. Group 
coordinators had  also reached out to seek the views of t heir respective constituencies. He also 
noted that the Accessions Div ision in the WTO Secretariat had  consulted Members on both 
applications through the Informal Group on Accessions.  
1.3.  During his  consultations, no Members had raised o bjections or questions o n the applications 
and he understood  that the Accessions Division had also heard positive feedback on both requests.  
1.4.  He had  subsequently convened an Informal General Council meeting on 22 November to 
report on the process. Since there had been no objectio n from Members, he had proposed that 
they put forward the  two requests for M embers' consideration at the meeting. As he had  
highlighted during the process, the only action which wa s require d of the General Council at that 
stage wa s the establishment of the  Working Parties with standard terms of reference.   
1.5.  He read the standard terms of reference and composition that would form the basis of 
establishing the two working parties that would examine the requests of Somalia and Timor -Leste 
which were as followed : 
a. Terms of Reference: " To examine the application of the applicant to accede to the WTO 
Agreement under Article XII, and to submit to the General Council recommendations 
which may include a draft Protocol of Accession ." 
b. Membership: "Membership would be ope n to all Members indicating their wish to serve 
on the Working Party."   
c. Chairmanship: "In keeping with customary practice, the General Council would authorize 
its Chairman to designate the Chairperson of the Working Party in consultation with 
representati ves of Members and with the representative of the applicant."  
1.6.  He drew attention to the reque st of Somalia in WT/ACC/SOM/1 and  propose d that the 
General Council agree to establish  a working party to examine the  request with the terms of 
reference and compos ition as he had  read out.  
1.7.  The General Council so agreed .  
1.8.  He then drew attention to the request of Timor -Leste in WT/ACC/TLS/1 and  propose d that 
the General Council agree to establish a working party to examine this request with the terms of 
reference and composition as he had  read out.  
1.9.  The General Council so agreed .  
1.10.   He noted that further communications would  be sent with respect to the consultations about 
the relevant chairmanships of the workin g parties. He  then invite d the delegations of Somalia and 
Timor-Leste to enter the room and welcome d H.E. Faduma Abdullahi Mohamud, Permanent 
Representative of Somalia, and H.E.  Estanislau Aleixo da Silva, Coordinating Minister of Economic 
Affairs and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries of Timor -Leste, and their r espective delegations.  
1.11.   He informed Ambassador Mohamud and Minister da Silva  that the General Council had 
agreed to establish the two Working Parties to examine  the request s for accession,  which wa s the 
first step in the process  and congratulate d the Gover nment of Somalia and the Government of 
Timor -Leste.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  1.12.   In connection with the decision, he invite d both delegations to consult with the Accessions 
Division of the WTO Secretari at as to the further procedures  and in particular with regard to the 
basic document ation to be considered by the Working  Parties. He also invite d Somalia and Timor -
Leste, on behalf of the General Council, to attend meetings of the General Council and, as 
appropriate, meetings of other WTO bodies as observers during the period of  their respective 
accession processes.  
1.13.   H.E. Faduma Abdullahi Mohamud, Permanent Representative of Somalia , speaking as an 
Observer , thank ed the Membership on behalf H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of the 
Federal Republic of Somalia for formally approving Soma lia's request. She also thanked  the 
Director -General for welcoming Somalia's M embership a pplication and the WTO Secretariat  
especially the Accession s Division , and all WTO offices who had helped  her delegation in facilitating  
and accomplish ing that process . 
1.14.   Many developing countries – particularly  LDCs such as Somalia – were keen on  joining the 
WTO. Among others, the WTO promoted fair competition without discrimination and the lower ing 
of trade barriers and encouraged  development and economic reform s. The o rganization could  also 
grant them special provisions in their accession  such as giving them more time to regulate or 
adjust  and providing them with greater flexibility and other special privileges.  The WTO also 
prioritised other trade -related issues such a s encouraging good governance, supporting the 
environment and health thus contributing to peace and stability.  
1.15.   Trade remained  fundamental  for economic growth and job creation which could in turn lead 
to poverty alleviatio n. And to ensure that the gains fro m trade were better shared across the 
society, domestic policy was essential.  As a post -conflict country, Somal ia looked  forward to 
gaining from the WTO's support in order to rebuild the country for the future development and 
prosperity of its people.  
1.16.   The Somali people had  a history of trade far longer than at present . In the ancient times , 
Somalia had been  an important cent re for commerce. It was known as "The Land of Punt" since it 
was located in a strategic area and had  the longest coast line in Africa. The Somali people had 
enjoyed a lucrative trading relationship with Ancient Egypt an d Mycenaean Greece. The Somalis 
traded myrrh, spices, gold, ebony, short -horned cattle, ivory and frankincense  with the Ancient 
Egyptians, Phoenicians, Babylonians, Indians , Chinese and Romans through their commercial 
ports. There wa s also an archaeological evidence of an old sophisticated civilization that had 
thrived in the Somali peninsula.  
1.17.   With prolonged civil war, famine and its people fleeing the country, Somalia had 
experienced many years of suffering , resulting in many Somalis becoming refugees. To make 
matters worse, foreign booty hunters had robbed Somalia of tons of its  fish stock through  
unprecede nted illegal fishing and had dumped  hazardous industrial waste in i ts waters. But 
Somalis nonetheless continue d their passion for  business and trade  deriving from their rich history 
wherever they would be.  
1.18.   As Somalia recovered  from a civil war spanning  over two decades, its enormous potential to 
generate and benefit from  its own wealth  had become prominent . In line with Somalia's  Vision 
2016 plan, the Somali government had made tangible progress on  its election, state formation, 
security and economic development. Constitutional revi ew wa s one of the pillars of Vision 2016 . In 
this regard, Somalia's Constitutional Commission had finished the first phase of its review with the 
second one  in progress. In the  political process of nation -building , all of Somalia's stake holders  
remained engaged  including women, youth and minorit y group s. 
1.19.   She said that t he elec tion of Somalia's Federal Parliament wa s in its last stage. I ts 
parliament would soon vote for its  Speaker which would  be followed by the election of its President 
who would then select its  Prime Minist er. As conditions were  not yet in place for a one -person one -
vote ballot, the 2016 electoral process wa s not a universal suffr age election. A system of i ndirect 
elections which included  all the interim regions a nd different groups of society wa s instead 
established. With that m echanism, the  Electoral College had elected both the lower and upper 
houses of its parliament with the aim of having  universal elections by 2020.  
1.20.   The electoral process had reached  the Somali Federal G overnment, leaders from all Federal 
Member  States and In terim Federal States. Thirty per cent of the lower and upper house of the WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  parliament was allocated to women and its new statehood was composed of six Federal States. 
The elections  took into consideration the bicamera l system of parliament following the  Provisional 
Constitution  of 2012.  
1.21.   The Somali G overnme nt had  passed compet itive investment laws making Somalia  ready to 
welcome and directly support all investors in every sector. From green energy  to agriculture, 
infrastructure, telecommunication s and the blu e economy, Somalia could  become a world leader 
and a profitable home for investors and new enterprises with  easy access to African, Middle -
Eastern and Far -Eastern markets.  
1.22.   Due to its long civil war , the Somali Private Sector became the main machine of its  
economy.  The Somali Diaspora , on the other hand, which was linked to Somalia  before and after 
the civil war made significant remittances and either invest ed in or helped build the capacity of 
Somalia's key national institutions.  
1.23.   The F ederal Government of S omalia had  established good cooperation with international 
financial institutions such as the World Ban k, IMF and the  African Development Bank, among many 
others . The memorandum of eco nomic and financial policies had been updated. A  comprehensiv e 
roadmap f or currency reform was established. A  national development plan to reinforce the 
development strategy  was in the process. For 2016, Somalia's real GDP growth wa s projected at 
3.7%, driven by the telecommunication s, construction and service s sectors  and con sumer price 
inflation wa s projected to remain low.  
1.24.   In terms of security, over the past four years, Somalia's  National Army and AMISOM had  
defeated Al -Shabab as a military force and nearly al l areas under their control had been liberated. 
Somalia was  gratef ul to AM ISOM and all other nations who were helping them in keeping Somalia 
safe. Her delegation fully understood  that the onl y way they could achieve long -term stability and 
development both in  Somalia and across the region wa s to form a well -trained, equ ipped and 
funded Somali National Security  Forces. The Somali government wa s therefore in the process to 
achieve that in  the near future.  
1.25.   Lastly, since majority of Somalis we re pastoral ists, Somalia was  deeply concer ned about the 
drought in the country main ly in the  northern part, Puntland, Somaliland, part of Jubaland and the 
South East. Two consecutive seasons of dro ught across northern Somalia drove  tens of thousands 
of pastoralists into hunger and deb t. The impact of the drought could be seen across Soma lia as 
manifested by the  alarmingly high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition found in many a reas. 
The current drought therefore posed a challenge that should  be addressed.  
1.26.   Somalia nonetheless remained  on track to achieving political and national sta bility through 
the Somali Federal Government's "Vision 2016" plan for political transformation. In addition, 
Somalia had  recognized the potentia l and strategic value of the country  for inter national trade. 
Somalia called on  its partners to continue to support its fruitful journey towards democratization, 
stability and sustainable development.  
1.27.   H.E. Estanislau Aleixo da Silva, Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs and Minister of 
Agriculture and Fisheries of Timor -Leste , speaking as an O bserver , said that  it was a great hono ur 
for the Dem ocratic Republic of Timor -Leste  to address  the highest level decision -making body of 
the Wo rld Trade Organization for the first time as an Observer and an acceding government to the  
WTO. On that  historic and auspicious occ asion, he  convey ed heart felt appreciation  to WTO 
Members  for thei r decision to grant Observer Status to Timor -Leste and to establish the Working 
Party on its Accession.  
1.28.   WTO accession had  been a major governance, insti tutional building, economic and foreign  
policy objective of the Government of Timor -Leste. A formal application had been  submitted in 
April 2015 after thirteen years of  intense state building and human capital development process.  
1.29.   Commencing with the United Nations Transitional Administra tion a nd after the restoration of 
its independence in 2002, Timor -Leste had  put in p lace the necessary institutions to ensure 
openness, transparency, good governance and the rule of law.  
1.30.   Timor -Leste had developed much since its i ndependence. It had  more people than ever , 
before particularly young people who want ed to work and c ontribute to their country. The WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  economy was growing and  access to international m arkets wa s expanding. Businesses wanted to 
come to Timor -Leste  and other countries want ed to trade and buy i ts products.  
1.31.   Timor -Leste had  strived hard to build a multi -party democracy an d a peaceful, stable and 
secure society where a free market economy was growing strongly enabling it  to participate in 
global trade and to promote a better and brighter future for  the Timorese p eople.  
1.32.   Active citizenship and a culture of development action was taking root in its  society to help 
Timor -Leste  achieve the Sustainable Development Goals an d revenue mobilization which wa s being 
fortified by the economic a nd fiscal reform p rograms of its  Government.  
1.33.   Timor -Leste's desire to join the WTO  and th e ASEAN had strengthened its resolve to 
anticipate its  preparation to participate in the  multilateral and regional bodies. Timor -Leste had 
therefore implemented a forward -looking Customs  Reform that had  restructured its  customs 
organization, established a new Customs Authority, passed a modern Cust oms Code based on 
international conventions to facilitate trade and adopted the revised Arusha  Declaration to promote 
integrity and transparenc y in the new Customs Authority.  
1.34.   Timor -Leste wa s in the process of establishing a National  Single Window that would  
streamline and automate all trad e-related procedures to improve efficiency and significantly 
reduce customs clearance tim e to one hour . Timor -Leste's vision was  to promote a National Single 
Window for the C ommunity of Portuguese Speaking Countr ies to bolster and facilitate their trade 
and that could  in the future potentially link CPLP to the ASEAN Region. That initiative could 
exponen tially gro w and provide  access to market s and trade to benefit all involved.  
1.35.   Timor -Leste prioritiz ed WTO m embership  as it woul d help  leverage the on -going 
improvements in it s infrastructure,  human capital  and administrative capacity and accelerate 
growth and economi c diversification. It woul d be a complimentary process to Timor -Leste's 
accession to ASEAN. Timor -Leste remained  fully committed to abide by the principles, objecti ves 
and rules of the WTO as a Least -Developed Country  and to implement domestic str uctural, 
legislative and policy reforms needed to comply with its future WT O commitments  to be defined in 
accordance with Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement.  
1.36.   Concrete actions had  already been taken to give co nsistency and coherence to such words. 
The national i nter-Ministerial working group on WTO Accession comprising  of senior Cab inet 
members and line d irectors had  been in place since October and  had been  working hard. He  
thanked the Director -General and the WTO Secretariat for the technical assistance provided  to the  
Government  of Timor -Leste  in advance of the meeting  which had allowed them to put forward 
Timor -Leste's  application for accession to Members . 
1.37.   Timor -Leste's  Strategic Development Plan 2011 -2030 aimed at transform ing the  country 
from a low -income cou ntry to an upper -middle -income country by 203 0 with a healthy, well -
educated population. Timor -Leste was  open a nd ready for business and trade.  The objective of a 
diversified growing economy had  led the Government to engage in proactive policies to attract  and 
stimulate investment in the productive areas of th e economy such as agriculture, fisheries, 
tourism, light manufacturing, and mining  besides downstream oil and gas  while im proving 
economic infrastructure and the business environment . Trade would  help Timor -Leste  create 
sustainable jobs, raise incomes and improve peoples' lives.  
1.38.   By establishing the Working Party on the Accession of T imor-Leste, the General Council had 
encouraged Timor -Leste  to persevere and stay on tra ck with its nation -building and reform 
initiatives and to grow in confidence for a bette r future of continued progress, development and 
economic transformation.  
1.39.   Timor -Leste was engaged and stood  ready to implement all refo rms based on international 
best practices ne cessary to accede to the WTO. His delegation  welcome d the establishment of the 
Working Party and hope d to immediately start accession  negotiations and come back  as soon as 
possible to address the General Council as a full Member. He announced that the working group 
had started the  preparation of the negotiating inputs of the Working Party. Timor -Leste' s 
Memorandum on Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR) was ready and would  be formally s ubmitted to  the 
WTO Secretariat for circulation to Members in the coming weeks. As a L east-Developed Count ry, 
Timor -Leste  looked forward to working closely with Members and the WTO Secretariat.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  1.40.   It was  indeed a historic moment for Timor -Leste. He expressed  Timor -Leste's  highest 
appre ciation for the  warm welcome as well as for the encouragements and support it h ad received 
from Members , the Director -General and the Accession Division . He also paid  tribute to the 
Enhanced I ntegrated Framework Secretariat  for their engagement and support. Timor -Leste would 
count on their continued solidarity and c ooperation.  
1.41.   The Director -General  congratulated Ambassador Mohamud, Minister da Silva and their 
respective delegations. It was a pleasure to welcome them as Observers to the WTO. That marked 
an important milestone on their journey towards WTO Membership. It wa s a statement o f intent 
about their  integration i nto the global economy – and thei r desire to use trade to improve the lives 
and livelihoods of thei r citizens. Together with the Secretariat, he would do everything he could  to 
help them  in that effort .  
1.42.   The representative  of Morocco , on behalf of the African Group , expressed the  Group 's 
support for  the request s for accession to the WTO of the Federal Republic of Somalia and the 
Democratic Republic of Timor -Leste. The African Group  wished them every succes s in their 
accessi on processes and also wish ed such success to all acceding countries in general. The 
conside rable number of accessions currently reached 21 bolstering the need  to increase the 
capacity of the Accessions Division in order  to give the necessary support to the  applicant s. The 
African Group thanked the Accessions Division for t he updates and changes that had  taken place in 
terms of the annual dialogue on accession. As mentioned at the last General Council meeting, the 
Group wa s aware of  the lengt h of time requir ed to accede  to the WTO. It was therefore necessary  
to step up the  implementation of  technical assistance measures before and during accessi ons to 
help countries to focus on areas of cooperation with the WTO especially when they have  weak 
infrastructure wh ich often caused delays in the process . Such assistance was particularly 
necessary in preparing memoranda and making follow -up. Those measures could address the  
serious difficulties faced by countries that normally did  not have the necessary human resource s 
that gave support on issues that need ed considerable discussion. The African Group  hoped that it 
could witness progress on the processes of the two acceding countries.  
1.43.   The representative of  the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , on behalf of the Arab  Group , welcom ed 
the two requests for accession submitted by the Federal Republic of Somalia and th e Democratic 
Republic of Timor -Leste. With globalization as a modern -day fact,  integration to the global 
economy remained  a main cause for further reforms and economic  development particularly for 
the LDCs . The re quests submitted by the two LDCs evidenced the continued importance of the 
multilateral trading system in b oosting growth and development. The Arab Group congrat ulated  
both Somalia and Timor –Leste fo r having their requests approved and hoped  to see both countries 
as full -fledged WTO Members in the near future.  
1.44.   The representative of Lao PDR , on behalf of ASEAN , welcome d the application of Timor -
Leste . ASEAN noted  Timor -Leste’s commitment to the WTO acces sion process  and its efforts to 
undertake soc ial and economic reforms to that end. Timor -Leste' s integration into the rules -based 
multilateral trading system would help better connect its economy to global value chains, support 
economic diversification and contribute t owards economic growth a nd development in Timor -Leste. 
ASEAN urged  all Members to support Timor -Leste in its accession process and its integration into 
the multilateral trading system.  
1.45.   The representative of Benin , on behalf of the LDCs , welcomed  the delega tions of Somalia 
and Timor -Leste. He recalled that the LDC Group had submitted a document on the priorities of 
LDCs, among which  was the issue of the accession of LDCs , including facilitating their accession 
process in conformity with the Revised G uideline s of 2012 on the accession of LDCs. Paragraph 18 
of the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration had reaffirmed the importance that  Members  attached  to 
facilitating accessions , and to providing technical assistance to acceding Members including in the 
post-accessi on phase. The LDC Group welcomed  the decision ta ken by the General Council to 
establish Working Parties for the accession processes of the two countries , which were  both LDCs. 
The Group  congratulate d Timor -Leste and Somalia on their commitment – supported b y the 
international community – for their ongoing efforts at  their respective  accession processes and for 
the reforms under way. Tho se reforms sho uld be supported by all Members , since trade was 
essential  in promoting economic an d social development and in  combatting po verty. The LDC 
Group supported  the accession process es of Somalia and Timor -Leste and wish ed that tho se 
processes be expedited and co mpleted as early as possible. Furthermore, t he LDC Group urged 
Members which we re technical an d financial par tners of  the LDC Group to support Somalia and WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  Timor -Leste in the important proceedings that would lead to balanced reforms and their economic 
and social system.  
1.46.   The representative of Kenya  fully supported  the request s for accession to  the WTO of the 
Federa l Republic of Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Timor -Leste as it would contribute to 
their domestic reform process which wa s necessary in inspiring growth -led growth and to facilitate 
their integration into the global economy. It would  also promote t he WTO as a truly universal 
organization. The Federal Rep ublic of Somalia in particular was a neighbour of Kenya,  and his 
delegation was  looking forward for Somalia in leveraging the WTO access ion process to enhance 
the business -friendly environment necess ary for promoting bilateral, economic relations as well as 
regional integration.  
1.47.   The representative of Chinese Taipei , on behalf of the Article XII Members , welcomed the 
requests of the  Federal Republic of Somalia and the Democratic Repu blic of Timor -Leste . The 
Article XII Members  consider ed that those accessions had  a special value , because they 
demonstrate d the dev elopment dimension of the o rganizatio n. WTO accession could help tho se 
two countries secure a share in the growth in international trade that w ould stimulate  economic 
growth and help alleviate  poverty. They we re committed to efforts to facilitate WTO membershi p 
accession negotiations  in particular for the LDCs and would  be actively and constructively engaging 
the accession process es following the  2002 Accession Guidelines.  
1.48.   The representative of Turkey  said that his country attached  high importance to the 
enlargement of the WTO  through accessions , and believed  that new Members would contribute to 
the further development of  the rules-based multilate ral tradin g system. WTO accession provided  
countries the opportunity to integrate into  world trade, implement economic and trade reforms and 
build a modern economy. Turkey therefore welcomed and fully supported the requests  of the 
Federal Republic of Somal ia and the Democratic Republic of Timor -Leste. Turkey wa s ready to 
work together with both countries and with the Secretariat , and looked  forward to building 
consensus a mong Members to advance  the process es of tho se accessions.  
1.49.   The representative of China  welcome d Ambassador Mohamud and Minister da Silva and 
highly appreciated  the great efforts made by Timor -Leste and Somalia in joining the  organization. 
The two request s represent ed votes of trust in the multilateral trading system and demonstrate d 
their st rong commitments to intensify their economic reform and trade liberalization . Both Somalia 
and Timor -Leste were LDCs facing serious challenges in their economic development and their 
people's liveliho od. Early accession to the WTO would  give a boost to hel p their economic growth 
and make WTO more inclu sive and universal. China stood  ready to o ffer necessary assistance to 
those two countries within thei r capacity to help them tackle the difficulties and joi n the WTO 
soon. China would  follow the 2002 decision  on the accession of LDCs and hoped that other 
Members would do the same. China wished  the accession negotiation s of Somalia and Timor -Leste 
complete success.  
1.50.   The representative of  the United States  extended  a warm welcome to the delegations from 
the Repub lic of Somalia and the Democr atic Republic of Timor -Leste and  looked forwar d to strong 
partnerships as their  accessions progress ed. The United States approached accessions to the WTO 
as an enormous opportunity to promote economic development through adhere nce to thei r 
common framework  of rules. The United States had  been fully and deeply involved in every 
accession negotiation s ince 1995. He recalled that e leven countries had acceded to the WTO since 
he had arrived in Geneva , and each completed accession ne gotiation  had strengthened the  
organization . Each time a new Member acceded to the WTO, it wa s with a detailed understanding 
of the rules and a strong commitment to i mplementing WTO provisions. Those negotiations also 
provide d an opportunity for trade libe ralization and a strengthening of trade policy infrastructure in 
the applicant country, in terms of their economic development. It was in that spirit  of achieving 
the po tential for genuine development that the United States would be engaging with them  going 
forward.  
1.51.   The representative of Japan  joined other s in welcoming the delegation s of the Federal 
Republic of Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Timor -Leste and  commend ed the positive and 
strong statements made by Ambassador Mohamud and Minister da Silv a. As an important policy 
initiative, accession to the WTO would  contribute to the inte gration of the acceding country' s 
economy into the multilateral trading system through bilatera l market access negotiations and  
multilateral negoti ations on institutiona l aspects , which would also be beneficial to the entire WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  multilateral trading system. That was  particularly meaningful for countri es like Somalia and Timor -
Leste  given the hardship s they had gone through over the past  few decades and the ongoing 
efforts of the governments and the inte rnational community to revitalis e the countries and 
integrate  them into the  international system. Japan had been joining tho se efforts in assisting 
Somalia and Timor -Leste through various measures i ncluding bilateral ODA and was  ready to 
engage in discussion for the further steps  and provide whatever support it could . 
1.52.   The representative of Yemen  associated  his delegation  with the statements made by the 
Arab and the LDC Groups and welcome d the Federal Republic of Somalia's request  for accession to  
the WTO, and the dec ision taken to establish its Working Party. Somalia's  accession to the WTO 
represented  another important step by its Government  to rebuild the  nation that suffered  war and 
instability  for years . Supporting Somalia in i ts accession to the WTO would be  another contribution 
from the international community in order to support its recovery and its integration into the 
multilateral trading system and the global ec onomy. Yemen also welcome d the Democratic 
Republic of Timor -Leste's request and th e decision taken in its favour f or similar reasons , and for 
being a fellow LDC which  deserved all the support throughout the process . 
1.53.   The representative of Brazil  welcomed H.E. Minister Estanislau da Silva and his delegation 
as well as the delegation from Somalia and thanked them for their presence. Brazil also welcomed  
the accession requests submit ted by Somali a and Timor -Leste since t he accession of new Members 
always  sent a positive message for the system. Timor -Leste, in particular, was a much valued 
partner of Brazil within the community of Portugues e-speaking countries. Brazil had  consistently 
attached highest priority to cooperation initiatives to support Tim or-Leste since its independence , 
including in the area of  institution -building. Timor -Leste could count on Brazil's technical support 
during its  accession pro cess. Brazil wished Timor -Leste and Somalia every success.  
1.54.   The representative of Tanzania  associated with the statement made by the  African Group. 
The Government of the Uni ted Republic of Tanzania supported the requests of the Federal 
Government of Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Timor -Leste for accession to the WTO. 
Somalia's  request  was particularly timely as its Federal Government recovered from  their agony of 
protracted war and warring faction that had eclipsed the country' s econo my for a long while. Since 
peace wa s comin g back home in that country, it was an imperative to support its  economic efforts . 
To complement the emerging peace and stability in the country, Somalia's accession to the WTO – 
a confidence building measure – would be essential. Members should support Somalia and Timor -
Leste in the ir ongoing accession process es for them to  once again join the international community 
and effectively participate in international trade. International trade would  create economic 
opportunities to the people of Somalia and Timor -Leste. That  economic improvement through 
engagement  in international trade could in turn permanently stabilis e the countries.  
1.55.   The representative  of the Republic of Korea  welcomed  the request for accessions from the 
Democratic Republic of Timor -Leste and the Federal Republic of Somalia and supported all efforts 
the two countries we re making fo r their accessions. Korea had  met H.E. Minister da Silva  who led  
the delegation of Timor -Leste and  appreciate d the strong p olitical will of Timor -Leste to accede to 
the WTO. Korea wa s happy  to join the consensus on  establishing the Working Parties on the 
accessions  of Timor-Leste and Somalia and wished  them bot h every success.  
1.56.   The representative of Norway  congratulated  Somalia on the establishment of a working 
party to consider its re quest for accession to the WTO and looked forward to the day Members 
could welcome Somalia as a WTO Member. Norway also congratula ted Timor -Leste on the 
establishment of a working party to consider its request for acc ession to the WTO. Timor -Leste 
was a young nation which had  made important achievements in a multitude of areas since its 
independence. With its young population and dyn amic human capital Timor -Leste had  a good basis 
for building an emerging economy. Norway was impressed by a young state' s wish and political 
will to integrate into a range of internati onal and regional organizations  such as the WTO. The 
transparent and pre dictable fram ework for trade resulting from Membership in the WTO would  
contribute to national efforts to build the economy of Somalia and Timor -Leste through 
strengthened trade and investments.  
1.57.   The representative of Cambodia  welcomed  H.E. Minister Estanis lau da Silva and his 
delegation and the decisions on  Timor -Leste's  and Somalia's applications  for accession to the WTO 
and associate d with the statements made by the LDC Group and ASEAN.  Cambodia  also noted 
Timor -Leste's formal request i n ASEAN in 2011. Ti mor-Leste had  been implementing development WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  goals and policy reform to comply with the obligati ons of ASEAN Membership which was  under 
consideration. Cambodia appreciate d the effort s of Timor -Leste to undertake the social and 
economic reform s and its commi tment to pursue the WTO accession process. As an  emerging 
economy , Timor -Leste needed full support from all Members. He also informed the Council that the 
LDC Group had decided that  Cambodia would  be the LDC Coordinator in 2017. As the incoming 
coordinator  of the LDC Group, Cambodia would  host the Fifth China Round Table on LDC Accession 
in collaboration with China an d the WTO from 6 to 8 March  in Siem Riep, Cambodia. The Prime 
Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Samdech Akeak Mo ha Sena Padey Techo Hun Sen , had  
already confirmed his atte ndance at the roundtable which demonstrated  his strong commitment to 
support LDC accessions. Cambodia urge d WTO Members and development partners to support 
Timor -Leste's application and  to accelerate its  accession process in  accordance with the guidelines 
adopted by the General Council in 2002 and revised in 2012  on the process of acces sion of LDC s to 
the WTO . The facilitation, support and assistance from Members and international community 
would  facilitate Timor -Leste in eff ecting  substantive reform, stimulating economic growth and 
lifting more than a million people out of poverty.  
1.58.   The representative of Australia , welcome d the decision to establish  the accession Working 
Parties for Somalia and Timor -Leste and  associate d with the offers of support of ASEAN and Ne w 
Zealand for the efforts of their regional partner – Timor -Leste – to join the WTO.  
1.59.   The representative of New Zealand  said that his country  was strongly committed to the 
WTO rules -based multilateral trading system — a system based on the principles of non -
discrimination, transparency, certainty,  reciprocity and consensus. The MTS and its govern ing 
institution – the WTO – was a global public good which created  significant benefits for all Members 
large or small. Supporti ng the continued expansion of the WTO membership remained  a key 
systemic priorit y for New Zealand. The MTS would be  strengthened and sustained by the broadest 
possible participation – compreh ensive global M embership of the institution wa s a critical enable r 
of growth and development. Bringing Timor -Leste from New Zealand's  home region and Somalia 
from the Africa n continent into the multilate ral trading system and into the WTO as Members 
would  be good for both countries, the multilateral trading system, t he WTO and all Members. Both 
countries had  aspired  to facilitate trade and invest ment through their accession and both had  
made considerable strides in the past few years to grow and develop their economies. WTO 
accession wa s therefore the logical next step t o realising their growth po tential and  acceding to the 
WTO would  assist them in sustaining those ambitions. Timor -Leste had gained its independence in 
the current century and had  ambitions to diversify its economy and increase exports of primary 
sector pro ducts into Sout h East Asia. Timor -Leste wa s on trac k to join ASEAN and so the process 
to accede  to the WTO should stan d them in good stead. New Zealand stood ready to support 
Timor -Leste's and Somalia' s accession s and look ed forward to the commence ment of negotiations 
in which it  expect ed to fully participate.  
1.60.   The representative of India welcomed  the delegation s from Somalia and Timor -Leste and 
the applications for request for accession of the Federal Republic of Somalia and the Democr atic 
Republic of Timor -Leste. India stood ready to offer  support to them in their accession  to the WTO  
and look ed forward to constructively engaging with them  for further discussions in that  regard.  
1.61.   The representative of  the European Union  welcome d the delegations of Somalia an d Timor -
Leste and fully supported  the accession of both Somalia and  Timor -Leste to the WTO. The 
European Union would  take due account of the specific constraints faced by b oth as Least -
Developed Countries  in line with the  revised  LDC guidelines adopted  in 2012. Economic reforms 
necessary to become a WTO Member and sustainable development would help ensure a more 
predictable, transparent and competitiv e trade regime and therefore could  improve li velihoods of 
the population by  creatin g new job opportunities. It would  also help in reforming and developing 
services s ectors at home as it contributed to the modernis ation of economies, good governance 
and e conomic growth. That in turn could  contribute to the better participation in global trade in 
general and help to benefit from preferences granted by the EU and other Members to LDCs.  
1.62.   The representative of Canada  said that , systemically , the approved appl ications for 
accession emphasiz ed that the WTO had  to continue heading towards the goal of  universal 
membership.  The faith, belief and conviction shown by Timor -Leste and Somalia demonstrate d 
wisdom that in context , and as accompanie d by other development policies , trade could  make a 
significant contribution to improving the lives of people , including in the difficu lt circumstances 
coming out of conflict. Canada would  fully support the accessions of both countries through active WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  participation both in the working party and in bilateral ac cess meetings over and above its  
development assistanc e and dialogue through the two capitals.  
1.63.   The representative of Fiji, on behalf of the Pacific  Group , expressed  its support to the 
establishment of the Working Party for the accession of the Democratic Republic of Timor -Leste 
and the Federal Republic of Somalia and  looked forward to welcoming both countries as full 
Members of the WTO in the near future.  
1.64.   The representative of Cabo Verde  welcome d the beginning of the process leading to the 
accession o f Somalia and of Timor -Leste. Cabo Verde  wished the  two countries the best of success 
in their accession negotiation s. Concluding such process would be important as their accession 
could  be established in terms which would as effectively as possible sup port their economic 
development  in particular given their situation as LDCs and given  the difficult hist oric situation 
those countries had  gone through.  
1.65.   The representative of  the Russian Federation  supported the establishment of the two 
Working Parties with standard terms of reference. The Russian Federation was  confident that 
Somalia and Timor -Leste should be part of the ru les-based global trading system for it believed 
that trade was a powerful engine of  economic growth, sustainable development and prosperity. His 
delegation hoped that the Membership would  take into account the status of Somal ia and Timor -
Leste as LDCs  in the process.   
1.66.   The representative of Uganda  welcomed  the delegations of the Republic of Somalia and the 
Democratic Republic of  Timor -Leste and their application requests for acces sion to the W TO. 
Somalia and Timor -Leste had  taken positive steps in th e right direction. Uganda would  closely 
work with them to help them ensure  smooth negotiations for their accession to the global body.  
1.67.   The representative of Sudan , speaking as an Observer , expressed  Sudan's gratitude and 
appreciation  to the WTO Secretariat for their support and guidance in the reactivation of Suda n's 
accession process in particular the A ccession s Division technical mission in October which had 
resulted to the  submission and circulation of Sudan's  Memorandum on  Foreign  Trade Regime and 
legal action plan. The Governme nt of Sudan was committed to possibly conclude its ac cession by 
MC11 in December 2017. Membership in the rule s-based multilateral trading system would  
contribute towards domestic reform, transparency, credib ility and sustainab le development. Sudan 
welcomed  the applications of  the Federal Republic of Somalia and the Democratic Republic of 
Timor -Leste to join the WTO and wish ed them every success in the ir accession process.  
1.68.   The General Council took note  of the statements  and of the expr essions of welcome and 
support.  
2  REPORT BY THE CHAIRM AN OF THE TRADE NEGO TIATIONS COMMITTEE  
2.1.  The Chairman  recalled that a meeting at the level of Heads of Del egation had been held on 1 
and 5 December.  
2.2.  The Director -General , Chairman of the TNC , referred to his report at the Heads of 
Delegations meeting on 1 and 5 December circulated in JOB/GC/111.1 He said that a ll other 
statem ents made in that meeting would also b e added to the record of the current meeting unless 
Members had  request ed otherwise2. As he had  foreshadowed, a number of negotiating group 
Chairs had  circulated written reports : Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture in 
JOB/AG/89;  Negotiating Group on Market Access in JOB/TN/MA/2;  Special Session of th e Council 
                                                
1 At The Director -General's request, his statement at the 1 and 5 December  Informal Meeting at the 
level of Heads of Delegation is incorporated in the minutes of this meeting and is reproduced in Annex 1  of this 
document.  
2 The statements delivered at the 1 and 5 December Informal Meeting at the level of Heads of 
Delegation by the following delegations are incorporated in the minutes of this meeting and can be fo und in 
Annex 2 of this document: Norway; Ch ad (LDCs); Lao PDR (ASEAN); Argentina; Egypt; Japan; Ecuador; Chile; 
New Zealand; Rwanda (ACP); India; Republic of Korea; Uruguay; Australia; European Union; Indonesia (also 
on behalf of the G -33); United States; China; Singapore; Colombia; Pakistan; South  Africa; Dominican 
Republic; Russian Federation; Costa Rica; Hong Kong, China; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Arab Group); 
Switzerland; Senegal; Mexico; Chinese Taipei (Article XII Members); Plurinational State of Bolivia; Tunisia; 
Brazil; Zimbabwe; Nepal; Parag uay; Bangladesh; Montenegro; Tanzania and Nigeria.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  for Trade in Services in JOB/SERV/246;  Negoti ating Group on Rules in JOB/RL/6;  Special Session 
of the Com mittee on Trade and Development in JOB/DEV/40  and Special S ession of the Council for 
TRIPS in TN/IP/24. Members had a good exchange at the Heads of  Delegat ions meeting. There 
had been  over 40 statements from delegati ons and group coordinators which served  to underline 
the high leve l of engagement they we re seeing. He hoped that delegations would  use the break to 
advance and refine their proposals. That would  be important if Members were to advance in the 
New Year  particularly as they  looked towards MC11.   
2.3.  The representative of Morocco , on behalf of the African Group , thanked the Director -General 
and the Negotiating Group Chairs for the upd ates, their efforts and their  unfailing support and 
cooperation throughout the process lead ing up to MC11. Although there wa s plenty of work left  to 
be done, the African Group  thank ed the Director -General for his  dedication.  
2.4.  The Second Meeting of the AU Ministers of Trade had  been held on 29 and  30 November in 
Addis Ababa with the purpose of considering recommendations submi tted by Senior Trade 
Officials. Concerning  WTO issues, the AU Ministers had agreed during that  meeting  that the WTO 
negotiating process and  outcomes should  support Africa' s regional and continental integration 
agenda in particular the negotiations on the Continenta l Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). The 
Ministers  had also adopted during that  meeting a declaration on WTO issues3. 
2.5.  In that regard, he stress ed three principles that deserve d Members' attention. First, 
development should  remain at the hea rt of any negotiating outcome. Second, Members' priority 
should be to conclude all outstanding DDA issues as soon as possible. Third, Members should 
maintain the pre -eminence of the guiding principles of t he WTO negotiations and the DDA  namely : 
full participation of Members;  inclusive, transparent and bottom -up process es; and negotiations 
based on consensus of Members.  
2.6.  He also highlighted four points in relation to  the issues of interest to the African Group . First, 
S&D should  form an integral part of any future multilateral outcome at the WTO and should be 
incorporated where appropriate  in the schedules of concessions and commitments a nd in the rules 
and disciplines  in order to be operationally e ffective and to enable the SVEs , and in particular the 
LDCs, to address their development needs effectively and in accordance with Africa's industrial 
development priorities , as they appear ed in Agenda 2063 on structural transform ation and 
industrialization  and in conformity with paragraph 44 of the Doha Minist erial Declaration which 
supported Africa's industrialis ation objectives.  
2.7.  Second, t he draft mo dalities for agriculture in Rev.4  remain ed the most valid basis for any 
future ne gotiations on the outs tanding Doha issues. Negotiations should  tackle the fundamental 
issues relati ng to trade distorting measures  especially trade distorting domestic support in general, 
aggregate measurements of support (AMS), product specific AMS limits , Blue Box limits and 
product specific Blue Box limits. The Ministerial Decisions on Agriculture should also be 
implemented , which included SSM and public stockholding for food security purposes.  
2.8.  Third, Members should  ensure that the cotton issue retained  its prominent pos ition on the 
agenda of the post -Nairobi negotiations. They should  achieve a fair and balanced negotiated 
outcome on the domestic support pillar at MC11.  
2.9.  Fourth, priority should also be given to LDC projects. Members should ensure that Aid for 
Trade would be  available for projects identifi ed by the recipient governments  particularly as 
regards trade development, trade -related infrastructure  and cutting trade costs.  
2.10.   The African Gr oup thanked Norway for organiz ing the Informal Ministerial Meet ing in Oslo in 
October. The meeting had been  an opportunity for some of the Ministers who attended  to discuss 
the potential outcomes of MC11 and the  way to build convergence on them .  
2.11.   Given that the Oslo meeting had been limited in terms of rep resentation,  the African Group 
drew attention  to the proposal that the Group had made concerning  an MC11 package that would 
include: in agricultur e, domestic support and cotton; in fisheries, disciplines aimed at limiting 
certain forms of subsidies which contribute d to overfishing and overcapacity in accordance with 
                                                
3 At the request of Senegal, a communication entitled "Declaration – 2nd Meeting of the African 
Ministers of Trade (AMOT) – Addis Ababa" was circulated to Members in document WT/L/1004.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  Target 14.6 under the 2030 Age nda for Sustainable Development  taking into account th e needs of 
developing countries  in particular the LDCs; in NAMA, the structural transformation goals, regio nal 
and contine ntal integration and industrialis ation and integration of the developing countries and 
LDCs in global production chains; in services, a proposal for progressive discussions based on  the 
common interest of Members  beginning with topics on which consensus wa s a certainty;  and, a 
proposal by Morocco  for the organization of a mini -Ministerial towards the second half of 2017 in 
order to take stock of the situation and overcome the difficulties that could arise during the 
negotiating process.  
2.12.   The representative o f Uganda  associate d his delegation with the statements made by the 
African and the LDC Groups  and thank ed Morocco for introducing the Declaration of the African 
Ministers of Trade on WTO issues.  He paid tribute to  the departing a mbassadors who he had the 
chance to work with  on many  LDC issues . He singled out Ambassador Punke (United States) who 
despite not agreeing with him on all points had found convergence on an important issue 
regarding the transition period on ph armaceutical products that made it possi ble for the people 
living with HIV and AIDS  to have access to cheap generic medicines. He wished all of them the 
best in thei r future endeavo urs. 
2.13.   According to the Market Access study prepared by the WTO Secretariat in 
WT/C OMTD/LDC/W/64,  LDC exports of good s and commercial services had decreased by 20.1% to 
US$195.5 billion  in 2015  resulting in an overall trad e deficit of US$108.1 billion. The LDCs ' share in 
world exports of goods and commercial services had stood at  a paltry 0.9%. Uganda wondered 
why the LD Cs performed poorly  despite all the mar ket access instruments that had been agreed – 
although some we re at dif ferent stages of implementation.  An attempt to respond to the  question 
had been made during  the commemoration of the CTD's 100th session .  
2.14.   In seek ing to address that  challenge, the focus in Africa – home to three quarters of all 
LDCs – was on structural  transformation and industrialis ation in line with "Agenda 20 63: The 
Future We Want ". There was wide consensus among the African constituency that th ey could  and 
should use trade policy instrum ents to promote the industriali sation of A frica. Uganda therefore 
welcome d the instruction from thei r Ministers in the declarati on introduced by the African Group .  
2.15.   Calls had been heard  to address the need s and c oncerns of those who took t o the streets in 
the name of anti -globalizatio n or free trade  but received muted response. That was what Uganda 
had been  talking about , which should drive M embers to  respond to the need for all their people  to 
benefit from the in creased opportunities and welfare gains that the multi lateral trading system 
generated  and to place the needs and interes ts of developing country Members , especially the 
LDCs, at the centre of the ir work in the WTO . 
2.16.   Uganda discourage d all Members  to drop t he narrow interpretation of special and differential 
treatment to tra nsition periods. One would not administer time to some one in need of intensive 
care. Members should go back to the object and purpose for which specia l and differential 
treatment had been  entreated in the various agreements that form ed the fabric of the WTO. It was 
in that vein that Uganda sought  to continue working within the letter and spirit of paragraph 44 of 
the Doha Ministerial Declaration , to argue for trade policy instruments that would effectively 
respond to Agenda 2063 on structural transformation and industri alisation of Africa.  
2.17.   At present, 80% of Africa's exports we re raw commodities with only 20% of that i n 
manufactured products. Africa's structural transformation should  be dri ven by a manufacturing 
sector that would add value to Africa' s primary products before exporting them to inte rnational 
markets. Otherwise, they would  risk turning into an enclave economy where they would  produce  
what they would not  consume and would consum e what they would not produce. UNECA predicted 
that by transforming Africa' s mineral export volume by just 5% before export, it could  create 
5 million jobs a year. That  would not onl y increase household incomes but would also stop the 
exodus of people from  Africa into lands where they were not welcome. Uganda was  working within 
the African Group to submit proposals at an appropriate time that sought to respond to that  
endeavo ur and counted on the support of all Members.   
2.18.   Members' focus  should  therefore  be on concluding the remaining elements of the Doha 
Development Round in line with all the mandates from their Ministers. In so doing, they would 
ensure that all issues of  specific interest to LDCs would be pursued on a priority basis  with a view WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  to strengthen ing them, making t hem commercially meaningful and legally -binding as oppos ed to 
what they were at present . 
2.19.   The representative of Fiji, on behalf of the Pacific Group , thanked those responsible for the 
Geneva Week fo r non -resident Members for it enabled the  Pacific Members who did  not have 
missions in Ge neva to be updated on the state -of-play of  the Doha negotia tions and to participate 
at the current General Council meeting. The Pacific Group reiterated  the centrality of development 
as agreed by the Minister s at MC10 and the importance of delivering on the devel opment 
dimension in any outcome  to be agreed at MC11. The Group noted  the emerging areas for 
potential deliverables for MC11 such as Agriculture domestic support issues and fisheries su bsidies.  
2.20.   On Fis heries subsidies, the Group welcomed the growing momentum from  new proposa ls 
that had been circulated and reiterated  its support for the multilateral outcomes that would deliver  
on both the Doha mandate an d the SDG 14.6. The outcome should  provide effectiv e disciplines on 
fisheries subsidies that cause d over-fishing, over -capacity and IUU fishing with meaningful special 
and differential treatment for LDCs and SVEs particularl y small developing States that we re heavily 
reliant on the fisheries sector for foo d, livelihood and security and to support their economic 
development object ives. The Pacific Group stood  ready to work with Members in advancing the 
discussions on fisheries subsidie s in the Negotiating Group on Rules . 
2.21.   On behalf of Fiji , she associate d wit h the statement made by the Pacific Group. Fiji 
underlined  the importance of an open, transparent and equitable multilater al trading system which 
provided  a stable tra ding environment and which took  care of the interest of the disadvantaged 
Members , including LDCs and SVEs. D evelopment outcomes should  therefore  be at the heart of the 
negotiat ions given the small size of Fiji's  economy – a country that had  limited resources and 
major capacity constraints. Fiji called upon Members to positively consider provi ding special and 
differential treatment in any outcome  in the negotiations. A meaningful S &DT proposal was one 
that w ould be implementable and that would take  into account the capacity constraints of SVEs 
such as Fiji .  
2.22.   Being integral and a part of Fiji's way of life as a small island state, fishery had  been 
identified as one of the priority sectors in the Fiji an Trade Policy Framework in its  National 
Development Pla n which  would help achieve Fiji's economic milestones. As a Pacific Island State, 
Fiji was f acing  an uncertain future as far as fisheries resource s we re concerned. IUU and 
unsustainable fishing efforts by dis tant water fishing nations posed a direct thr eat to the 
sustainability of its  fish stock and achievement of its development target. It wa s therefore  of 
utmost importance that fisheries subsi dies we re disciplined to create a level playing field and to 
assist the Pacific in achieving the  sustainab le development goal s. Fiji noted that there were 
proposals that we re currently under discussion and  welcome d exchanges on them  in the 
multilateral  fora including in the Negotiating G roup on Rules . 
2.23.   The General Council took note  of the Director -General's report and of the statements.  
3  IMPLEMENTATION OF TH E BALI AND NAIROBI O UTCOMES (G/RO/79) – STATEMENT 
BY THE CHAIRMAN  
3.1.  The Chairman4 recalled that the  item rem ained on the agenda for the General Council to  
continue to follow up the decisions adopted in Bali and Nairobi – and to do so in an inclusive and 
transparent manner.  
3.2.  On 29 November, he had  met with the C hairpersons of regular bodies to discuss 
implementation issues and progress on re gular work in furtherance of their  collective agenda that 
year. He  thank ed them for all the hard work that they had  done so far in their respective regular 
bodies – their upda tes from that meeting form ed the basis of his statement . 
3.3.  Concerning TRIPS non -violation and situation complaints, in the discu ssions in the TRIPS 
Council that  year, delegations had mostly reiterated their well -known positions. The Chair would  
continue to e xplore options for possible ways forward.  
                                                
4 The Chairman's st atement was subsequently circulated in JOB/GC/112.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  3.4.  On Aid for Trade, he  thank ed all the Members – nearly 70 – who had participated in the 
Trade Mon itoring and Evaluation Exercise which would  inform the discussions at the 6th Global 
Review in July 2017. Since his  last report, the second thematic workshop under the Aid for Trade 
Work Programme on "Promoting Connectivity  – Explor ing the Services Dimension" had been held 
in October  while the next thematic workshop would be held in February 2017 . 
3.5.  Regarding the Bali decis ion on Trade and Transfer of Technology, work had proceeded 
primarily on the basis of a discussion on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 
Sustainable Development Goals and contributions by a number of Members.  
3.6.  Moving on to Agriculture, the  Ministerial guidance  from Bali and Nairobi indicated  that the  
Committee on Agriculture would undertake  follow -up activities in terms of monitoring and review 
in the areas of Export Competition; TRQ administration; and Public Stockholding for food security  
purposes.  
3.7.  With respect to Export Competition, at the  dedicated discussion which had taken place in 
June 2016, Members had exchanged questions and responses on specific measures in relation to 
the implementation of the Nairobi Decision. The Cairns Group had submitted a paper which had 
supplemented the Secretariat's background docum ent circulated earlier  and had drawn  some key 
conclusions from the analysis. During 2016, Members with scheduled export subsidy reduction 
commitments had also provided updates on  the steps taken to implement the Decision. During the 
November meeting of t he CoA, follow -up questions had been  asked in relation to the 
implementation of the Nairobi Decision and Members had also shared views on how the Committee 
should conduct the revie w of the provisions on international food aid within its monitoring of the 
implementation of the Marrakesh Ministerial Decision on Least -Developed and Net Food -Importing 
Developing countries (NFIDCs).  
3.8.  No information had been  provided by Members in the cont ext of the monitoring foreseen 
under the Bali Decisions on Public Stockholding for Food Security purposes and TRQ administration 
during the 2016 meetings of the Committee.  
3.9.  On DFQF market access for LDCs, the CTD had conducted its annual re view at its meeti ng in 
November  on the basis of a Secretar iat report. Divergent views had been  expressed on what 
should be the scope and coverage of the Secretariat repor t and on what should or should not  be 
included. At the same meeting, the Committee had considered a rev ised submission by Benin, on 
behalf of the LDC Group, concerning  the draft terms of reference for a Secretariat study on DFQF 
implementation. The delegation of Benin had indicated that consultations with Members would 
continue.  
3.10.   Regarding the Preferential R ules of Origin for LDCs, the report of the Committee on Rules of 
Origin to the General Council had  been circulated in document G/RO/79. In 2016, the Committee 
on Rules of Origin had adopted modalities for the calculation of utilization rates and  had instru cted 
the Secretariat to prepare a first report on the matter. It had also reviewed the notification by 
Members of data regarding their preferential tariff rates and annual imports. The Committee had 
also adopted a template for the notification of preferent ial rules of origin for LDCs.  
3.11.   On the operationalization of the LDC services waiver, the LDC Group had shared with the 
Services Council its assessment of the waiver preferences notified and had sought further 
clarificat ions from the notifying Members  both a t the October and November meetings. The 
Members concerned had provided answers and  had indicated their willingness to follow -up 
bilaterally on any outstanding questions. The tally of notifications of preferences for LDC services 
and service suppliers rece ived by Counc il for Trade in Services remained  at 23.  
3.12.   Regarding the Bali Decision on the Monitoring Mechanism on Special and Differential 
Treatment, although six meetings of the CTD's Dedicated  Session had been h eld, no written 
submissions had  yet been ma de. The most recent meeting had taken place on 15 November  where 
a number of Members had shared their thoughts and perspectives on why the Monitoring 
Mechanism had not yet been tested and on  possible ways forward.  
3.13.   Regarding paragraph 28 of the Nairobi Minis terial Declaration, the Chairman of the CRTA 
had continued his consultations  particularly on the systemic implications of RTAs for the WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  multilateral trading system. Several Members had said they would suppor t such work in the CRTA 
and had  encouraged the Cha ir to continue his consultations.  
3.14.   On Trade Facilitation, since his last report in October the number of depo sited acceptance 
instruments had further gone up  reaching a current total of 102. That meant that they were very 
close with ov er 90% of instruments deposited  and less than 10 ratifications required for the TFA t o 
enter into force. The PCTF had  so far received 90 notification s of category A commitments and 
6 notifications for  both B and C. With the TFA being fairly close to taking effect, he  urged Memb ers 
to hand in their B and C notifications without undue delay and equally urge d delegations who had  
not yet deposited their acceptance instrument to intensify their efforts to complete their 
ratificati on processes so that the TFA could  swiftly enter into force.  
3.15.   The representative of Benin , on behalf of the LDCs , said that  at its meeting in October , the 
General Council had invited the LDCs to continue to consult  with Members to specify the te rms of 
reference  on the study  in relation to DFQF  market access fo r LDCs . In this regard, the LDCs had  
examined the observations made by Members  particularly  the European Union, Pakistan and the 
United States and had submitted for consideration by Members a revised terms of reference at the 
CTD meeting in November . Since  additional observations had been made by two delegations – the 
United States and Canada, the LDC Group would conduct  additi onal consultations in the coming 
days concerning the points raised to allow Members  to reach consensus  on the matter .  
3.16.   On the Commit tee on Rules of Origin's September meeting,  Members had examined a draft 
notification of preferences in accordance with the relevant Nairobi Decision. The recommendations  
and observations mentioned had been  incorporated and the revised draft had been  the subject of 
informal consultations organized within the framework of the  CRO on 16 No vember. The  LDCs had 
circulated the  new version amongst  themselves and had looked at the system of calculating 
utilization rates. Through  consultations  and deciding by conse nsus,  the next stage  would involve 
the date for notification conformity with the new model. A deadline for notification to the 
secretariat concerning imports should be set preferably before the next specia l session through 
which the LDC Group had  put in a request. The proposed special session  could be hel d in the first 
quarter of 2017 and would be devoted to notifications from Members concerning the update of the 
Ministerial Declaration , in order to examine in greater depth the challenges with which the LDC s 
were confronted with in connection with preferential rules of origin. A draft a genda of the special 
session had  been drafted a nd comments and suggestions would  be taken into account i n the 
revised version which would be submitted for Members' considerati on.  
3.17.   Regarding  the S ervices Waiver, the Group thanked  the 23 Members which  had entered into 
preferential negotiations in favour of  LDCs including developing Members that  had said that they 
were in a position to do so and had  given notification of preferenc es in favour of LDCs. At the CTS 
session in 27 November the Group had made comments and observations concerning the 
notification of Canada and was  pleased to continue negotiations with Canada in order to find a 
satisfactory  solution to the concerns of the LDCs.  
3.18.   In relation to  the Ministerial Declaration on Exp ort Competition, the Group called upon 
Members to take the neces sary internal measures to respect the deadlines for implementation 
provided by that decision. On cotton, the Group wished  to know exactl y what the level of 
implementat ion of the Nairobi Declaration was and the measures taken by developing Members in 
order to implement the export competition component of that Ministerial Declaration.  
3.19.   Concerning  domestic s upport for cotton, the LDCs support ed the decision taken under 
paragraph 8 of the Nairobi Mini sterial Declaration and requested Members to continue with the 
reforms in order to improve and ultimately eliminate domestic support in cotton.  
3.20.   With regard to S&D, the Group recommended that those  provisions be made simple, 
strengthened and more op erational. W ork on the matter should  be done on the bas is of update d 
and relevant  statistical data. The LDCs had  already b egun its work by compiling  data with the WTO 
Secretariat and other bodies dealing with trade and development which would  contribute to a 
better underst anding on the part of Members on  the importance of S&D for LDCs in particular.  
3.21.   The LDCs thanked bilateral donors which had  announced their  financial contributions under 
Phase II of the E IF Framework and Aid fo r Trade. A meeting on  EIF had been held in Kigali on  
29 November to  1 December which had a good turnout from Memb ers, bilateral donors, a gencies WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  and the LDC beneficiaries. During the meeting, they had taken important decisions which would  be 
communicate d to Members to provide better  understanding of the LDCs' expectations of the EIF. 
They called upon their  technic al partners to support the Aid for T rade initiative and  to help 
alleviate  poverty in LDCs.  
3.22.   The representative of Uganda  associated with the statement made by the LDCs and thank ed 
the Secretariat  for the report in WT/COMTD/W/222 on DFQF M arket Access. Uganda express ed its 
appreciation to those M embers  – developed and developing – that had  responded to the Hong 
Kong Ministerial Declaration to prov ide DFQF market access to LDCs. Uganda commend ed those 
that had already attained the 97% mark and encouraged those that were yet to reach such mark 
or provide the same to  do so as well. It would also be very important for preference gran ting 
countries to effectively implement the notification requirements and make publically available to 
the WTO the utilization  rates of their DFQF schemes. Uganda also thanked Members that had  so 
far started responding to the Nairobi Ministerial Decision o n preferential rule s of origin. It was 
important for them  to take steps towards implementing all Ministerial Decisions.  
3.23.   With respect to the draft terms of reference, Uganda  support ed the statement  made by the 
LDCs. As  had been indicated during the previou s GC meeting, Uganda wished to encourage 
Members to join in the consensus to adopt the  terms of reference to enable the clinical study to 
take place. The study was about how DFQF had been implemented in the past until present , and 
not about the future. Any  recommendations that could result from the study would have to be 
agreed to by consensus in the CTD.  
3.24.   On the issues that had been  raised in some of the bilateral consultatio ns such as on the 
non-references  to the Hong Kon g Ministerial Declaration, Uganda had found that request difficult 
for the LDCs  because e rasing the HKMD would render their  request baseless. It would also have  
systemic implications on all LDC -specific issues such as  cotton, Se rvices waiver  and preferential 
rules of origin , among others. All those  decisi ons and the rest that the LDCs were currently 
pursuing were anchored on the architecture which had provided them with flexibilities that they  
continue d to argue and advocate for . The suggestion that the DDA was  dead and that anything , 
even in the p ast, should not be referenced had  further implications on all the  Bali decisions such as 
the TFA  and the Agriculture d ecisions such as those that had been  adopted in Bali and in Nairobi. 
Did that  mean that LDCs should not deposit their instruments of rati fication of the TFA because it 
was anchored in the DDA? Did that mean that Members did  not intend to respect and or 
implement the Bali and Nairobi decisions just because t hey were outcomes from the DDA?  
3.25.   Concerning  the implementa tion of the LDC Servi ces Waiver, a ccording to the WTO 
Secretariat study on LDC Market Access in WT/C OMTD/LDC/W/64, the  LDCs' exports of 
commercial services had expanded to US$36 billion. The share of LDCs in world exports of 
commercial services had increased to 0.8%. T he integ ration of LDCs in international services trade 
however remained  limited due to a number of constraints including poor infrastructure, limited 
skills and lack of financial resources. In 2015,  LDCs'  services trade had remained concentrated 
within a few econo mies. The top ten leading exporters had accounted for mo re than two -thirds of 
the G roup's services receipts – a proportion virtually unchanged since 2005. Over the years, the 
LDCs' services trade deficit had  widened from US$16.3 billion in 2005 to US$39 bi llion in 2015.  
3.26.   For LDCs, services trade went  beyond pure economic significance due to the major role 
services play ed for achieving social and development objectives and as a means of addressing 
poverty, upgrading welfare, improving universal availabili ty and access to basic services  and in 
ensuring sustainable development  including its social dimension.  
3.27.   Uganda welcome d the 23 notifications tha t had so far been submitted by M embers , both 
developed and developing. In the  implementation phase a fter Nairobi, M embers should  package 
technical assistance and capacity b uilding programs in the country  that respond ed to 
paragraph  3.2 of the LDCs' Collective Request and p aragraph 1.4 of the Nairobi Ministerial Decision 
on the implementation of the waiver with the view  to providing specific a ssistance and capacity 
building  and facilitate training  and orientation in any program  to orient suppliers on the preference 
benefits available to enable LDC suppliers to  utilize the preferences granted.  
3.28.   Uganda  discourage d Members from payi ng too much attention to Geneva -based pro grams. 
It was no longer useful for M embers to structure programs to be implemented in Geneva. More 
value addition would occur when the supply capacity would be built on the ground. Members WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  therefore should  move forward with the view to ensuring full implementation in  their countries to 
build an inclusive space of shared prosp erity and one that truly ensured  the integration of LDCs in 
the m ultilateral trading system. It wa s such programs that would help mitig ate some of the 
negative energies  that had preoccupied Members – including in developed countries – on the 
impact of globalization .  
3.29.   Uganda request ed Members to undertake some waiver -related domestic awarene ss raising 
campaigns among their  respective const ituencie s to afford them sufficient understanding of the  
preferential treatment that had  been granted to LDCs.  
3.30.   The General Council took note  of the Chairman's report and of the statements.  
4  WORK PROGRAMME ON SM ALL ECONOMIES – REPORT BY THE CHAIRM AN OF THE 
DEDICATED SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRA DE AND DEVELOPMENT  
4.1.  The Chairman  recalled that , in line with the framework and procedures agreed by the General  
Council in 2002, the Work Programme on Small Economi es was  a standing item on the General 
Council's agend a and the Committee on Trade and Development reported  regularly to the Council 
on the progress of work in its Dedicated Sessions.  At Nairobi, Ministers  had adopted a Decision 
reaffirming their commitment to the Work Programme and instructing the CTD to con tinue its work 
in Dedicated Sessions under the overall responsibility of the General Council. He invite d 
Ambassador Christopher Onyanga Aparr (Uganda) , Chair man of the CTD, t o report on 
developments in the  area. 
4.2.  Ambassador Christopher Onyanga Aparr (Uganda ), Chairman of the Dedicated Session of the 
CTD, reported that  the CTD's Dedicated Session on Small Economies had met on 4 November. At 
that meeting, Members had continued their examination of the paper prepared by the Secretariat 
on the challenges and opp ortunities small economies face d when accessing global value chains in 
trade in goods and services as identifie d in document WT/COMTD/SE/W/31 .  
4.3.  In past sessions, Members had examined various sectors covered in the Secretariat paper 
including agriculture, f isheries, textiles and tourism services. At their most recent session, 
Members had focu sed on the paper's chapters on information technology and business process  
outsourcing services and on  logistics and maritime transport services. They had heard 
presenta tions from UNCTAD and the ITC and country reports from Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, 
Panama and Sri Lanka. The latter had identified specific challenges they  had encountered with the 
implementation of their national plans to further develop key services sec tors.  
4.4.  Concerning  the follow -up work related to the  Nairobi Ministerial Decision, he recalled that 
Ministers  had requested the Secretariat to continue its work on global value chains and to also 
examine the challenges which small economies face d in their e fforts to reduce trade costs, 
particularly in the area of trade facilitation.  
4.5.  Under that  agenda item  of the Dedicated Session , Guatemala, as the coordinator of the SVEs, 
had introduced a revised proposal on "Challenges Small Economies Experience in Their Efforts to 
Reduce Trade Costs, Particularly in the Area of Trade Faci litation". The proposal requested  the 
Secretariat to disaggregate the relevant statistical information on reducing trade costs from the 
"Aid for Trade at a Glance 2015" study and to focus  the discussion on the results of the SVE 
countries. The proposal also called  for two meetings of the Dedicated Session on Small Economies 
to be held in the first s emester of 2017. The proposal had been accepted and had  later been 
circulated as WT/COMTD/SE /W/33/Rev.1.  
4.6.  The representative of Honduras , on behalf of the SVEs , said that it had been a fruitful year in 
the Dedicated Session on Small Econ omies. A number of meetings had been held for the purpose 
of in-depth discussion of the study on value chains ca rried out by the WTO Secretar iat and those 
had been  attended by  representatives of SVEs. At their  latest meeting,  the SVEs  had submitted a 
proposal on the challenges facing small e conomies in their efforts to reduce trade costs, following 
up on the decisio n adopted by the Ministers in Nairobi at MC11. The SVEs thanked the Membership 
as a whole for the suppor t given to the Group's proposal which had been  endorsed at the last 
session. The SVEs  hoped that the sessions scheduled to  discuss the matter in 2017 wo uld be 
successful.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  4.7.  The General Council took note  of the report of the Chairman of the Dedicated Session of the 
Committee on Trade and Development and of the statement.  
5  WORK PROGRAMME ON EL ECTRONIC COMMERCE – REVIEW OF PROGRESS ( S/C/51, 
G/C/58)  
5.1.  The Chairman  recalled5 that the Nairobi Ministerial Dec ision on E -commerce had  instructed 
the General C ouncil to hold periodic reviews  at its sessions in July and December 2016 and 
July 2017 based on reports that could  be submitted by the WTO bodi es entrusted with the  
impleme ntation of the Work Programme. He drew  attention to the reports submitted by the Chairs 
of the Council for Trade in  Services and the Goods Council under their own responsibility  to the 
General Council in documents S/C/51 and G/C/58 , respectively.  
5.2.  The TRIPS Council had had an initial discussion of issues related to the protection and 
enforcement of intellectual property rights in the context of e -commerce at its meeting s in June 
and November . A number of Members had highlighted a strong interest in discus sing tho se 
matters and delegations had had an initial e xchange of relevant experiences , based  on a 
communication from Canada  at the Council's meeting in June. At the most recent Council meeting 
in November, delegations had considered concrete intelle ctual property themes to discuss under 
the Work Programme o n E-commerce in the coming year  based on an addendum to Canada's 
initial communication.   
5.3.  The Committee on Trade and Development had also discussed e -commerce at its 
100th session held on 24 Novemb er. At that meeting, China and Pakistan had presented their 
submission which  called  for the development dimension of electronic commerce to be upheld 
throughout the discussions and to be fully incorporated into any future outcome. Members had 
generally wel comed the submission and looked forward to detailed discussions at fu ture meetings. 
They had agreed to the Chair's suggestion to revert to the agenda item on e -commerce at the next 
meeting.  
5.4.  Concerning  the discussions held under the auspices of the General  Council, the Chairman's 
report , which wa s without prejudice  to Members' positions or views , covered  developments in the 
horizontal discussions under the Work Programme since t he last review in July. He recalled that at 
the July GC meeting , Ambassador Sues cum had reported on his consultations held in June and on 
the 11th Dedicated Discussion held in July, at which 7 submissions had been introduced.  At that 
Dedicated Discussion, delegations  had provided preliminary comments and had recogniz ed the 
need to hav e further discussion on the submissions. At that s ame meeting, the Secretariat had 
been requested to update its background information note on th e Work Programme. The update 
had been  circulated as JOB/GC/73/Add.1 on 24 October 2016.  
5.5.  After the summer break , Ambassador Suescum had held consultations with those 
25 Members who had responded to his open invitation to discuss how best to proceed with the 
discussion of the July submissions. Based on his bilateral consultations, he  had suggested 
proceeding on a th ematic basis, starting with a discussion on facilitating e -commerce and e -
commerce for development.  
5.6.  The 12th Dedicated Discussion had been held on 18 October 2016. However, substantive 
discussions had not taken place given the procedural concerns expresse d by some delegations. In 
that regard, he had subsequently undertaken consultations together with Ambassador Suescum 
and had met bilaterally with almost 40 delegations. The list of delegations had included all the 
regional coordinators – the African Group,  GRULAC, Asian Group of Developing countries and the 
Pacific, as well as the ACP, and the LDC Group. In addition, delegations that had submitted 
documents as well as those that had expressed concerns during the Dedicated Discussion had 
been invited.  
5.7.  He had sought  the views of each delegation  on how best to move forward in the e -commerce 
discussion , particularly with regard to the submissions tabled since July. Views expressed by 
Members during the consultations had varied both in terms of substance and pro cess.  
                                                
5 The Chairman's report  was subseq uently circulated in WT/GC/W/728.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  5.8.  Many delegations had stressed the need to continue work on e -commerce in line with the 
1998 mandate of examining and exploring its trade -related aspects. Some felt that e -commerce 
had been given a higher priority as compared to the Doha issues of in terest to them. It had also 
been their view that some of the submissions had gone beyond the exploratory nature of the Work 
Programme and had been looking towards rule -making.  
5.9.  During the consultations, they had  sensed some misunderstanding on the role of the 
Dedicated Discussion. One delegation had specifically said that it would oppose any discussion on 
e-commerce in the Dedicated Discussion. In its view, the Nairobi Decision  had directed Members to 
submit and discuss papers in the subsi diary bodies. In r esponse to those concerns, he had recall ed 
that the General Council had  a central role in the Work Programme and considered  issues of a 
cross-cutting nature. He  had further recalled that the Work Programme had been  established to 
examine all trade -related issues relatin g to global electronic commerce  and that under 
paragrap h 34 of the Nairobi Declaration any negotiations should  be decided by consensus.   
5.10.   Some delegations  had stressed the need to avoid using procedural issues to block 
discussion. I n their vi ew, if some Members did not want to discuss at all they should  make that 
clear.  
5.11.   Many delegations  had recogniz ed the potential benefits of e -commerce but had noted the 
existing structural and infrastructural challenges that needed to be addressed first and  foremost. A 
number of delegations had noted that some of th e development -related issues could  only be 
address ed in the course of discussions which would  help fill the knowledge gap. The efforts of the 
Friends of E -commerce for Development had  also been noted includ ing the seminar to be held on 
9 December.  
5.12.   With regard to the  forum for discussion, some had been  of the view that the submissions 
should be discussed first in the relevant subsidiary bodies and that issues should only be brought 
to the Dedicated  Discussion once  they had "matured". Others had been  of the view that the 
Dedicated Discussion had the mandate to discuss cross -cutting issues. The suggestion to have a 
joint me eting of all relevant bodies had been  supported by a number of delegations , although a 
few had questioned how such a meeting  would be conducted. Others had  suggested having 
informal open -ended dis cussions. Another suggestion had been  to submit e -commerce -related 
documents in multiple document symbols , given the cross -cutting nature o f e-commerce.  
5.13.   On the wa y forward, it was  clear that some delegations want ed to see some progress by 
MC11. Others did not share that  view and want ed to continue the exploratory nature of the Work 
Programme. At the same time, for some delegations,  the only possible way forward wa s to first 
have a deep discussion about proce dures so that all the issues could  be put on the table and 
Members could  define exactly w hat the Dedicated Discussion could  do. One delegation had noted 
that the Work Programme had  been on going for many years and that Members needed to take 
stock and look at best practices as a start.  
5.14.   As Members  move d forward, it was his hope that delegations would  continue disc ussing 
electronic commerce. It wa s important to address the knowledge gap as well as the connectivity 
issues  in close cooperation  with other organizations that could  complement WTO's work. In 
addition, Members  should identify issues that could  be discussed in the WTO and proceed 
incrementally in a transparent and inclusive manner to deepen their common understanding of the 
WTO's role in the  field of e -commerce. There had  been suggestions to start with the  easier issues 
– issues that could  garner consensus. However,  any identification process would  require a 
discussion. What, how and w here to discuss remained  in the hands of Members. As Chai rman of 
the General Council, he  remain ed ready to cons ult further with Members in that  regard.  
5.15.   The representative of Costa Rica  recalled  that a seminar on challenges and opportunities of 
e-commerce t o development which would take place on 9 De cember. The event was organized by 
the Friends of E -Commerce for Development and would  offer an opportunity to exchange on areas 
of interes t for all such as e -commerce. Costa Rica  hoped that Members would be able  to attend  
and participate in that event.  
5.16.   The representative of China  drew the Council's attention to the  joint proposal on e -
commerce that China had submitted with Pakistan to the General Council and three subsidiary  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  bodies – CTG, CTD and CTS. The submiss ion had been  made in accordance with the mandates of  
the 1998 Work Programme on Electronic Commerce and the relevant Ministerial Decisions.  
5.17.   The main ideas of the proposal were three -fold. First, the proposal placed  development at 
the centre of Members' wo rk and emphasized that e-commerce should reflect the concept of 
inclusive trade. The difficulties faced by developing Members such as insufficient infrastructure, 
lack of information knowledge, lack of capacity building should be addressed effectively whic h 
would  help bridge the digital divide.  
5.18.   Second, the proposal focused  on the promotion and the facilitation of cross -border trade in 
goods enabled by the internet together with services directly supporting trade in goods such as 
payment and logistic servic es.  
5.19.   Third, the proposal aimed  at providi ng a fair chance for developing Members including their 
SMEs to participate and benefit from international trade and the global value chains. Based on 
China's own experience, small farmers and smal l businesses in re mote areas could  be integrated 
into the domestic and international market with the help of e -commerce.  
5.20.   The proponents' outreach regarding their proposal wa s extensive. In addition to 
presentations and discussions at the C TG, CTD and CTS respectively, they had also held bilateral 
and small group discussions with various Members and Member -groups. The general response had 
been quite positive. Many Members had expres sed their support for the way they had  approached 
the discussion and had put forward concrete s uggestion s and detailed questions. They were  
encoura ged by the deep engagement of the  Members on their proposal and we re looking forw ard 
to further responding to those comments and having  in-depth discussions on the related issues at 
the four regular sessi ons and in other for mal or informal configurations.  
5.21.   Members should also recogniz e that the current mandate wa s not to negotiate but to 
examine all trade -related issues relating to global e -commerce. Therefore, before moving to m ake 
any new multilateral rul es on e -commerce, they  needed to first have a clea r mandate based on 
consensus. The proponents  wanted to clarify that discussion s at the current stage should not lead 
to new market access commitments and Members should avoid crossing each ot her's red lines . 
They should focus the discussion on clarifying and improving the application of existing m ultilateral 
trading rules to allow developing Members to fully benefit from the existing market access 
opportunities.  
5.22.   China stoo d ready to fully exchange views wit h other Members on ways to promote 
discussion on e -commerce in the spirit of solidarity combining bottom -up specific discussions and 
top-down horizontal discussions to secure pragmatic progress in the WTO.  
5.23.   The representative of the European Union  considere d e-commerce as one of the key topics 
for the future work of the  WTO. The European Union had been  encouraged by the post -Nairobi 
discussions where many Members had  shown increasing interest  and readiness to look into the  
issue in the WTO context more t horoughly than in the past. That had  also been quite explicit in the 
Oslo mini-Ministerial meeting  in October. His delegation  had therefore welcomed the decision to 
organi ze a series of dedicated sessions on e -commerce with the view to exploring the substance of 
the seven written s ubmissions in July and had supported a thematic approach to the discussion of 
those papers.  
5.24.   The European Union regretted  the outcome of the last dedicated session on  18 October. It 
could indeed have allowed Members to advance discussi ons on all issues – sectoral and  cross-
cutting – included in those papers. That was the EU's understanding of the purpose of the wor k 
programme. The European Union took  note that a number of Members prefer red to have 
discussions on e -commerce in  the regula r committees. In that respect, his delegation was flexible 
as regards where the  discussions would take place – be it at the General Council , the dedicated 
sessions, the re gular committees – and how it would  be organi zed. What was important was that 
convers ations  on substance  move d ahead.  
5.25.   MC11 should deliver on e -commerce – 18 years  after Members had started their 
discussions. It was possible to deliver if they  focused thei r efforts on a limited number of topics on 
the rule -making side in order to improve l egal certainty and transparency, enhance the access and 
use of services, increase the participation of SMEs and bring development benefits, to name just a WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  few. In parallel, the European Union  invite d Members to continue discussions and reflections on a 
broader range of issues that could be advanced in the longer term.  
5.26.   The European Union wa s considering re -submittin g the paper it co -sponsored in July which 
had originally  been submitted in the e -commerce work programme context to the four regular 
committe es – CTS, CTG, CTD and TRIPS. The EU  invite d the sponsors of  other papers to do the 
same. Members had already  had useful discussions on the submission of China in the regular 
comm ittees. The EU hoped that all Members would  actively and constructively join tec hnical 
scoping discussions based on the numerous submissions to define the priorities for future work 
and concrete deliverables on the limited set of regulatory issues before MC11. E -commerce wa s 
one of the key topics in th e post -Nairobi discussions as also acknowledged by the Ministers in Oslo.  
5.27.   On the Chinese paper on e -commerce, the European Union thanked China for its 
submission. D iscussions on e -commerce need ed to be int ensified and deepened. Hence, the EU  
welcome d China's initiative to inject addit ional ideas into the debate and reiterate d that the 
number of issues outlined in China's paper coul d indeed form part of Members' efforts in the WTO 
in that area. That included  rules on recognition of electronic contract, e -signatures and e -
authentication whic h Members could expound to global level. The EU also agree d on the 
import ance of  address ing consumer protection issu es. The moratorium on customs duties provided  
greater clarity and certainty to  the trading community bolstering a strong case for making the  
moratorium permanent. The EU fully support ed the transparency -related objectiv es in the paper 
and share d China's views on the importance of the development component in Members'  work in 
enhancing participation of small and med ium sized enterprises – as already supported by the  Aid 
for Trade framework. A number of ideas had been  raised in the paper regarding customs 
procedures , several of which had  also been considered in the c ontext of trade facilitation. Members 
should focus thei r efforts on those issues which had  the highest chance of reaching consensus and 
avoid contentious topics such as taxation.  
5.28.   The European Union  looked forward to further engaging with China and ot her Members on 
the basis of that and other submissions that had  been made in order to s et clear priorities for thei r 
future work towards MC11 and beyond.  
5.29.   The representative of the United States  said that d espite the confusing situation surrounding 
the question of views and mandates as had been described by the Chair , the United States 
remain ed encouraged for the time bein g by the energy Members had devoted to revitalis ing the 
Work Programme on E -Commerce in advance of MC11 . Most recently, the paper  circulated in 
November by China and Pakistan contained  a number of specific pr oposals that we re ripe for 
discussion within the construct of the WTO.  
5.30.   At every Ministerial Conference since 1998, Members had  renewed the temporary 
moratorium on customs dutie s on electronic transmissions. The United States supported the WTO 
making that  moratorium perman ent, to allow digitally -enabled firms to more confidently offer their 
products and services around the world.   
5.31.   The ability to move data and digital pr oducts freely across borders had  become a 
cornerston e of the global digital economy  and a permanent morato rium would mark meaningful 
progress for the Work Programme on E -Commerce. Such progress in ad vance of MC11  would help 
establish a basis for negotiating genuine liberalization of digital trade w ithin the context of the 
WTO. There wa s not much l ow-hanging fr uit in Geneva. It would be a good test.  If that could not 
be done, it would be  hard to imagin e what could  be achieve d multilaterally.  
5.32.   The United States noted the breadth of digital trade and encouraged  the uptake o f a wide 
range of issues in the forum.  Digitally -delivered products and services should be afforded the same 
protections as analogous goods and services  provided in an offline context  and warrant inclusion in  
any forward -looking dialogue. Further, the computing and telecommunications services tha t 
underpin ned the global digital economy deserve d attention in t he Work Programme on E -
Commerce , which should look to imp roving the liberalization of tho se sectors.  
5.33.   The United States  looked forward to engaging further in discussions to support the progress  
of the Work Programme in E -Commerce  and hope d to make concrete progress in advan ce of 
MC11 , as a step toward more robust negotiations in the future.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  5.34.   The representative o f Benin , on behalf of the LDCs , took note of the dynamics in the 
consultations on e -commerce and thanked  China and Pakistan for having respected the established 
format in the work programme  by submitting their proposal to the regular bodies of the WTO. 
Paragraphs 1.1 and 1. 2 of the work programme called  upon Members to continue with the ir work 
on the basis of  the mandate and existing guid elines and on proposals submitted by Member s to 
the competent WTO bodies  in conform ity with p aragrap hs 2 to 5 of the work programme – with 
the General Council taking  into account any cross -cutting t rade issu e.  
5.35.   The Group recommended  that Members should follow the example of China and Pakistan,  
particularly by submitting all proposals for discussion to the co mpetent bodies as set forth in 
paragraphs 2 to 5 of the work programme. The General Council could make a report when 
consultations would reach  maturity in the competent bodies.  That would allow Members to identify 
any cross-cutting  trade-related issue and to acknowledge  its inter -sectoral n ature at the same 
time. Once a submission  had undergone such process , it could be forwarded  for Members' 
deliberation . Discussions on possible rules on e-commerce could happen at a later stage  as the 
work programme wa s exploratory in nature and did not have a negotiating mandate.  
5.36.   According to the st atistical data reported  by the International Telecommunications U nion, 
15% of the African population wa s not connected  in 2016 . Only 1  million households in LDCs had  
internet access throughout the worl d. High, liberal, fixed access wa s below 1% in Africa including  
in LDCs and on ly few LDCs had obtained  broadband. I nfrastructure and connectivity we re major 
issues  for LDCs. Africa 's internet connectivity was  the lowest regionally and in the world. In fact, i t 
had two times more bands compared to  Asia and the Pacific, 4 times more i n the co mmunity of 
independent States, 8 tim es more in the Americas and over 20 times  more in Europe. The lack  of 
international connectivity wa s a major drawback in the infrastru cture of LDCs. Consequently, 
Members should  have a  global discussion on all of  those issues in order to better grasp the type of 
rules that could be envisaged in order to take into account the development dimension.  
5.37.   Under p aragraph 24 of the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration, Ministers had committed to 
combatting the marginalization of LDCs in international trade and to improve their participation in 
international trade effectively. They had  also agreed to ensure that all issues  of particular interest 
to LDCs be continued by way of pri ority in order to strengthen tho se countries and t o make the 
rules legally bin ding. Following that and i n conformity with paragraph 31 of the Nairobi Ministerial 
Declaration, priority should be given to pending  Doha issues and to the specific priority areas of 
LDCs as submitt ed in WT/GC/W/717 – TN/C/W/73 – WT/COMTD/LDC/W/63. The LDCs would  
submit a communication which would be circulated  to all the Members containing a  technical 
evaluation of the LDC situation in connection with e -commerce and identifying the constraints 
faced and the needs, priorities and  perspectives of the G roup on the matter . 
5.38.   The representative of Japan  thanked the Chairman and Ambassador Suescum for their 
efforts to facilitate the dis cussions on electronic commerce and said that the world was currently  
witnessing the rapid dev elopment of the digital economy which wa s changing almost all aspects of 
commercial ac tivities. The digital economy had a positive and huge impact  especially on 
developing countries and SMEs as technology enabled them to better access  the global market at 
much lowe r cost – thus showing its  great potential to become a new engine for inclusive trade.  
5.39.   The digitization of the economy would proceed regardless of what Members would do at the 
WTO. The WTO could however play its role to further unleash the p otential of the digital economy 
so that all  Members could  enjoy its benefits.  
5.40.   Japan was  disappointed wi th the current situation as  the Dedicated Discussi on under the 
General Council had been paralysed since October. His delegation  hoped that Members would  start 
substantiv e discussions in the Dedicated Discussion as soon as possible as mandated under the 
work programme.  
5.41.   On the other hand, Japan  welcome d the initiation of substantive discussions in the relevant 
bodies and the seminar to be held under the auspices of the CTS based on some Member s' 
proposals. Japan was  also interested in the idea of the informal joint me eting suggested by some 
Members  including Br azil, China and Pakistan,  and was open  as to the forum where the discussions 
would be held.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  5.42.   China and Pakistan's pro posal was  significant as it had been  put forward by the largest 
trader in the world. Having said that , he noted that t he proposal mainly focused  on the trade 
facilitation aspect of electronic commerce cover ing a wide range of issues , some of which appear ed 
to be less -relevant to the WTO portfolio. Japan therefore suggested that the focus of the  work 
should be  on the WTO -relevant issues . Other aspects of electronic commerce  such as cross -borde r 
data flows and e -signature were also important and  should be dul y discussed at the WTO.  
5.43.   The representative of Pakistan  noted that t he digital and knowledge gap among Members 
was further complicated by the multi -dimensional and mu lti-agency nature of e -commerce such 
that it would be necessary to proceed progressively on  e-commerce in an inclusive manner  – the 
raison d'être of the Friends of E -commerce for Development.   
5.44.   E-commerce grew at a rapid pace  while t he digital divide widened . UNCTAD had  estimated 
the global value of business to business (B2B) e -commerce at more t han $15 trillion – more than 
ten times that of business -to-consu mer (B2C) e -commerce. O pportunities  from e -commerce 
however had yet to be seized by  many LDCs, developing countri es and economies in transition. 
Most consumers had yet to make online purchases . Most companies  in the developing world had 
yet to sell online and  still need ed to gain web p resence. Some of the challenges we re further 
compounded for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Landlocked Developi ng Countries 
(LLDC) to which e -commerce c ould provide a way forward .  
5.45.   For e-commerce to b e an engine for development, Members ' work should focus on reducing 
the digital and know ledge gap between developed, developing and LDC Members particularly in the 
areas of e -commerce and the digital economy.  They should debate about  opportunities and 
challenges f or LDCs and developing Members in e -commerce and identify the trad e policy areas 
where the WTO could  contribute. In that  regard, s ubstance would be  more important than form.  
5.46.   In a re cent national cons ultation held  in Pakist an, its  stakeholders  had said that, " [W]e have 
missed the plastic phase of e -commerce revolution. W e cannot afford to miss the mo bile digital 
phase of e -commerce ". In the same vein, his delegation  saw great potential in the paper  tabled by 
China on the subject , which Pakistan had co-sponsor ed. The paper  would  further help deepen the 
debate and discussion on e -commerce at  the WTO in an inclusive manner. Pakistan  appreciate d 
the efforts of  the Chairman and of Ambassador  Suescum in chart ing a mutually agreed way 
forward.  
5.47.   The representative of  Paraguay  recalled that Ministers in Nairobi had agreed to revitalise  the 
work under  the work programme . Paraguay  appreciate d the efforts of the Chairman and of 
Ambassador Suescum in following up on t he matter. Since July, several submissions had been 
submitted  in different WTO bodies , which had led to lively discussions . Those discussions were 
important for enabling Members to progress  on key issues for e -commerce , particularly if they 
wished to reach  a deliverable in that area at  MC11. As had been indicated  by the representative of 
the European Union , the do cument co -sponsored by Paraguay entitled  "WTO Trade Policy and the 
Digital Economy ", submitted in the framework of the dedicated session on the wo rk programme on 
e-commerce , should be circulated again for it to be included on the agenda of the subsidiary 
bodies dealing with more specif ic issues.  
5.48.   Members should continue to make progress  on e-commerce . Paraguay was specifically 
interested in  transpar ency and exchanging information on  a regulatory framework. As had been 
stated by several delegations in the pr eliminary debates, several Members did  not feel ready to 
begin to discuss disciplines related  to e-commerce because they had no laws and regulatio ns on 
the matter . To make progress, Members should therefore voluntarily submit information on their 
legislation or regulation that they consider ed to be relevant to promote e -commerce. The issue of 
transparency had also been identified i n all of the pro posals submitted in 2016. Transparency  
would make it possible for Members to exchange information on good practices and to identify 
areas of action within the WTO in particular concerning the necessary technical assi stance for 
those Members that did not have  standards on that area .  
5.49.   Members should continue to have their informal debates on activiti es and events in Geneva 
and in capitals. On 19 and 20 October, a regional workshop concerning e -commerce and its role in 
the development of Latin America had been h eld in Para guay. The event had been organiz ed with 
the support of the WTO. Representatives from governments and the priv ate sector in the region 
and officials from multilateral bodies  had participated. The workshop had shown great interest WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  from national st akeholders in discussing e -commerce issues and the recommendations from that 
event had been very useful. Such an event should be continually supported by the WTO and 
should also be held in other regions in 2017.  
5.50.   The representative of Lao PDR  welcomed and supported  China and Pa kistan's e -commerce 
proposal and thanked them  for being  constructive and for their comprehensive report s on the 
matter at the  CTD, CTG, CTS and at the GC. The proposal would be significant  for development 
and economic growth , especial ly for SMEs and entrepreneurs as it placed emphasis on  improving 
their participation i n e-commerce flow s. It aimed  at facilitating  cross-border trade in goods done 
online by developing  service s, such as logistics that would directly support  such trade . The 
proposal was based on the work programme and on the existing mandate and the proposals  
seem ed realistic and doable. Lao PDR  appreciate d the effort and work towards promoting cro ss-
border trade at MC11 and  hoped that the next step in the process would  help bring m ore clarity 
and focus on the way forward in dealing with the issue of e -commerce . 
5.51.   The representative of Peru praise d the work done by Ambassador Suescum on e-commerce , 
particularly  in connection with the dedicated discussion s. At the last on e held in October, Peru  
would have liked to have a more substantive discussion on the basis of the proposals that had 
been submitted by various Members . Peru  considered that forum to be  the appropriate one for 
having discussions on e-commerce related issues of cross-cutting nature .  
5.52.   There had been two recent developments on e -commerce which had taken  place within the  
framework of the dedicated discussion. First, there was the proposal from China and Pakistan 
which Peru welcomed . The Chinese proposal had  shed light  on the discussions concernin g e-
commerce in a  way that helped to distinguish between two signs of the same trend which to date 
had not been clearly defined: t rade in goods through electronic platforms , which require d a 
physical transf er across borders and  e-commerce , and the so-called digital goods which use d 
electronic means  for their transmission.  
5.53.   Second, various initiatives on e -commerce for d evelopment had been established, given the 
link between participation in that area  and development. In particul ar, e-commerce would make  it 
possible for SMEs  in the developing world  to have access to the global market and to provide their 
products to consumers  around the world. Peru would  actively  participate in the seminar  involving 
such matters  on 9 December whic h it had co -sponsored . Discussions on e -commerce remained  
relevant . As Members  moved forward with tho se discussions, Peru  hoped that they would consider  
having  concrete  results on e-commerce at MC11 . 
5.54.   The representative of the Republic of Korea  recalled the  growing ent husiasm on e -
commerce at the WTO before the summer break  which had however diminished , as evidenced by 
the difficulties in pushing  forward discussions on substance due to procedural issues. It was 
nonetheless important to continue efforts in th at area. Digital trade was  real, and the relevance of 
the WTO would be seriously undermined if the organization did  not keep up with tho se chang es. 
Korea encourage d all Member s to be flexible on non -substantial matters. On its part, Korea would  
continue  to participate in discussions in each Council and Committee as well as  in dedicated 
session s to mak e progress on substance. Korea also  support ed various initiatives that were trying 
to bridge the knowledge -gap between Members , such as the e -commerce and deve lopment 
seminar.  
5.55.   The representative of Uganda  associated  his delegations  with the statement made by the 
LDCs. Uganda had  no problem with discussions on e -commerce in the dedicated session  just as it 
had no problem discussing development . Such discussion sh ould however  be consistent w ith the 
mandate bestowed upon Members under the Work P rogram me. The discussion should  be well 
structured, agreed upon and rooted in the Work P rogram me. Members should distinguish between 
discussions and negotiations as the Work Program me was exploratory in nature and had no 
negotiating mandate. The process should  be transparent, inclusive, consensus -based and Member -
driven , following the principles enshrined in the  Nairobi Ministerial Declaration .   
5.56.   Members should  participate in shapin g the discussion on e -commerce and should go  back to 
the founding pri nciples of the Work P rogram me. Paragraph s 1.1 and 1.2 note d the need " To 
continue the work under the Work Programme  […] based on existing mandate and guidelines and 
on the basis of proposals submitted by Members in the relevant WTO bodies as set out in 
paragraphs 2–5 of the Work Programme […]. In addition, the General Council shall take up WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  consideration of any trade related issue of a cross cutting nature". S ubmissions should  therefo re 
be taken to the relevant bodies as set out in Paragraphs 2 to 5 of the Work Program me following 
the example of China and Pakistan. Uganda  applaud ed their responsiveness.  He said that o nly 
once the discuss ions in the relevant bodies had matured should a submission  be reported to the 
General Council , where Members could  identify any trade -related issue of a cross -cutting nature – 
detailing its cross -cutting nature . Once all Members had agreed, it could  be int roduced for 
discussion in the dedicated discussi on.  
5.57.   As an African an d a Least -Developed Coun try, Uganda highly valued the WTO not just for 
making rules but also for promoting and protecting them. The rules that Members had agreed 
upon should therefore be  observed and guarded jealously without d istincti on. Towards that end, 
Uganda found it contradictory that M embers want ed to trample upon existing rules in a bid to 
supposedly make new ones  in the name of expediency.  
5.58.   As a member of t he LDCs G roup, Uganda had  enormous infrastructural challenges, 
regulat ory and institutional gaps – notwithsta nding the knowledge gap. The numbers we re glaring 
and any co nscription into rule making would  further worsen the div ide. Uganda  would therefore 
call for intensi fied cooperation mechanisms and/ or framework s to be facilit ated to enable them  to 
build the requisit e readiness that would enable them to  derive  the potential benefits from 
electronic commerce. Simply agreeing on disciplines would not make them  e-commerce ready.  
5.59.   Such a process would enable them to better acquaint  themselves with the iss ues and their 
implications to their respective economies in thei r quest for inclusive, sustained and sha red 
prosperity. For instance, they we re still coming to terms with understanding what the implications 
of e-commerce would be  and the transformat ions to traditional production and supply ch ains most 
developing countries we re involved in – what the impact would be on their domestic markets  and 
manufacturers a nd service suppliers. They we re still trying to under stand what the implica tions 
would  be on the Structural Transformation and industrialisation of Africa; w hat the implications  
would be if customs duties had  not been applied not only for those dependent on custom s duties 
for revenue  but also on the infant industries in Africa; w hat it would mean for their  infant 
industries in the most immediate future in a situation where mos t of the offline trade went  online.  
Members should  dedicate the requisite effort to concluding the remaining elements of the Doha 
Round as Ministers  had inst ructed  in Nairobi in Paragraph 31  of the Ministerial Declaration . 
5.60.   The representative of Norway  welcomed  the fact that a nu mber of Members had put forward 
submissions on e -commerce and that useful discussions we re taking pla ce in various committees. 
Norway  was also looking forward to  attend the one -day seminar on e -commerce  for development . 
The increased engagement in terms o f submissions and seminars showed that there wa s interest 
and willingness among Members to advance work on e -commerce.  
5.61.   Norway welcomed in particular the paper on e -comm erce from China and Pakistan and  
agree d that Members should take the issue of e -commerce and digital trade step by step. Focusing 
on fa cilitation of trade in goods could be a useful starting point , but Members  should  not st op 
there. T he paper  from China and Pakistan focused  on transparency a nd information exchange 
which were  important for WTO Members and G overnments as well as for busines s and consumers. 
Transparency was important for e -commerce relate d to goods as well as s ervices.  
5.62.   Many of the suggestions in the paper pertain ed to trade facilitation of goods , which begged  
the question a s to whether many items we re already covered by commitments in the GATT and 
the TFA. A good first step could be to look at improvements in i nfrastructure and technic al 
conditions for cross -border e -commerce  such as electronic signature, authentication and 
certificates that pertain ed to e -commerce both for goods and services.  
5.63.   Looking at the specific needs of developing countries and SMEs was al so important. 
Members  should keep in mind that for instance the World Bank, ITC and UNCTAD we re doing 
useful work on e -commerce that could complement thei r discussions in the WTO.  
5.64.   Norwa y hope d that further papers on e -commerce would  be submitted , and that Members 
would continue to engage  – be it in regular committees, informal meetings and seminars, 
dedicated discuss ions or in  the General Council.   WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  5.65.   Members  should seek to look for certain element s of commonality in submissions , especially  
on those important  for e-commerce to work for  the benefit of all and where WTO rules and 
guidelines  could  make a difference. They should also look into e lements that we re importa nt to 
trade in goods and services and what would push  Members to put in place the ne cessary dome stic 
rules that would help enhance their  capacity for international tr ade through e -commerce. If they 
could  agree on just a few s uch elements in the coming year,  they would already be making real 
progress.  
5.66.   The representative of Canada  noted that the Chair had emphasised that the focus had been 
intended to be at the dedicated session and in the work going forward , to discuss  and to identify 
which aspects we re relevant to a WTO context. It wa s a vast field. Many international 
organization s share d responsibili ty, and the WTO  should be c oncerned with that which belonged to 
it rather  than those of  others.  
5.67.   The dedicated discussion had showed  that the WTO – its General Council, its Committees 
and Council s – were a forum where Members could  and should exchange view s, explore ideas and 
reach better and common understanding on the nature of the problem and on poten tial proposed 
solutions. For those who feared hidden negotiating agenda behin d every observation, Members' 
own discussion should put  that fear to rest since  all we re engaged in good faith and  on an 
exploratory conversation rather than a pre -determined negotiation.  
5.68.   He had  heard from developed and de veloping country representatives alike that the Ge neral 
Council could  and should be a forum for dealing with cro ss-cutting and horizontal issue s. It had 
long been recogniz ed that the only place where one could  consider the merits of continuing or  
making permanent a customs moratorium was  the General Council. It wa s purely face tious to 
suggest that somehow Members we re not allowed to discuss in the General Council or its 
dedica ted session any issue until it wa s fully explored in a committee or w orking group. Members  
had already dealt with one horizontal issue related to e -commerce at the General Council. It was  
plain wrong to suggest that somehow they we re prohibited from continuing to deal with that issue 
until and unless some unrelated i ssues we re dealt with at a committee or council level.  
5.69.   The Work Programme pre -dated  the Doha Development negotiati ons – 18 years , as 
someone had pointed out. The Work Programme had not  therefore caught up and should  not be. 
Ministers  had never intended it to be caught up in some sort of linkage or balance. They had had 
the wisdom to anticipate th e advent of the digital economy – the fourth industrial revolution  – but 
Members had let them down. They had let their businesses and thei r consumers down by taking so 
long in picking up their direction from before the launch of the Doha agenda.  
5.70.   Members could begin to determine e -commerce rela ted issues  that could be further 
analysed  at the WTO . They  could t ake something as innocuous but as challenging as electronic 
signature or electronic  contracts. They had already bound them selves to build in such a n approach 
in the TFA , and yet they did no t have a truly international arrangement yet for the mutual 
recognition or acceptance of e -signatures  or certifications. UNCITRAL had done some work on it. It 
had been discu ssed in the WIPO context. The WTO could or could  not be the right place to try and 
nail down a truly international agreement on  electronic signatures. The EU was halfway through a 
Europe -wide electronic signature regime. Canada was  three quarters  of the way through . Other 
regions were doing the same. Would  it be time to consolidate? We re there advantages to doing it 
at the WTO  than leaving it t o a UN body? That was the kind of discussion Members  should have – 
practical, real world and  non-politica l. They should ask themselves  where they could best make 
progress and add some certainty, predictability and efficiency to lower trade c osts – which as the 
research department at the WTO had shown and the G -20 had underscored could  contribute more 
to the prospects for developing country trade than tariffs and other means of reducing trade costs.  
5.71.   As China, the EU and others had  also suggested , Canada remained  fully prepared to have 
good discussions in each of the responsibl e committees and councils. The General Council should 
however continue  to deal with the issues that had already been on its  agenda for some years . 
Those issues should  not be held hostage t o work at lower levels. If it would take up  much of the  
time of the Council's meeting, it could be more efficient to hold the discussions in a session 
dedicated to such subject. The dedicated sess ion should not be seen as anything more than th e 
General Council performing one of its roles  – dealing with horizontal cross -cutting issues.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  5.72.   The representative of Nigeria  recall ed that the Nairobi Decision mandated Members to  
continue with the  Work Program me. Nigeria was thus  grateful to the Chair man for his report and 
also for his intensive consultations along with Am bassador Suescu m on that important subject. 
Nigeria also thanked the Chairs of the Subsidiary Bodies for their reports under their respective  
responsi bilities and the Secretariat for updating the background note following its  request.   
5.73.   As the ongoing discussions evolve d and b ased on the instruction from its capital, Nigeria 
believed that the General Council had a central role which included th e responsibility to consider  
horizontal issues of cross -cutting nature on e -commerce.  While it was  mindful of other b arriers to 
e-commerce start -ups ranging from lack of trust, cost of internet access, logis tics and regulatory 
challenges particularly for SMEs, Nigeria  recogniz ed the po tential benefits of e -commerce  for SMEs 
in developi ng countries.  
5.74.   Nigeria was  open to the id ea of a joint dedicated session  facilitated by the Chair man, 
together with his friend  and in collaboration with the Chairs of the relev ant subsidiary bodies. The 
objective would be  to decide on how and whe re the e -commerce discussion could be taken forward 
in a horizontal process in light of existing proposals.  Since the issue of e -commerce was cross -
cutting in nature, Members should avoid duplication of effor ts and ensure coherence in the Work 
Programme. T he concerns of developing countries, LDCs and LVEs in terms of capacit y challenges 
and infrastructure constraints had to be taken  into consideration.  
5.75.   While it wa s important to continue t o address the knowledge -gap and connectivity issues, 
Members  should sustain the outreach and close collaboration with othe r relevant international 
organizations  to take advantage of the ir expertise and to complement their  work.   
5.76.   While  supporting the ongoi ng initiatives on e -commerce, Members  should continue to 
examine the opportunities and challenges of  MSMEs  including small producers and suppliers  in 
accessing e -commerce. Nigeria would  actively participate in  the Friends of E -commerce for 
Development semi nar on 9 December including sharing its own experience s. Nigeria's priority wa s 
to focus on the development dimension of e -commerce and the maximization of the potential 
benefits for t he SMEs in developing countries , including  Nigeria,  and in LDCs  in terms  of domestic 
and cross -border e -commerce.  
5.77.   Nigeria agreed  with China and Pakistan on the complexity of th e e-commerce debate and 
recogniz ed the wide digital gap among Members in view of the fact that , as the pace and scope of 
the te chnological revolution in creased and expanded, so did  the poten tial digital divide. Nigeria,  
however , remain ed optimistic and  underscore d the need to proceed progressively in an i nclusive 
and transparent manner , with a view to achieving tangible results by MC11  beyond the traditio nal 
extension o f the moratorium on e -commerce. Members  should not be bog ged down by procedural 
debate. Nigeria  encourage d Members to remain engaged and to c ontinue substantive discussions 
on the b asis of proposals submitted by Members  as most of the m were intended to stimulate  
discussions  without prejudic e to the ir negotiating rights . 
5.78.   The representative of Chile thanked Ambassador Suescum for his dedication, determination 
and patience in leading the Work Programme, always seeking to bring people on board an d find 
common ground in order to reach substantive agreements.  Chile was  greatly interested in and fully 
support ed the work of the "Friends of e -Commerce for Development" group, headed by Costa Rica 
and Pakistan. That initiative wa s in l ine with the dynami c approach it  hoped would be taken on 
that topic.  
5.79.   Chile reiterate d its firm commitment to the Work Programme, conducted under the auspices 
of the Gene ral Council. Chile was pleased to see how keen Members we re to press ahead with  
substantive discussions in  that area but  also aware of the criticism and dou bts raised by some 
Members. It wa s therefore necessary to step up Members'  efforts within th e various bodies of the 
organization and promote  a discussion t hat wa s open and broad in scope.  It was  important t o 
encourage dialogue as it wa s the best way to improve understandin g of the issues at hand and 
because it helped to ensure that Members remained  focused.  
5.80.   Many Members had submitt ed proposals , and Chile  called for an in -depth study of t hem. 
Electronic comm erce should be discussed in deta il within the subsidiary bodies , based on each 
body's respective area of expertise.  It would be useful to conduct seminars and meetings in other 
formats in order to analyse issues relating to international trade in the digit al economy and to WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  consider the role of electronic commerce as one of the essential factors in the  new phase of global 
trade.  That would help to im prove understanding and allow them  to move towards delivering a 
substantive outcome at the Eleventh Ministeria l Conference in Buenos Aires.  
5.81.   Electronic commerce had  a major impact on both growth and economic developmen t. It wa s 
also impo rtant to ensuring inclusiveness , since it involved entities that had  not traditionally played 
a major role in international trade  such as small and medium -sized enterprises.  A call to action in 
that regard wa s essential.  
5.82.   The representative of Hong Kong, China  said that electronic commerce wa s transforming 
business operations and the world economy at an unprec edented pace. Members sho uld intensify 
discussion s on electronic commerce  to ensure that the mul tilateral trading system remained 
relevant. Hong Kong, China  welcome d any proposals or papers and  seminars or activities which 
could facilitate tho se discussions.  
5.83.   Hong Kong, China was  encouraged to see many usef ul ideas put forward by Members  such 
as those set out in the paper jointly presented by China and Pa kistan. For instance, there were 
ideas to facilitate online transaction s, enhance transparency,  support  logistics and payment 
services and provide an enabling environment for digital trade. Those ideas we re relevant to both 
developed and developing countries, ente rprises big and small – important for promoting inclusive 
and sustainable growth in international trade.  
5.84.   Members could  have different views on how to take things forward. Hong Kong, China 
thank ed the Chairman and Ambassador Suescum for their efforts in facilit ating work in that regard 
and looked  forward to participating in more focused and constructive discu ssions on e -commer ce 
in the WTO – in whichever forum.  
5.85.   The representative of Switzerland  said that Switzerland was  a longstanding support er of the 
Work Programme and was grateful to the delegations that had  put forward papers on e -commerce 
and the digital economy and had ini tiated  discussions through workshops and seminars. A number 
of Members had expressed concerns on  both the proc ess and  the substance of further wor k on e -
commerce. Members should , however , further explore and better u nderstand the issues at hand. 
Switzerlan d stood  ready to undertake such work in the  relevant WTO bodies but was  open as to 
the forum in which the discussion s would take place , as long as they progress ed on the  substance.  
5.86.   Even though Members were  at different stages in the  digital evolution, e -commerce was 
happening. The i ncreasing share of digital trade  was a reali ty. Members had the  responsibility to 
address the challenges arising from that  evolution , including those  related to the develop ment 
dimension of e -commerce.  E-commerce had  significant  potential to deliver added values for the 
multilateral tr ading system and for all Members in whatever stage of development they were in . 
Switzerland looked  forward to engaging constructively in the lead up to  MC11 and beyond.  
5.87.   The representative of India welcomed  the discussions on e -commerce within the existing 
framewo rk of the Work Programme which was non-negotiating and exploratory in nature. There 
could  therefore  be no negotiations on rules and disciplines in e -commerce within the existing work 
programm e. The Nairobi Ministerial D ecision on e -commerce reiterated that , and had decided to 
continue the work on electronic commerce since its last session based on the existing mandate and 
guidelines and on the basis of proposals submitted by Members in the rel evant WTO bodies as set 
out in p aragraph s 2 to 5 of the Work P rogramme.  
5.88.   On the process, India was  open to any exploratory discussion i n the relevant WTO bodies 
following the existing mandate. T he proponents of various submissions  on e-commerce should 
discuss the various issues in the relevant bodies for deeper engagement amongst all Members. 
The Nairobi Ministerial Decision  had instructed the General Council to hold periodic reviews in its 
sessions based on the reports tha t could be  submitted by the WTO bo dies entrusted with the 
implementation of the Work Programme. India saw merit in that  bottom -up approach for 
productive discussions and would not agree to any approach that would take  away the role of the 
relevant bodies in discussing e-commerce related is sues following the Work P rogramme.  
5.89.   In the current exploratory phase, clubbing the ses sions of the relevant bodies could  not 
serve any useful purpose. Emphasis should be laid on the need to understand the full scope and 
dimensions of the various issues inv olved and address  the knowledge gap which existed in that  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  area. The d evelopment dimension and concerns of developing  countries and LDCs should also 
remain central to the discussions. Indi a looked  forward to constructively engage  in the discussions 
on e-commerce in the relevant bodies.  
5.90.   The representative of Australia  welcomed  the proposals of China, Pakistan, Japan, the EU , 
Canada and other Members on e -commerce  and the efforts by others to discu ss e-commerce and 
trade issues. Australia  share d the disappoint ment that discussi ons on cross -cutting issues had  not 
been able to progress in the dedicated s ession . Constructive discussions on e -commerce should 
advance. Australia was open to working in any relevant body and in any format. E-commerce wa s 
a gateway for greater participation by MSMEs in glo bal trade. All Members  would  benefit from 
considering and discussi ng outcomes in the WTO which could  enable growth in e -commerce and 
support inclusive trade and sustainable development.  
5.91.   The representative of Brazil  thanked the  Chairman for his update and A mbassador Suescum 
for his comprehensive consultations. Brazil had addressed that topic in its  statement at the HO Ds 
meeting. Its intervention would thus relate to the  process. Some d elegations , including Brazil,  
conside red that a joint session of the General Council and its relevant subs idiary bodies would be 
useful. However, in light of the differences on the way forward, Brazil would be  ready to support 
any configura tion that could  promote a substantive discussion of e -commerce issues , while 
respecting the non -negotiating spirit of the Work Program me at that  stage.  
5.92.   The representative of Mexico  thank ed the Chairman  and Ambassador Suescum for their 
efforts and echoed the statements made by other delegations reg arding the importance of  moving 
discussions forward on e-commerce  for them  to have deliverables at MC11. As a co -sponsor of two 
proposals, Mexico  welcome d all the proposals that had been put forward and agree d that Members  
should focus on the issues that had  the grea test possibility o f reaching consensus between then 
and MC11. Mexico thanked China and Pakistan for putting their proposal before  the various 
relevant WTO bodies and for its contents particularly  those pertaining to improving transparency in 
e-trade and th e moratorium – a field where it hoped  that there would be a final agreement.  
5.93.   Mexico  support ed the on -going discussions on tho se matters in the relevant bodie s and 
hoped that there w ould be a clustered mee ting or groupings with some of the  organizations  
working on the same area. I n parallel fashion, Members should take  a cross -cutting approach and 
place emphasis on the variou s cross -cutting issues that would  be cropping up an d be identified. 
Mexico  thank ed the organizers of the seminar on  e-commerce and dev elopment including Costa 
Rica. Activities such as that we re not only constructive but we re also essential if Members  wanted 
to achieve some progress in that field. 
5.94.   The representative of Ecuador  reiterate d his delegation's  position that had been stated in 
the various relevant bodies , and welcomed the initiative for conducting  various workshops as had 
been put fo rward by Costa Rica. Ecuador had  taken an active part in those events as it saw those 
as being rich in information which would make  it possible to ac celerate communication and close 
the knowledge -gap between developed, developing and LDC Members. There had  been a lot of 
accele rated progress in e -commerce and Ecuador hoped that there could  be more advance s and 
breakthroughs in that area.  There was no sp ecific negotiating mandate in the Work Programme. As 
they deepened their discussions on  e-commerce , Members should not turn thei r gaze away f rom 
those subjects that had that mandate such as the DDA – a matter of fundamental importance for 
developing countr ies and LDCs  to which Ecuador hop ed for positive result s. 
5.95.   The representative of Singapore  remind ed the General Council that among the pape rs 
tabled  at the dedicated session in 2016 was one which wa s co-sponsored by 13  developing 
Members on  e-commerce an d development. The co -sponsors we re in discussion as to how to take 
the paper forward including whether to table the paper at the subsidiary bodies of the WTO.  
5.96.   The representative of El Salvador , on behalf of Honduras , Guatemala , Nicaragua , Dominican 
Republic  and El Salvador , thanked the Chairman for his report  which had clearly illustrated  the 
valuable work that Ambassador Suescum had  done to advance the Work Programme. El Salvador 
also thanked  the Chairman for his efforts to further the  issue in a systematic and inclusive manner 
and hoped that he would keep up the good work so that Members could  come to understandings 
that would enable them to move forward in that  area. WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  5.97.   One of the deliverables at the upcoming Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires shoul d be a 
clearly defined roadmap and t he desired outcome regardi ng electronic commerce should be 
determined by conse nsus. El Salvador thanked Members that had put forward proposals – most 
recently China and Pakistan. That was a good starting poin t for continuing to  address e -commerce  
in a constructive manner.  
5.98.   Electronic commerce needed  to be addressed by the General Council without undermining 
the role of the subsidiary bodies. D iscuss ions on mere procedural matters should be avoided as 
those would  prevent progress from being made on more substantial issues. The diffe rent realities 
faced by Members which had  already been identified in some studies should also be addres sed and 
taken into account. That would  complement the efforts that El Salvador and many other countr ies 
were already making to integrate them selves eff ectively into world trade flows  particularly with 
regard to MSMEs as electronic commerce could  considerably reduce the costs of entering a new 
market and reaching more consumers.  
5.99.   Members should therefore ensure that mor e and better information on that  new form of 
commerce was available to pote ntial users and traders. In the short term, there was no doubt that 
the WTO was well -placed to support outreach initiatives  such as the regional seminars that 
Parag uay had hosted . 
5.100.   The representative of Colombia  pointed out that Colombia had  shown interest on 
numerous occasions in seeking concrete and balanced commitments concerning electronic 
commerce within the framework of the WTO.  There was  a positive link between el ectronic 
commerce and development , given the bo ost that electronic commerce could  provide in the 
internationalization process by making small and medium sized enterprises more competitive.  
5.101.   Colombia therefore thanked Ambassador Suescum  for all of his work a t the Dedicated 
Session and the Members that had forwarded submissions  and had made contributions concerning 
their priorit y issues, in particular those made by Singapore  and by C anada and the European 
Union. Colombia  support ed tho se two documents in their entirety.  
5.102.   Colombia  deeply regret ted that the debate during the Dedicated Session  had veered off 
course , thereby delaying t he substantive discussions. Nevertheless, moving discussions on 
concrete iss ues to the specific committees wa s quite a positive develo pment. It wa s an appropriate 
response to the concerns expressed by  some Members and helped  to remove any doubt regarding 
the institutional nature of the debate.  
5.103.   Colombia wa s prepared to continue the substantive discussions in the va rious formats 
proposed a nd thought  that joint committee sessions would be positive , provided that concrete 
issues that merit discussion could be identified. Colombia  was not however  ruling out the idea of 
returning to Dedicated Sessions for the mo re in depth discussion that the t opic required . Colombia 
was therefore open to continuing the substantive discussions with a view to reaching concrete 
outcomes on electronic co mmerce at the upcoming Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires.  
5.104.   The representative of Uruguay  thank ed the Chairman  and Ambassador Suescum for their 
efforts. Members were  living in a digital world and e -commerce was unavoidable. They knew how 
important it was to focus on that. They should therefore  look at the  various opportunities that e -
commerce could yield for every one. They had  the opp ortunity to know more about that  complex , 
changing theme  making workshops  on e-commerce and documents resulting from such events 
important . Uruguay  hoped that it would be possible to arrive at a concrete decision at the 
Ministerial Con ference in Buenos Aires regarding the mor atorium and the mandate , as well as a 
roadmap that would identify the framework of thei r discussions.  
5.105.   The representative of  the Plurinational State of Bolivia  thanked the Chairman and 
Ambassador  Suescum  for the ir consultations. Bolivia had  had the  opportunity to consult with its 
capital and considered that the WTO could  contribute to bringing together convergence on the area 
of e-commerce , especially when taking into account the problems faced by most developing 
countries. The overwhelming majo rity of developing countries we re facing a number of problems 
on internet access, infrastructure and appropriate  resources. In fact, about two -thirds of the 
world's population lacked  internet access , while half  of the developing  world lacked  legislation in 
the field. M ost of the developing countries found  themselves at a disadvantage and Members 
should face up to those problems. They needed to pave the way if they  wanted to make sure that WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  the efforts of the WTO would mak e it poss ible to address the needs of develo ping countries. On 
the way forward, the process should be  Member -driven an d bottom -up. Work should  continue in 
the various relevant bodies of the or ganization as set forth in the Work P rogramme and in the 
relevant Nairobi  Ministerial Decision.  
5.106.   The General Council took note  of the Chairman's report, of the reports in S/C/51 and 
G/C/58 and of the statements.  
6  THE DEVELOPMENT ASSI STANCE ASPECTS OF CO TTON – STATEMENT BY THE 
DIRECTOR -GENERAL  
6.1.  The Chairman  recalled that , in 2004, the General Council  had instructed the Secretariat to 
continue to work with the development community and to provide the Council with periodic reports 
on the development assistance aspects of the Cotton Initiative. The Council had also instructed the 
Director-General to consult with the relevant international organizations, including the Bretton 
Woods Institutions, the FAO and the ITC, to direct effectively existing programmes and any 
additional resources towards development o f the economies where cotton ha d vital importance. 
The Bali and Nairobi Decisions  had reaffirmed the mandate  and had invited the Director -General to 
continue to provide periodic reports. He invite d Deputy Director -Gener al David Shark to report on 
the issue on behalf of the Director -General. 
6.2.  Deputy Director -General Shark,  on behalf of the Director -General , update d Members on the 
latest developments in relation to the development  assistance aspects of cotton. I n the Nairobi 
Ministerial Decision on Cotton, Ministers had reaffirmed their com mitment to continued 
engagement in the Director -General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton to strengthen  
the cotton sector in the LDCs. Continuous tracking and reviewing of assistance to the  cotton sector 
therefore remained  an important el ement o f their work.  
6.3.  Since the last report on the development assistance aspects of cotton delivered to the 
General Council in December 2015, two further rounds of consultations of  the Consultative 
Framework had been held. The first round of consultations had tak en place in July while the 
second meeting had just been held a fortnight ago. Members had  agreed to modify the content 
structure of the Evolving  Table on Cotton so that it would  henceforth focus on committed 
resources related to the cotton  sector. That wou ld help to make the  monitoring tool even more 
focused in tracking and reviewing development assistance for cotton.  
6.4.  The figures compiled based on the notifications to the Evolving Table on Cotton,  the latest 
version of which had been  circulated  on 2 Novemb er, show ed that continuous progress was being 
made  both on cotton specific assistance as w ell as in the broader support. The value of on -going 
development assistan ce specifically to cotton stood at around US$280 million  while assistance 
within the broader framework for agriculture and infras tructure -related support reached 
US$4.1  billion. The value of completed development assistance projec ts benefiting the cotton 
sector directly or within the b roader framework of agricultural  or infras tructure assistance h ad 
increased. US$583 milli on in development assistance had  been disbursed  specifically for cotton so 
far, US$484 million in completed projects and US$99 million in partial disbu rsements of on -going 
activities which wa s an increase fr om what had been  report ed at the end of 2015. Members should 
continue their momentum and work towards rapid implementation  and faster disbursement rates.  
6.5.  The importance of the Consultative Mechanism as a forum for constructive dialogue and 
information exchan ge on issues related  to cotton was widely recognized. The work and continued 
engagement of Members and participants  in the Consultative Mechanism was a concrete step 
forward in consolidating  the development dimension of the multilateral trading system.  
6.6.  He commend ed the member s of the development community  in particular Australia, Canada, 
the European Union and several of its Member States, Japan, Switzerland and the United States, 
for their continued and constructive engagemen t in the consultative process. He also  highlight ed 
the important contributions of Brazil, China and India on the platform of South -South Co -
operation. Collaboration in that area was  also expanding and other countries  such as Pa kistan and 
South Africa we re also making valuable contributions to  cotton develo pment assistance. A number 
of multilateral institutions had  also provided consi stent and valuable support. That engagement 
had consolidated the strong and lasting partnership between providers and recipients of 
development assistance for cotton.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  6.7.  The Cotto n proponents for their part  also continue d to regularly provide information on 
progress made in carrying out reforms in their cotton sector. In that context, the Director -General 
was fully aware of the concerns expressed by African cotton -producers about t he persistent price 
volatil ity and high production costs.  
6.8.  Members should redouble their efforts to help tho se countries compete effectively in 
international markets putting a particular emphasis on increasing their productivity, enhancing 
infrastructure, fostering intra -regional trade, creating synergies to develop the cotton -to-clothing 
value chain and thereby helping cotton -dependent African countries to benefit more from their 
cotton production and exports.   
6.9.  He urged  the development community to contin ue to strengthen its development assistance 
for the cotton sector in LDCs . The Director -General continued  to attach special importance to that  
dossier. On his part, he would  continue to engage both formally and  informally with Members on 
that issue and wou ld report  periodically on the progress they would  make.  
6.10.   The representative of Benin , on behalf of the LDCs , recalled that i n the Nairobi Min isterial 
Decision on Cotton particularly on the part  focused on development, Members  had underscored the 
importance of effective aid to support the cotton sector in a number of developing countries and 
especially within the LDCs. They had recognized the key role played by  the Aid for Trade initiative 
within the framework of strengthening the cotton sector in LDCs throug h the EIF.  
6.11.   In the ir Declaration at the end of the Fourth Ministerial Coordination Meeting  in October , 
Ministers of Commerce of the four countries and co -sponsors of the sectoral initiative on cotton 
had reaffirmed the link that exist ed between the  Aid for  Trade  initiative  and the various aspe cts 
pertaining to cotton which were development -related. T hey had given  the mandate to their C-4 
Ambassadors in Geneva to strengthen that link on the basis of priorities identified by the cotton 
growers and LDCs to put  togethe r programmes and projects that we re wide -reaching at a regional 
and sub -regional scale and to be put before the ir development partners. Within that  framework, 
the C -4 would soon be putting finishing touches on the document for the cotton roadmap an d 
feasibility studies of the sectoral component would be finished soon . The C -4 would soon  be 
soliciting the support of all the ir development partner s for the implementation of the  programme.  
6.12.   The LDCs thank ed DDG Shark for the unfailing monitoring provide d involving all the various 
parties of the WTO in the wake of the Nairobi D ecision on the development aspects of cotton. The 
Group furthermore thank ed the various partners that were acting in favour of North -South 
development and all South -South Cooperatio n and encourage d them to continue and  to intensify 
their support for the development of cotton in the LDCs.  
6.13.   The General Council took note  of the report and of the statement.  
7  WTO ACCESSIONS: 2016  ANNUAL REPORT BY THE  DIRECTOR -GENERAL (WT/ACC/28) 
– STATEMENT  BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL  
7.1.  The Chairman  drew attention to the Director -General's report on acc essions in  document 
WT/ACC/28 and  invite d Deputy Director -General David Shark to introduce the report on behalf of 
the D irector -General . 
7.2.  Deputy Director -General Sha rk, on behalf of the Director -General , highlighted that A ccessions 
continue d to be an area of critical  importance for the WTO . Building on the pr ogress made during 
2015, there had b een renewed energy and  dynamism on several accessions in 2016 which we re 
strongly supported by Members. On behalf of the D irector -General, he  thank ed Members for that  
work and commend ed the leadership shown by the Chairpersons of the accession Working Parties.  
7.3.  In 2016, the WTO family had  expanded by tw o to a total of 164 Members,  by welcoming  two 
new LDC Members – Afghanistan and Liberia – in July.  The co nclusion of their accessions had been 
systemically important as  it had demonstrated the ability of the WTO to  deliver results which could  
unlock the growth and development potenti al of post -conflict LDCs.  
7.4.  When the Annual Report had been issued, there had been  19 on going accessions. Members 
had just established two new Working Parties – on the accessions of Somalia and Timor -Leste.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  Those new expressi ons of interest in joining the o rganization manifest ed the confidence of the 
international community in the WTO and the multilateral trading system.  
7.5.  In 2016, good progress had been  registered on the accessions of two LDCs – Comor os and 
Sudan. Technical work had  also advanced or reactiva ted in other accessions  including on Belarus, 
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Lebanon. He  expect ed that the hard work done in 2016 had  set the 
stage for further advancement on tho se accessions in 2017.   
7.6.  The Annual Report also pointed  out th at the WTO accession  process had  not only had an 
overall positive impact on economic perform ance of those Members which had gone  through the 
Article XII process but it had  also facilitated their domestic s tructural reforms which we re reflected 
in an overall positive impact on  economic diversification after th eir accessions to the WTO. That 
pointed  to the importance of effective implementation of accession -specific commitments during 
the post -accessions phase .  
7.7.  The Director -General continued  to underscore the critical impor tance of post -accession 
support so that new Members could  realize the benefits of their participation in the work of t he 
WTO. In 2016, t he Secretariat  had refined its approach to post -accession assistance and  had 
expanded its  support by responding to the speci fic needs of two L DCs – Afghanistan and Liberia. 
The results had been positive as those LDCs had been  provided with a policy platform to leverage 
development assistance from their development partners. He  thank ed those Members which had  
provided technical assistance and support during acce ssion and for post -accession.  As in previous  
years, the Report provided detailed information on their operational accessions work.  
7.8.  2017 held great promise for their work on WTO accessions , yet promise and opportunity were 
not guarantees of results. Strong political commitment wa s a fundamental requirement from 
Acced ing Governments and that commitment needed  to be matched by the consistent en gagement 
at the technical level  both on the legislative and n egotiating fronts. Beca use membership was a 
contract  based on a bal ance of rights and obligations concluding any accession wa s substance -
driven. Those were just some highlights of the Report. He  invite d Memb ers to carefully review it. 
Their comments and advice were welcome as th ey prepare d for the year ahead.  He thank ed all 
Members for t heir support and pragmatism which had  set the sta ge for strong progress in 2017.   
7.9.  The representative of the European Union  took note of the activity in 2016 and the outlook 
for 2017. The EU  welco med the priority acco rded to accessions of LDCs. Howeve r, it was important 
that the governments of LDCs concerned t ook ownershi p of their accession process. The EU  looked 
forward to Bosnia and Herzegovina crossing the finish line , and noted that bilate ral market -access 
negotiations we re a t wo-way process. The challenges we re to be tackled not only by the acceding 
government , as noted in the report , but also by the Members that had  not completed the 
negotiations with that government. The scenar io for the acc ession of Serbia wa s relatively similar. 
In both cases, pra gmatism and flexibility of all we re crucial to complete processes which had  been 
basically finished a fe w years ago. The EU also looked  forward to the activation of the WTO 
accession process of Ira n. As it had  stated at the May GC meeting , the European Union stoo d 
ready to work together with Iran and with WTO partners to move the process forward starting with 
the technical step of appointing a Chair of the Working Party.  
7.10.   The representative of Yemen  said that 2016 had been  a good year for  the accessions pillar 
of the WTO , particularly as it tried to reach  full universality – with the LDCs being clear winners. 
Two fellow LDCs had concluded their respective accession processes – Afghanistan and Liberia.  
Sudan had reactivated i ts accession process and Yemen  looked forward to seeing its Working Party 
convene soon. Two LDC Working Parties had been  formally established  – Somalia and Timor -Leste. 
Moreover, the Working Party on the accession of Comoros had rec ently met in December . Overall, 
Members had achieved  great success on LDC accession s in 2016.   
7.11.   Another achievement in that pillar had been the practical steps taken on  the post-accession 
phase, where targeted activities had been  conducted . It wa s quite unfortunate that a situation had  
erupted  in Yemen immediately after it  had become a full -fledged WTO Member on June 2014. 
Yemen's attachment  to its WTO accession however remained alive. Yemen looked forward to 
reaping the fruits brought about by its accession , to fully activate  its membership in the WTO and 
to benefit from the  post-accession activities very soon.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  7.12.   The representative of Oman  congratulate d the Director -General, DDG Shark and the WTO 
Secretariat for the well -prepared and insightful Annual Report o n Accessions. The Sultanate of 
Oman commend ed the actions that had  been taken to enhance transparency and openness as 
exemplified by the launching of the Accessions Intelligence P ortal in July . 
7.13.   The Annual Report  stated that the accession process wa s taking  far too long. According t o 
the Report, 36 accessions had been  concluded to date. Those accessions  had on ave rage taken 
10 years an d 4 months. In contrast, there we re 19 on -going accessions that we re averaging 
16.5 years since their respective appl ications  for WTO Membership had  been received. Oman  
emphasize d the importance it attached  to concluding accession proceedings as quickly and as 
smoothly as possible.  Such a development would strengthen the multilateral trading system which 
had served the internati onal community well  over the past decades . 
7.14.   As a ma tter of principle, Oman supported  all accessions. In 2016, Oman had  met with Iran, 
Sudan, Comoros, Somalia  and Palestine. Oman had also served as Chairperson of the Working 
Party of one of the accessions. O man provided  technical assistance and s upport to a number of 
countries including LDCs in their accession efforts and continue d to hold consultations with them.  
7.15.   Oman urged all M embers to support  all accessions as part of Members'  efforts  to ensure 
universal ity of the multilateral trading s ystem and the WTO. Members should support and provide 
technical assistance to acceding countr ies as well as those that had  not yet applied for accessions 
to encourage them and assist the m in their application efforts. Oman  propose d that the Director -
General's  Annual Report on Accessions  for 2017 should include the applications  of countries  that 
remained  pending.  
7.16.   The representative of Belarus , speaking as an Observer , commend ed the Director -General 
and the Secretariat for the  repor t on WTO accessions in 2016 which gave  a comprehensive and 
detailed picture of  the developments in the area. Accession was an important pillar of the WTO  
where a lot of tangible deliverables  had occurred over the recen t years. Work under that pillar 
should continue in order for the WTO to achieve universality . 
7.17.   Belarus wished to  highlight  the importance which its  Government attached to its WTO 
accession and  to briefly inform  Members o n major developments in 2016 concerning its  accession  
process . First, Belarus had received strong political support from its Government for the  significant 
invigoration of its  accession. Second, Belarus had passed the new legislation designed to 
meaningfully upgrade and fine -tune the inter -governmental machiner y dealing wit h its WTO 
accession. Third, Belarus had  submitted a comprehensive set of the u pdated documentation to the 
WTO which included  the following: (i) Elements of the draft Working Party Report, (ii) Legislative 
Action Plan, (iii) 5 check -lists and questionnaires  covering such subject matter as TBT, SPS, TRIPS, 
import licensing an d customs valuation. Some of those documents had  already been officially 
circulated by the WTO Secretariat while a few others were to be issued shortly. Belarus thank ed 
the WTO Secretaria t for the consider able support provided to it in its accession process . Fourth, 
Belarus had stepped up its bilateral engagement with the WTO Members  which had allowed it  to 
converge on further steps.  
7.18.   Belarus  looked forward to  the acceleration and substant ive advancem ent of its accession 
negotiations and hoped  that the next round of negotiations  which would include  a Working Party 
meeting co uld take place in early 2017. Belarus  said it count ed on Members'  support and  
constructive engagement on that  matter.  
7.19.   The representative of Iran, speaking as an Observer , noted the importance of the current 
meeting of the  General Council as they  approach ed the end of the year. Iran thanked the 
European Union and Oman for their constructi ve positions and support in the mee ting, the 
Director -General and DDG Shark for presenting the report and the Secretariat for their hard work 
and cooperation.  
7.20.   The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran had submitted its application for accession 
many years ago and later on had obtained an observer status. In light of the good intention and 
depicting its seriousness, Iran had taken  an important step and had officially submitted the 
Memorandu m of Foreign Trade Regime to the S ecretariat during the 7th Ministerial Conference and  
had subseque ntly replied comprehensively to about 700 related que stions. Moreover, a wide range 
of domestic stakeholders had been involved i n the preparation of th ose pieces of information . WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  7.21.   Iran wa s one of the bigge st economies in the Middle East which was still out o f the WTO. 
That fact had been  echoed by  many Member s from various geographical regions during the 
General Coun cil session in May. Iran' s accession to the WTO would be mutually beneficial for the 
multilateral trading system and would contribu te to internati onal trade . Iran  highlight ed the 
principles of universality, non -discrimination, openness, inclusiveness, competitiveness and 
transparency of the multilateral trading system – the cornerstones of the WTO. A ll Members had  
obligations and commitments to resp ect them.  
7.22.   Iran remained  ready to work with interested go vernments to share with them its  views and 
concerns. Iran had recently updated its MFTR and wa s in the proces s of preparing its tariff 
schedules . A High-Level National Working Group continued  to fol low its WTO accession and was 
making every effort  necessary to gradually align its nationa l rules and regulations with those of the  
WTO, among others.   
7.23.   The General Council took note  of the report and of the statements.  
8  DATE OF THE ELEVENTH  SESSION OF THE MI NISTERIAL CONFERENCE  
8.1.  The Chairman  recalled that at its October meeting, the General Council had formally agreed 
that the Eleventh Session of the WTO Mi nisterial Conference (MC11) would  be held in Buenos 
Aires, Argentina. At that meeting, he had  indicated t hat consultations were taking place with the 
Government of Argenti na to establish a date which had been  convenient to the host  country and to 
all delegations taking into account the tradition to  hold the Ministerial Conference at the end of the 
year. 
8.2.  Furth er to those  conver sations with the host country, he had  sent a fax to all delegations on 
7 October proposing that MC11 would take  place fr om 11 to 14 December 2017. In his 
communication, he had  highlighted the need to start pla nning immediately for the eve nt given the 
complex preparations it entailed and he had  provided an opportunity  to comment until 13 October. 
He had  subsequently informed delegat ions that he had received no comments to his  proposal by 
the indicated deadline , and he had confirmed that tho se dates had been  considered agreed a nd 
that the General Council would  take a formal action at the current regular meeting . 
8.3.  Therefore, he  invite d the General Council to formally agree that the Eleventh Session of the  
WTO Ministerial Conference would  take p lace from 11 to 14 December 2017.  
8.4.  The General Council so agreed . 
9  REVIEW UNDER PARAGRA PH 8 OF THE DECISION  ON THE IMPLEMENTATIO N OF 
PARAGRAPH 6 OF THE D OHA DECLARATION ON T HE TRIPS AGREEMENT A ND PUBLIC 
HEALTH (WT/L/540 AND  WT/L/540/CORR.1) – REPORT OF THE C OUNCIL FOR TRIPS 
(IP/C/76)  
9.1.  The Chairman  recalled that , in August 2003 , the General Council had adopted a Decision on 
the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIP S Agreement and Public 
Health. Parag raph 8 of that Decision provided t hat the TRIPS Council should  review annually the 
functioning of the system set out in the Decision with a view to ensuring its effective operation and 
report on its op eration to the General Council. He invite d Ambas sador Modest Jonathan Mero  
(Tanzania), Ch airman of the TRIPS Council, to introduce that Council 's report in document 
IP/C/76.  
9.2.  Ambas sador Modest Jonathan Mero  (Tanzania), Chairman of the TRIPS Council , reported that 
at its meeting on 8 and 9 November, the TRIPS Council had taken up the annual revi ew pursuant 
to Paragraph 8 of the Decision on the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on 
the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health. The TRIPS Council's report on that  review to the General 
Council had  been circulated in document IP/C/76.  
9.3.  The cover note to the document set  out factual information regarding the impleme ntation and 
use of the Decision  as well as the status of acceptances of the Protocol Amending the TRIPS 
Agreement. In particular, it showed  that acceptance instruments had  been rec eived from a diverse 
range of Members across the full geographical and economic spectrum.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  9.4.  The TRIP S Council's report also contained in Annex 1  the record of the d iscussion that had 
taken  place during the Council's review of the waiver decision. The stateme nts made by 
delegations we re reproduced in Appendix 1. Most delegations – developed and developing alike – 
had encouraged Members who we re yet to accept the amendment to do so expeditiously. They 
had also called for a constructive discussion concerning the  functioning of the mechanism.  
9.5.  The Protocol Amend ing the TRIPS Agreement wa s currently open for acceptance by Members 
until 31 December 2017.  In addition to the 15 acceptances listed in the Council's  report, Benin and 
Dominica had  also recently deposited t heir instruments of acceptance wit h the WTO Director -
General. That amounted  to a tot al of 17 instruments that had  been presented in the course of the 
year alone which wa s a clear indication for the continuing momentum up to the entry into force of 
the TRIP S Amendment.  
9.6.  For the Protocol to ente r into force, acceptance by two -thirds of the  Members wa s required in 
accordance with paragraph 3 of Arti cle X of the WTO Agreement. That currently amounted to 
110 Members. At the TRIPS Council  meeting held on 8 -9 Nove mber, he  had reported that five 
more instruments of acceptance were needed to trigger the entry into force. Since  then, two more 
instruments had been deposited. Members  therefore only need ed three mo re acceptances to reach 
the two -thirds threshold.  
9.7.  He recalled the political commitment undertaken by the entire WTO membership in 
December  2005, when the General Council  had unanimously adopted the Protocol Am ending the 
TRIPS Agreement. That  decision  had expressed the strong political consensus of WTO Members to  
convert the existing temporary waiver into a permanent provision of  the TRIPS Agreement , thus 
turning it into a secure legal pathway to  procure medicines. Putting that  additional flexibility at par 
with other TRIPS flexibilities had been and continued  to be seen as a concrete contribution by the 
WTO to global efforts to strengthen the legal framework for access to medicines.  
9.8.  As Members wer e very c lose to the entry into force, he  echoed the multiple efforts that the 
Director -General and his predecessors ha d made since the beginning of 2015  to secure the entry 
into fo rce of the Protocol. He  called upon those Members who had  not yet accepted it to expedite 
the necessary steps that would enable them to deposit their instruments of acceptance.  
9.9.   Information on h ow to accept the amendment and a model instrument of acceptance we re 
available on the WTO's dedicated webs ite on TRIPS and public health. Useful information had  also 
been provided by the Aide Mémoire on the Expected Benefits of the Paragraph 6 System of Sp ecial 
Licence s for Export of Medicines that had been adopted by the General Council at its 
February  2015 meeting in document WT/GC/W/696.  
9.10.   The Protocol could  be accepted independently from the adoption of domestic measures to 
implement the System. By accept ing the Protocol, a Member would  simply  agree that WTO 
Members would be  entitled to use the additional flex ibility that the system provided . Should a WTO 
Member wish  to take advantage itself of tho se additional flexibilities, it could  need to domestically 
implement appropriate leg islative measures. But since those two processes we re entirely separate, 
a Member could  choose to deposit an instrument of acceptance of the Protocol without the need to 
wait f or any domestic implementation. He trusted that Members  who we re yet to accept the 
Protocol would  take the necessary steps as a p riority so that the Protocol could  enter into force 
expeditiously.  
9.11.   On a personal note , he inform ed Members that that would be his  last General Council 
meeting as a Permanent Represen tative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the WTO, UN  and 
other international Organiz ations in Geneva and in Vienna. He had  been appointed to go and serve 
as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York . He thank ed 
and a ppreciate d the successive Chairpersons of the General Council since he had  arrived for the ir 
leader ship in guiding the work of that important body and  the Director -General for his leadership 
and his skills which had  helped the WTO to d eliver some outcomes during MC9 in Bali and MC10 in 
Nairobi.   
9.12.   He also thanked  his colleague Ambassadors for the  cooperation they had  extended  to him , 
and was grateful for  the support he had  received from the Secretariat. He  wished to particularly 
give a special appreciation t o the  experts from the TRIPS  Division who had professionally 
supported his work as Chair of the TRIPs Council. He was certain that t he excellent work under WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  Director -General Azevêdo would continue. On his part, he would continue to cheer the WTO's 
efforts i n his new duties at the UN in New York and wished everyone all the best as they prepared  
for MC11.  
9.13.   The Chairman  highlight ed the importance for Members to accept the Protocol Amending the 
TRIPS Agreement to permit its entry into force. He  joined Ambassador Mero in his call to urge 
Members who had  not yet accepted the Protocol to do so expeditiously.  
9.14.   The representative of Canada  commended  Benin and Dominica for having recently a ccepted 
the Protocol bringing  that much closer  to its entry into force. Canada had  fully implemented the 
system domesti cally and was the only WTO Member that had actually exported under that  system 
drugs on H IV/AIDS to Rwanda. Canada had also amended its  patent legi slation in 2016  adding 
three additional HIV/AIDS treatments to the l ist of patented medicines that we re eligible to be 
exported. Although the initial bringing into force to make that permanent did  not require d omestic 
action, there we re real world health benefits from being able to operate under the regime. Canada 
was happy to  share its  experience in using the system to the benefit of those suffering or in need 
of such medicines abroad.  
9.15.   The representative of Morocco , on behalf of the African Group , attached  great importance to 
the Ministe rial Declaration in Doha on  TRIPS and Pu blic Health confirm ing that the TRIPS 
Agreement could be used by Members to protect public health in their cou ntries. The 
20 August  2003 decision provided that those countries that could not produce their own medicine 
could import. A number of Members had adopted the Protocol  in 2016 but they  still needed three 
more ratifications  for it to enter into force . Ministers  in the Addis Ababa meeting in the previous 
week had encouraged Members to ratify the TRIPS Agreement before MC11 , in order to facilitate 
acces s to medici ne at affordable prices. T he African Group thank ed the Members who had  already 
ratified the P rotocol and urged those who had  not yet done so to ratif y as soon as possible so that 
they could send a strong signal  that they  were still generating re sults at the WTO.  
9.16.   The General Council took note  of the report of the TRIPS  Council and of the statements.  
10  PROCEDURE FOR THE IN TRODUCTION OF HS 201 7 CHANGES TO SCHEDUL ES OF 
CONCESSIONS USING TH E TARIFF SCHEDULES ( CTS) DATABASE – DRAFT DECISION 
(G/C/W/732)  
10.1.   The Chairman  drew attention to the Draft Decision on the Procedure for the introduction of 
HS 2017 Changes to Schedules of Concessions using the Tariff Schedule (CTS) Database contain ed 
in document G/C/W/732 which after consideration by the Council for Tra de in Goods at its 
November me eting had  been forwarded to the General Council for adoption. Unless the re were 
comments, he  propose d that the General Council adopt ed the draft deci sion contained in the 
document he had just referred to.  
10.2.   The General Council so agreed6. 
11  WAIVERS UNDER ARTICL E IX OF THE WTO AGRE EMENT7 
11.1.   The Chairman  noted  that the draft waiver decisions for the matters listed in  
sub-items  12 (a) to 12 (h) had been  taken up for consideration by the Council for Trade in Goods 
at its meeting on 17 Nov ember.  For tho se items, the  Chairman of the Goods Council wa s required 
to report  to the General Council. He  therefore invite d Ambassador Hamish McCormick  (Australia) 
to report on the Counci l's consideration of tho se matters in a single intervention.  
11.2.   Ambass ador Hamish McCormick (Australia), Chairman of the Goods Council , report ed that 
the Council for Trade in Goods at its meeting on 17 November had  approved eight waiver 
reque sts: four collective requests related to HS changes to t he WTO Schedules of Concessi ons and 
four individual wai ver requests submitted by the United States , the E uropean Union and Cuba 
respectively.  
                                                
6 The decision was  subsequently circulated in document WT/L/995.  
7 In connection with this item, the attention of Members is drawn to the  Decision -Making Procedures 
under Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed by the General Council on 15 November 1995 
(WT/L/93).  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  11.3.   The four collective requests concerning the introduction of Harmonized System changes into 
WTO Schedules of Concessions had been  discussed at  the Ma rket Access Committee meeting on 
11 October. Those requests had  then been considered and approved by the Goods Council in the 
following order:  
11.4.   First, a collective request for waiver extension contained in document G/C/W/728  made in 
connection with t he introduction of HS2002 changes int o the Schedules of Concessions. Second,  
the collective request for waiver extension contained in document G/C/W/729  made in connection 
with the introduction of HS2007 changes into the Schedules of Concessions.  
11.5.   Third,  the collective  request for waiver extension contained in document G/C/W/730  made 
in connection with the introduction of HS2012 changes into the S chedules of Concessions. In that 
regard, he informed the Council that, immediately after the CTG meeting, Colombi a had  requested 
to be included in the Annex to the  draft waiver Decision. Therefore, a revised waiver decision, 
contai ned in document G/C/W/730/Rev.1 had been  issued to reflect that inclusion.  
11.6.   Fourth,  a collective request concerning the Introduction of Ha rmonized System 2017 
changes in to the Schedules of Concessions  contained in document G/C/W/733/Rev.1. As  had been  
agreed at the CTG m eeting on 17 November, the  revised draft waiver decision  had included in its 
Annex the names of Members that had requested to be covered by the waiver: Argentina, Brazil, 
Colombia, the Europe an Union, Paraguay, Switzerland and Uruguay. In that regard, he inform ed 
the Council that the possibility of benefitting  from the HS 2017 waiver remained  open to any other  
Member not liste d in the Annex provided that it notified  the Committee on Market Access of its 
wish to be included.  
11.7.   The CTG had recommended that the draft waiver decisions contained in the above -
mentioned waiv er requests be forwarded to the  Council for adoption.  
11.8.   Concernin g the waiver requests from the United States, he report ed that the Goods Council 
had considered at its meeting on 17 November  documents G/ C/W/721 and G/C/W724 containing 
respectively  the United States' request to extend the waiver concerning the Former Tru st Territory 
of the Pacific Islands and the United States'  Trade Preferences Granted to Nepal. At that meeting, 
the Goods Council had approved both waiver requests and had recommended that the draft 
decisions annexed to do cuments G/C/W/721 and G/C/W/724 re spectively  be forwarded to the 
General Council for adoption.  
11.9.   With regard t o the waiver requested by the European Union  to extend the application of its 
autonomous preferential treatment to the West ern Balkans  contained in document G/C/W/731,  the 
Goods Coun cil had approved the European Union's  request to extend the current waiver and had 
recommended that the draft waiver decision contained in document G/C/W/731 be forwarded to 
the General Council for adoption.  
11.10.   The Goods Council  had also considered Cuba's req uest contained in document G/C/W/734  
to extend its current waiver relating to Article XV:6 of GATT 1994. The Council had then approved 
the request and had recommended that the draft waiver decision contained in document 
G/C/W/734 be forwarded to the Genera l Council for adoption.  
11.1  Introduction of H armonized System 2002 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 
Concessions – Draft decision  (G/C/W/728)  
11.2  Introduction of Harmonized System 2007 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 
Concessions – Draft decision (G/C/W/729 ) 
11.3  Introduction of Harmonized System 2012 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 
Concessions – Draft decision (G/C/W/730/REV.1)  
11.4  Introduction of Harmonized System 2017 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff 
Concessions – Draft decision (G/C/W/733/REV.1)  
11.11.   The Chairman drew attention to the draft decisions in documents G/C/W/728, G/C/W/729, 
G/C/W/730/Rev.1 and G/C/W/733/Rev.1 which concern ed the Introduction of Harmonized System 
2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017 changes into WTO Schedules of Tariff Concessions,  respectively . WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  Concerning the waiver on the HS2017 changes, the procedures to introduce such changes to 
Schedules of Concessions using the tar iff schedules (CTS) database could  be found in the decision 
that had  just been adopted under the previous item. Unless delegati ons wish ed to comment on the 
draft decisions, he  propose d that,  in accordance with the Decision -Making Procedures under 
Articles IX and XII of the WTO Agreement agreed in November 1995 (WT/L/93), the General 
Council adopt ed those four draft Decisions he ha d just referred to.  
11.12.   The General Council so agreed8. 
11.5  United States – Former Trust Territory of the P acific Islands – Extension of waiver 
– Draft decision (G/C/W/721)  
11.6  United States – Trade Preferences granted to Nepal – Draft decision (G/C/W/724)  
11.7  European Un ion – Application of Autonomous Preferential Treatment to the 
Western Balkans – Extension of waiver – Draft decision (G/C/W/731)  
11.8  Cuba – Article X V:6 of GATT 1994 – Extension of waiver – Draft decision 
(G/C/W/734)  
11.13.   The Chairman  drew attention to  the rest of the draft decisions: draft Decision in document 
G/C/W/72 1 for an extension of the waiver for "United States - Former Trust Territory of the Pacific 
Islands"; the draft Decision in document G/C/W/724 concerning "United States – Trade 
Preferences granted to Nepal"; the draft Decision in document G/C/W/731 concerning an extension 
of the waiver for "European Union – Application of Autonomous Preferential Treatment to the 
Western Balkans"; and the draft  decision in document G/C/W/734 concerning an extension of t he 
waiver for "Cuba – Article XV:6 of GATT 1994". Unless delegations wish ed to comment, he  
propose d that the General Council adopt ed those four draft Decisions he had  just referred to.  
11.14.   The General Council so agreed9. 
11.15.   The representative of Montenegro  welcom ed the request submitted by the European Union 
for an extension of the waiver for the application of autonomous preferential treatment to the 
Western Balkan coun tries including Montenegro. That  approach ed had  proven to offer a concrete 
and important suppor t to the economic development efforts undertaken by the Western Balkans 
thereby fostering the deeper trade integration of the region. In addition, s uch preferential 
treatment should  not raise new barriers for the trade  of other Members. Montenegro express ed its 
appreciation to the Council and the Membership for their understanding in deliberating the positive 
decision and to thank the European Union for extending the duty -free access to the European 
Union market for specif ic products originating from the Ba lkan region even beyond the stabilization 
and association agreements for the individual countries.  
11.16.   The representative of Nepal  thanked  the General Council for adopting  the draft decision in 
G/C/W/ 724. Nepal  appreciate d the Government of the United States f or its generosity and kind 
gesture demonstrated by offering duty -free access for eligible Nepalese products c omprising 
66 tariff lines to the US Market. Nepal  also appreciate d the understanding and cooperation of  all 
Members. That decision took  into accoun t the difficult economic situation of Nepal in  the aftermath 
of the devas tating earthquake that hit the country  hard in 2015 . Nepal once again extended  its 
thank s to all Members present in that  august house.  
11.17.   The representative of Fiji, on behalf of the Pac ific Group , express ed the suppor t of the 
Pacific Group on the United States' waiver  request  for the Former Trust Territories of the Pacific 
Islands in document G/C/W/721.  
                                                
8 The decision s were  subsequently circulated in document s WT/L/996, WT/L/997, WT/L/998, WT/L/999 
and WT/L/999/Add.1, res pectively . 
9 The decision s were  subsequently circulated in document s WT/L/1000, WT/L/1001, WT/L/1002 and 
WT/L/1003, respectively . WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  11.9  Review of waivers pursuant to Article IX:4 of the WTO Agreement  
11.9.1   Preferential Treatmen t to Services and Service Suppliers of Least-Developed 
Countries, granted on 17 December 2011 until 31 December 2030 (WT/L/847,  
WT/L/982)  
11.9.2   Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for Rough Diamonds, granted on 
12 December 2012 until 31  December  2018 (WT/L/87 6) 
11.9.3   European Union - Application of Autonomous Preferential Treatment to the West 
Balkans, granted on 30 November 2011 until 31 December 2016 (WT/L/836, 
WT/L/993)  
11.9.4   Cuba - Article XV:6 of GATT 1994, E xtension of  waiver, granted on 
14 February  2012 until 31  December  2016 (WT/L/850, WT/L/994)  
11.18.   The Chairman  recall ed that  in accordance with Paragraph 4 of Article IX of the WTO 
Agreement  "any waiver granted for a period of more than one year shall be reviewed by the 
Ministerial Conference not later than one year aft er it is granted, and thereafter annually until  the 
waiver terminates." There we re four waivers before  the General Council for review listed under the  
item in the Agenda. Two of the waivers under review provide d that an annual report should be 
submitted by  the Members concerned regarding the operation or implementation of those waivers 
with a view to facilitating their annual review by the General Council.  The reports  from those 
Members had  been circulated in documents WT/L/993 (European Union) and WT/L/994  (Cuba).  
11.19.   The General Council took note  of the reports contained in documents WT/L/993 and 
WT/L/994.  
12  COMMITTEE ON BUDGET,  FINANCE AND ADMINIST RATION – REPORTS ON MEETINGS 
OF NOVEMBER 2016 (WT /BFA/158, WT/BFA/160 ) 
12.1.   The Chairman  drew attention to the reports o f the Committee on Budget, Finance and 
Administration  (CBFA)  in documents WT/BFA/158 and 160 and invite d Ambassador Inga E rnstsone  
(Latvia), Chairperson of the Committee, to introduce the report s. 
12.2.   Ambassador Inga Ernstsone (Latvia), Chairperson of the CBFA , reported that a Working 
Group had been  established in 2014 to look into whether or not it would be appropriate to 
establish an audit committee for the WTO.  Extensive deliberations on the  subject  had taken place 
over several months  including comparisons w ith other international organizations and 
acknowledgement of the assumption of office by a new Chief of the Office of Internal Oversight. In 
the final  analysis, the Working Group had  not been able to reac h consensus on whether or not to 
recommend that an audit committee be established at th e WTO Secretariat.  The CBFA could revisit 
the issue at an appropriate time in  the future.  
12.3.   At its meeting on 1 November, the ITC had presented its Mid -Term Review for 2016 -17 to 
the Committee. The projected  2016 expenditu re for ITC had amounted to CHF 37.663 million , 
representing 99.8% of the budget. The  contribution from each parent o rganization  had amounted 
to CHF 18.775 million . The ITC had informed the Committee that it had not revis ed its 2017 
budget as there had been  no unexpected changes in projected activities.  
12.4.   The WTO Secretariat had presented the Mid -Term Review for the 2016 -2017 budget 
highlighting that no change had been  proposed to the 2017 budget and  indicated that for the 
seventh  consecutive year, the consoli dated budget of the WTO remained the same. The forecast 
expenditure to 31 December 2016 amounted to CHF 192.7 million  representing 98 % of the 2016 
budget amount of CHF 197.2 million.  
12.5.   The Committee recommended  that the General Council approve d the Members' Scale of 
Contributions for 2017 as had been presented in pages 16 to 19 of d ocument WT/BFA/W/402.  
12.6.   The Secretariat had updated the Committee on the financial situation of the extra -budgetary 
funds and other trust funds. It had been  pointed out that the fun d remained  in a solid financial WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  situation  due to the carry forward mechanism and balances brought forward from previous years. 
The expenditures and commitments for 2016 had approximated to CHF 8.3 million. The Secretariat 
had announced th at the current exp enditures had been  much higher than the current contributions 
received . The  situation would lead to a consumption of the fund 's current positive balance in the 
near future. That  could expose futur e activities and about 40 staff whose salaries were covered by 
the fund  to risk.  
12.7.   The Committee had  conducted a final review of the proposed revision to the Financial Rules 
and had agreed to submit the revised text to the General Council for approval in order for the 
Revised WTO Financial Rules to take effect on 1 January 2017.  
12.8.   The Committee  therefore recommended  that the General Council approve d the revised WTO 
Financial Rul es contained in  document WT/BFA/W /396/Rev.1. The Secretariat would  officially 
reflect the amendments that would be issued in  document WT/L/157/ Rev.2.  
12.9.   The Deputy Director -General in charge of Finance had informed the Committee about the 
progress made on  the O rganiz ational Review in areas such as  the Secretariat working groups 
reviewing staff performance; the launch of t he Young Professionals' Prog ram and the modified 
internal mobility exercise launched in October.  
12.10.   Members had  once again  been invited to encourage their capitals to contribute to the LDCs 
Ministerial Trust Fund  in order to replenish it.  
12.11.   At the meeting on 30 November, t he Secretariat  had provided the  Budget  Committee with 
an overview of the Draft ASHI Strategy. The Secretariat Strateg y Development Team was 
composed of the DDG in charge of Finance and HR, the Directors of AGSD and HR, respectively, 
several officials of the WTO Secretaria t, representatives of the Medical Insurance Management 
Committee and retirees. The Chairman of the Monitoring Group  had noted that the core objective 
of the Strategy wa s to place ASHI on a more sustainable path  with a focus on addressing the 
following fund amental points: 1) minimizing costs within the parameters of meeting legal and 
contractual obligations; and 2) exploring additional funding options while observing the financial 
constraints pertaining to contributions.  
12.12.   Members had taken note of and  had expressed their general support for the Dr aft 
Strategy. A revised version  incorporating Members' comments would  be presented to the 
Committee in the first quarter of 2017.  
12.13.   The Committee had also been updated on the status of external audit findings and 
recom mendations. The Secretariat had stated that of the recommen dations made in 2015, eight 
had been  closed and the requisite a ction on the remaining six had been  ongoing. And of the 2016 
recommendations, the Secretariat  had stated that there had been 17 of whi ch eight had been 
ongoing, seven had been  anticipated to be closed and two had been  merged.  
12.14.   The General Council took note  of the statement, approved  the Budget Committee's specific 
recommendation in paragraphs 2.5 a nd 3.15 of WT/BFA/158 and adopted  the reports in 
WT/BFA/158 and WT/BFA/160.  
13  INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE UNCTAD/WTO – REPORT OF THE JOINT ADVISORY 
GROUP ON ITS 50TH SESSION (ITC/AG(L)/2 64) 
13.1.   The Chairman  invite d Ambassador Christopher Onyanga Aparr (Uganda), Chairm an of the 
CTD, to report on the CTD' s consideration of the report of the Joint Advisory Group on the 
International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO . 
13.2.   Ambassador Christopher Onyanga A parr (Uganda), Chairman of the CTD , reported that t he 
Joint Advisory Group on the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO had held i ts 50th Session on 
4 July. The report on that meeting contained in do cument ITC/AG/(50)/264 had been presented to 
the CTD at its 100th Session on 24 November by the Chairman of the JAG – Ambassador Neg esh 
Kebret Botora of Ethiopia.  
13.3.   The Chairman had indicated that at its 50th Session , the JAG had expressed appreciation for 
the ITC's renewed focus on innovation, effectiveness and pragmatic results  on the ground, as also WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  for ITC' s focus on measuring and assessing impact. Delegations at the JAG had r ecognized the 
ITC's efforts in supporting the UN Global Goals and the WTO Ministerial Decisions.  
13.4.   The organization' s efforts in building strategic partnerships, inclu ding by the private sector, 
had been  acknowledged. The signing of a Memorandum of Understa nding at the JAG sess ion 
between the ITC and eBay had been  seen as a c oncrete example of that  enhanced collabo ration 
with the private sector.  
13.5.   ITC's work on South -South cooperation, value chain development, connecting SMEs to 
market, trade in services, and trade and market intelligence tools had been among the areas that 
had been  highlighted by delegations.  
13.6.   With regard to areas for further improvement, delegations at the JAG's 50th session had 
requested the ITC to better present the linkages between the cost s incurred and the results 
achieved. They had asked the organization to provide more information on the allocation of  
resources per priority country  and details of management and oversight functions. Delegations had 
also asked for further disaggr egation of  data based on gender  in order to better u nderstand the 
impact of the ITC' s work on w omen' s economic empowerment and gender equality.  
13.7.   The JAG had  also been briefed on ITC's evaluation function which had included a 
presentation of the 2 015 Evaluation Synthe sis Report  and a presentation of the results of a Peer 
Review conducted in the first half of  2016 which  had assessed the independence, credibility and 
utility of the ITC’s evaluation functions.  
13.8.   The CTD had taken  note of the JAG report and had subsequently  forwarded it to the General 
Council for adoption.   
13.9.   The representative of Benin , on behalf of the LDCs , said that the LDC Group appreciated the 
cooperation that existed  between the WTO, ITC and UNCTAD and with the Members of the LDC 
Group. The LDCs  emphas ized the promotion of integration of vulnerable econom ies into world 
trade and expressed their  gratitude to the ITC for the quality of the report from the 50th Session of 
the Joint Advisory Group and for the efforts th at the Centre relentlessly made  to acc ompany the 
development of LDCs to ensure inclusive trade.  
13.10.   The report stated  the tan gible results on trade and gave  information on the setting up of a  
favourable trading environment.  It described  the support given to trade and investment 
institutions, the link between LDCs and value chains and the integration of inclusive trade and the 
support to regional economic  integration. The Group welcomed the priority the ITC granted to  
LDCs for which some 80% of the I TC statements or interventions we re devoted to.  
13.11.   The innovative ini tiatives of the ITC such as "She-Trade" – an application which helped  
women in enterpri ses to get connected to markets, and  the development e -solution package 
developed in partnersh ip with e -bay to support LDCs we re just some of the actio ns and 
achievements aimed  at supporting the achievement of the SDGs more particularly goals 9, 10a 
and 10b.  
13.12.   The tripartite collaboration between the WTO, the ITC and UNCTAD would  be essential to 
implement the specific provisions contained in the different  agreements and decisions of the WTO, 
in particular the DDA, the Ministerial Declarations of Hong Ko ng, Bali and Nairobi including 
paragraphs 24, 31 and 32 of the Nairobi Ministeria l Declaration. The Group recall ed Uganda's 
previous intervention on the Ser vices Waiver. Given the expertise and the know-how the ITC had 
on LDC matters, the Group invite d the ITC to draw up a wareness projects in LDCs to ensure that 
the Services Waiver wa s put into  place.  
13.13.   The Group recommended  the setting up of programmes to ens ure the building of analytical 
capacity with the view to the notifications made by Members to enable LDCs to benefit from the 
Preferential Market Access. Through such programmes, LDCs would  be able to benefit from the  
Services Waiver before the end of  2030.  
13.14.   The tripar tite functional cooperation should be pursued to reinforce  the complementarities 
of all aven ues of work stressing  the impact of  such cooperation. As such, Members  needed to WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  increa se the ITC budget to enhance greater progress and physical resul ts as delegations had 
requested to indeed be able to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Programme.  
13.15.   The LDC Group recommended  that the scope of the ITC actions be extended and 
strengthened in all LDCs on the basi s of the needs expressed so tha t LDCs could  be integrated into 
the global trading system in a sustainable way.  
13.16.   The Chairman  said that i n the light of the CTD's consideration and action on the matter 
and the CTD report Members had just heard, he invite d the General Council to adopt the r eport of 
the Joint Advisory Group in document ITC/AG(50)/264 and to take note of the statements.  
13.17.   The General Council so agreed . 
14  WTO PENSION PLAN  
14.1  Amendments to the Administrative Rules of the WTO Pension Plan and of Rules of 
Procedure of the Management Boar d (WT/GC/W/725)  
14.1.   The Chairman  drew attention to the Amendments to the Regulations of the Pension Plan 
circulat ed in document WT/GC/W/725. That document wa s a good example of the regular business 
of the Pension Pla n Management Board.  To give Members  a cleare r idea of the type s of issues that 
the Board dealt with, in the document there we re substantive changes proposed in Sections C and 
H of the Administrative Rules and Section D of the Rules of Procedur e to address the medical 
examination of new Plan particip ants by clarifying and codifying the current practice of the WTO 
Occupational Health Service. The proposed amendments also enhance d the governance of 
incapac ity review processes and clarified  the respective roles of the WTO medical adviser and a 
separate W TOPP medical adviser. Technical corrections we re also proposed across several Sections 
of the Administrative Rules to address technical and typographical errors.  
14.2.   At its 30 September meeting, the Management Board had approved those amendments and  
consisten t with its regulations had  submitted the revised Administrative Rules and Rules of 
Procedure to the General Council for final approval. Unless delegations wish ed to speak, he invite d 
the General Cou ncil to take note of his  statement and to approve the amen dments to the WTO 
Pension Plan Administrative Rules and to the Rules of Procedure of the Management Board as set 
out in document WT/GC/W/725.  
14.3.   The General Council so agreed .   
14.2  Chairmanship of the Management Board – Statement by the Chairman  
14.4.   The Chairman  recalled that th e item had been on the agenda since the  previous meeting i n 
October. Consultations on the matter had  been ongoing over the past three months first led by the 
outgoing Management Board Chairperson – Mr Johannes R ühl – and then kind ly taken over  by the 
CBFA Chairperson – Ambassador Inga E rnstsone . Since the commencement of the  process, group 
coordinators  and interested delegations had been consulted. He  recall ed that three delegations had 
expressed an interest in serving as Chair  of the Board: Tu rkey, Oman  and Austria. Despite tho se 
discussions and efforts, consensus on the appointment of a Chair had  yet to emerge.  
14.5.   He assure d Members  that the Management Board continued  to effectively function during 
the selection  process. Fortunately, Mr Rühl wa s available to serve as Chair of the Man agement 
Board until Members had  decided on his successor. Nonetheless, the set -up could  only be 
temporary and they  needed to continue to search for Mr R ühl's successor.  
14.6.   He remind ed Members that the WTO Pensio n Plan Ma nagement Board operated  
independently based on its own Regulations, Administrative Rules a nd Rules of Procedure which 
had been  approved by the General Council. Its members and alternates serve d in their personal 
capacity and we re comprised of those elected  by the General Council and WTO Sec retariat's staff 
members which we re appo inted by the Director -General. That wa s in contrast with the composition 
of other WTO bodies. Since the Management Board wa s not a WTO regular body (Council nor 
Committee) it wa s not listed as one of the bodies governed by the Guidelines on the Appointment 
of Officers in WT/L/510.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  14.7.   Transparency needed to be ensured at all times and all interested delegations should be 
provided with the opportunity to be heard – both of which had  so far been upheld in the current 
process. He  urged all Members to t ake a pragmatic approach to the  process and to work together  
towards electing a Chair to ensure the continued effec tive functioning of the Board. The 
Management Board invested  the assets o f the WTO Pension Plan and dealt  exclusively with the 
management and administration of the retirement, death, disability and related benefits f or the 
WTO staff and retirees. It wa s the social security of the  WTO Secretariat's staff that they were 
talking about  – staff upon which Members  all heavily relied  for the smoo th running and servicing of 
the organization. He  believe d that  this needed  to be kept well in mind.  
14.8.   The General Council took note  of the Chairman's statement.  
15  REVIEW OF WTO ACTIVI TIES  
Reports of : 
15.1  General Council (WT/GC/W/726), Dispute Settlement Body (WT/DSB/71), and 
Trade Policy Review Body (WT/TPR/387)  
15.2  Sectoral Councils (G/L/1168, S/C/50, IP/C/75)  
15.3  Committees  on Trade and Development (WT/COMTD/91), Trade and Environment 
(WT/CTE/23), Balance -of-Paym ents Restrictions (WT/BOP/R/112), Budget, Finance 
and Administration (WT/BFA/159), and Regional Trade Agreements (WT/REG/26)  
15.4  Working Groups on Trade, Debt and Finance (WT/WGTDF/15) and Trade and 
Transfer of Technology (WT/WGTTT/18)  
15.5  Committees under the Plu rilateral Trade Agreements (GPA/141, WT/L/992)  
15.1.   The Chairman  said that the reports under that item had  been drawn up in pursuance of the 
Decision concerning procedures for an annual overview of WTO activities and for reporting under 
the WTO in document WT/L /105. He noted that Ambassador Atanas P aparizov  (Bulgaria), 
Chairman of the Working Grou p on Trade, Debt and Finance had informed him  of some aspects of 
the work in the WGTDF that he had wished to highlight. He would  therefore do that on his behalf.   
15.2.   The Chairman recall ed that at the May meeting of the WGTDF, the Director -General had 
raised the issue of the increasing difficulty of obtaining trade finance in t he post -financial crisis 
period  as well as possible ways forward.  While the Director -General would  continue to  work with 
partner institutions  such as the multilateral development banks, Members should a lso do their part 
in making that  initiative w ork. Through the WGTDF, they could  express trade concerns to actors in 
the development and regulatory proce ss for the integration  of SMEs in global trade and could  also 
be active players in tackling the issue of availability of trade finance amid a consta ntly changing 
trade landscape. He  therefore join ed Ambassador P aparizov  in urging Members to actively 
partic ipate in the discussions in the WGT DF in 2017 – a key year for that  initiative.  
15.3.   The representative of New Zealand  paid tribute to  Ambassador Hamish M cCormick 
(Australia) and said that his  collegiality, friendship and the value which he had  place in the rul es-
based international trading system had  been greatly appreciated. It had  never been taken for 
granted. His wise counsel, ac ute judgement and sense of humo r, not to mention a readiness to 
turn utterly ruthless if need ed be in tho se multilateral negotiatio ns, had made a difference. His  
leadership of the Cairns Group had reinvigorated it and to say that he had done his country proud 
was an understatement.  
15.4.   He noted that he had worked also worked closely with Ambassador Michael Punke (United 
States)  particula rly in Nairobi and that experience had reminded him that one could deli ver 
outcomes with the Majors, but not without them. He thanked him for his  energ y, focus and 
robustness – it had been at times challenging but the outcome spoke  volumes. The first such 
outcome on export subsidies since the end of the Urug uay Round two decades ago spoke  for itself.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  15.5.   He thanked  the international public servants that serve d the organization. The WTO 
Secretariat did  not have an e asy task. But without them, the institution – a global public good – 
could not  simply function. His  end-of-year words of appreciation were therefore to the Secretariat . 
In particular, he  paid tribute to Evan Rogerson who would be retiring in 2017 . Mr Rogerson had  
had a distinguished career.  He had wor ked for New Zealand's  Foreign Service in a range of roles 
before joining the Secretariat in Geneva. He had served as the Chief of Staff of Director -General 
Renato Ruggiero ; had become Director of the WTO Council Division  and TNC Division ; and had 
most rece ntly been  the Director of the Agriculture and Commodities Division. He also happened to 
be a New Zealander who had been decorated by his  Government for his service – for his 
contribution to the multilateral trading system which was something New Zealand ca red very 
deeply and sincerely about. He had taken his responsibilities  seriously  and had always understood 
that international public servants we re above narrow  parochial nationalities. It had been  to the 
multilateral trading syst em that his ultimate loyalt y laid . His professionalism, jud gement and 
measured approach had served the organiz ation in particular and the multilateral trading sy stem 
in general superlatively. He  trusted that he would  see the Nairobi outcomes, not least on cotton 
and on the eliminati on of export subsidies as a fitting way to cap off a gl ittering career. If those 
who would come after him could  serve half a s well as he had, they would  have done magnificently. 
New Zealand placed on record its  appreciation to him on behalf of all who care d about the 
multilateral trading system and the  institution.  
15.6.   The circles Members  worked in we re small ones. Ove r his twenty years in the business, he 
had worked again and again with colleagues who he currently saw daily in the organization. That 
was a hid den strength of the  institution and the wider system. And if one thing was certain, it wa s 
that they would all meet again.  
15.7.   The General Council took note  of the Chairman's statement and of the other statement.  
15.8.   The Chairman  invite d the General Council to ad opt the report of the Committee on Trade 
and Deve lopment in document WT/COMTD/91  and to take note of the reports of the other WTO 
bodies  including the reports of the Committees under th e Plurilateral Trade Agreements  listed in 
the Proposed Agenda.  
15.9.   The Gene ral Council so agreed . 
15.10.   The Chairman  propose d that the General Council adopt ed the draft Report of the General 
Council contained in document  WT/GC/W/726  on the underst anding that the Secretariat would  
make the necessary adjustme nts to include matters that h ad been considered at the  meeting.  
15.11.   The General Council so agreed10. 
16  APPOINTMENT OF OFFIC ERS TO WTO BODIES  
16.1  Consultations on the guidelines for the Appointment of Officers – Report by the 
Chairman  
16.1.   The Chairman  reminded Members about the particularly ch allengi ng appointment process 
they had  experienced  at the beginning of the year. Further to tho se difficultie s, his  predecessor 
had placed that  issue under the spotlight at the  February meeting – stressing the importance of 
the group coordinators' role in resolvi ng divergences which should be settled within their 
respective groups.  
16.2.   Even more difficulties had been  encountered in the following process of appointing chairs of 
the subsidiary bodies of the Goods Council. In his statement to the May General Council meet ing, 
the Goods Council Chair had referred to the request of some delegations to conduct consultations 
on the guidelines for the appointment of office rs contained in WT/L/510 – and he had  confirmed in 
the same meeting that he  would undertake consultations a fter the summer break. Subsequently, 
at the Gener al Council meeting in October, he had announced at that he  would soon begin 
consultations on whether clari fications on the guidelines were necessary.  The first step had been  a 
collective meeting on 14 and 17  October with the coordinators of the four broad groups, i.e . the 
                                                
10 The General Council Annual Report can be found in WT/GC/182.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  developed countries; Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean; and Asia and the Pacific – the latter 
had come to see him  separately due to scheduling conflicts.  
16.3.   Discussions had focused on whe ther clari fications to the guidelines were deemed necessary 
and if so, how to approach the process and which areas needed partic ular focus. He had  also 
recalled that an extensive exercise over several months to revise the Guidelines had been 
conducted by t he Chair  of the General Council in 2012 and that it had concluded that on one hand 
the Guidelines were adequate and on the other that they would benefit from some "practical steps" 
to improve their implementation. Those practical steps were a separate  decision of the General 
Council  nor a revision of the guidelines  given the lack of co nsensus to go in that direction  but had 
been the result of an identification of some practical aspects of the guidelines that could be 
strengthened – and on which delegations  had converged. Those practical steps which were taken 
note of by  the General Council and which we re contained in JOB/GC/2 2 had  been used ever since.  
16.4.   During his conversations with a ll group coordinators, they had been  unanimous in saying 
that they saw  no pa rticular problem with the Guidelines. The issue had rather hinged on the 
practical implementation and the lack of understanding of the rules. One of the group coordinators 
had mentioned that the understanding of the principle of rotation  seemed to vary amo ng the 
groups. The coordinators  had also pointed out the importance of the coordination between the 
outgoing group coordinator and the incoming one as well as having close interaction among all 
group coordinators. A ll group coordinators  had found it useful  to meet  collectively and share their 
experiences, th oughts and sensitivities. He  believe d they could build on that  positive experience.  
16.5.   Following the me eting with group coordinators, he had sent communications to all Members 
on 26 October and again on 9 N ovember  inviting any interested delegations to  come forward to 
consult with him . 11 delegations had responded to his  invita tions for consultations. He generally 
had not sense d a strong push from them to revise the Guidelines – with some delegations strongl y 
opposing any exercise aimed at changing them. Most delegations  had stressed that the guidelines 
were adequate and contained all the relevant principles to ensure a fair, balanced and smooth 
appointment process.  
16.6.   Two delegations had however brought some id eas to the table including: barring delegations 
from presenting candidates for a position in Groups 6A and 6B – i.e. the subsidiary bodies of the 
Goods Council and the Services Coun cil – if the same delegation had  already been appointed for a 
position in o ne of the bodies listed in Groups 1 -5 of the Guidelines (i.e. the subsidiary bodies of the 
General Council); taking into account country rotation, regional group rotation and level -of-
development rotation in applying the principle of rotation; and, avoidin g the use of the concept of 
"wide support" as a criterion for appointment.  
16.7.   He had raised tho se suggestion s with the delegations that had  come forward to consult with 
him. Some had  expressed concerns about them.  He also understood that some of those ideas h ad 
been raised in meetings of the relevant groups where some concerns had been  voiced as well.  
16.8.   Other issues had also been raised in his  consult ations  including the need to maintain 
transparency throughout the process; the need to strike the right balance between competency 
and willingness of candidates on one hand and the mechanics of rotation and achievement of 
geopolitical balance on the other; the possibility of basing the selection process on applications 
from interested candidates received at the star t of the cycle; and the possibility to reflect on 
adopting longer cycles for some regular bodies as opposed to annual rotation. Some specific 
conce rns on particular instances had  also been raised by some delegations. He was reporting 
factually on what he h ad heard and Members might wish to keep tho se points in mind for future 
discussions, if they deem ed appropriate.  
16.9.   One point where both the group coordinators and all the delegations that had come forward 
had converged was the need for clarity about the guid elines and the practical steps – as well as 
the need for clarity on ho w the process of consultations was conducted.  As a result, his intention 
was to conduct a "clinic" or a "tutorial" of the Guidelines for all Members in an informa l Open -
ended meeting on 15 December  for everyone to have a clear understanding of the rules and 
practices before consult ations on the 2017 cycle begin. A communication in that  regard would  be 
sent to all Members shortly.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  16.10.   Another point of convergence was the importance of starting  the process early and 
allowing sufficient time to group coordinators to conduct consultations with their respective 
constituencies. He and his  colleagues  in the Selection Committee would  convene all group 
coordinators together the following  week to allow them to hear each other out and to kick -start the 
2017 cycle e arly. He  urged group coordinators to promptly start their c onsultative process  and to 
possibly present candidates early in January so that there was enough time for discussion  and for 
the proces s to run smoothly and to be finalized at the General Council meeting in February.  
16.11.   To avoid delays and maintain efficiency in the process, he  appeal ed to all group 
coordinators to en sure a smooth transition to his  successor. And in discharging their role, he 
hoped that he could count on all of them to settle to the best of thei r abilitie s all the divergences 
within their group. On his  part, together with the re st of the selection committee, he  wished  to 
assure all Members that they would  uphold the principl e of transparency throughout the cycle and 
faithfully follow the Guidelines and the practical steps in conducting the process.  
16.12.   He understoo d all of the concerns raised by group co ordinators and delegations. He would 
try his  best to address them and ensure that t he next appointment process would run smoothly. 
He also expect ed the same from all Members  and urge d them  to remain constructive throughout  
the process and to work with him in achieving that  objective.  
16.13.   The representative of Oman  thank ed the Chairman  for his  efforts in leading the 
consultations on that matter which it had taken  part in and for making good on his promise to 
have tho se consultations before th e next cycle of appointments. Members would  recall the events 
that had led to that  matter being put up for the discussion at the  Council. A summary of the 
background for the inclusion of the agenda item could be found in the statement  by the former 
Chair of the CTG in the meeting held on 11 May contained in JOB/CTG/1.  
16.14.   Oman had participated in the co nsultations led by the Chair of the General Council and  
consider ed the discussion they had to be constructive as it had been able to communicate its  main 
interest on the matter – to secure a  positive outcome that addressed  the concerns previously 
raised wi th the appointment process , with the vie w to ensuring that due regard was  given to 
representativeness and inclusivity. In the spirit of com promise and good faith, Oman  had 
expressed its  flexibility with regard to how that could  be achieved and on the Chair man's request 
provided him with a proposal containi ng a suggestion that could  impro ve the appointment process. 
Oman  hoped that Members would get  a chance to review the proposal  and agree on its contents as 
Oman stoo d ready to rece ive any questions or queri es they could  have on it.  
16.15.   With regard to the Chairman's suggestion  to organize a clinic on  15 December to clarify 
how the guidelines for the appointment of WTO officials s hould be interpreted – first, Oman would 
like to thank the Chairman for taking  initiative in coming up with those ideas that could assist and 
Oman was happy to look into outside the box a pproaches. Before expressing its  views on the 
matter, Oman would like to know the following : who would be organizing the clinic? Would  it be 
the Secretar iat? Which division would  be organi zing it? Under what mandate would  it be operating 
in in providing clarifications on the application of the guidelines? What status would be attached to 
results of such a clinic? Would any interpretations or clarificatio ns arrived at be binding or would  it 
be on a without p rejudice basis? Those details would place Oman  in a more infor med position and 
would enable it  to make the right determination.  
16.16.   The representative of Morocco , on behalf of the African Group , thank ed the C hairman for 
the efforts that he had  deployed on the  consultation process and took  note of the results at the 
various consul tations. The African Group faced  some challenges when it came  to the consultations 
during the selection process. The Group increasing ly saw that there wa s an urgency to 
scrupulously loo k at the question of rotation and g roup representation in the  various bodies. There 
was a need to improve the balance  since there we re certain regions that  were under -represented 
while the reverse was tru e for others. Rotation should  be based on inclusion through a very 
careful, attentive p rocess seeing to it that there wa s proper geographic balance.  
16.17.   The African Group reaffirm ed consensus being at the core of all the var ious mechanisms of 
the WTO and voic ed its concerns  in that  regard. The Group  would continue doing so until their 
comments were taken into account so that Members could  strengthen, heighten the confidence 
and the credibil ity of the selection process. Members should work together to heighten the efficac y 
of the selection process which  should not give rise to a syste mic malfunction. Taking into account WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  those various concerns when it came to rotation was in everyone's interest. They  should see to i t 
that the multilateral system was efficient by  ensuring the proper functioning of the WTO . 
16.18.   The Chairman  respond ed briefly to some o f the points mentioned by Oman and said that 
what he was thinking of wa s just an offer to delegations in an informal open -ended meeting with 
no minutes , to go through  the g uidelines such as they were at present. He would  chair the 
meeting as the GC Chair and the Council and TNC Division would convene  it. There would  be no 
interpretation of the  guidelines as he would  be referring to the present guidelines as they were.  
16.19.   The G eneral Council took note  of the statements.  
16.2  Announcement p ursuant to paragraph 7.1(A) of the guidelines (WT/L/510)  
16.20.   The Chairman  recalled that  the Guidelines provide d that the out going General Council 
Chair would  conduct consultations on the appointment of chairpersons to the WTO bodies in 
Groups 1, 2, 4 and 5 of its Annex and the selection process should start with the Chair's 
announcement at the Dec ember General Council – and he was  starting the selection proc ess 
earlier than usual. He would  be assisted in  the selection process by the ser ving DSB Chair, 
Ambassador Carim  (South Africa) and Ambassador Fried  (Canada), former General Council Chair.  
16.21.   A list of past Chairs of major bodies wa s available to delegations at the meeting. I n 
accordance with the Guidelin es, representatives of Members in financial ar rears for over one full 
year could not however be considered for appointment.  
16.22.   He would  consult with the four group coordinators (developed countries, Africa, Asia and 
the Pacific, and Latin America and the C aribbean) the following week and he  reiterate d his  
encouragement to them to reach out to their respective groups. The practical steps to improve the 
implementation of the Guidel ines (JOB/GC/22) clearly specified  that those group coordinators had  
a role in put ting forward candidates for  the slots available to them. He and his colleagues would  
indicate a s pecified time -period in which they would  be available to hear the view s of all interested 
delegations  after the meeting with group coordinators.  
16.23.   He had also be en informed that Ambassador Karau (Kenya) would  no longer be available 
to chair the DSB -SS as of February 2017. Therefore, they would  also conduct consultations on 
Ambassador  Karau's replacement during the u pcoming exercise.  
16.24.   The General Council took note  of the Chairman's statement.  
17  AFRICAN UNION LEVY – STATEMENT BY THE UNI TED STATES  
17.1.   The representative of the United States , speaking under "Other Business ", raised an issue 
related to the United Nations and the African Union (AU). The United States had  been a n ardent 
proponent of strengthening the partnership between the United  Nations with the African Union , 
particularly to ensure that AU peac e support operations in Africa we re fully equippe d to be as 
effective, efficient  and accountable as possible.  
17.2.   On 18 November , the United Nations Security Council  had unanimously adopted a resolution 
welcoming the July 2016 decision of the African Union to fund 25% of AU-led peace support 
operations. That resolution strengthened  the international community' s commitment to  building a 
stronger, healthier  and more robust AU -UN partnership which his  government ful ly and 
enthusiastically supported . 
17.3.   In order to meet that  funding level, AU member states had agreed to apply a 0.2% levy on 
selected imports into Africa. As the Unite d States understoo d it, the levy would fund peace support 
operations and other programs of the AU.   
17.4.   The AU included  43 WTO Members and 9 WTO  accession candidate countries. As each of 
those countries contemplated  the implementation of the 0.2% levy, the Un ited States wished to 
reaffirm its  expectations that implementation be consistent with WTO agreements , including the 
MFN principle. To the exten t that some AU Member States could  intend to use existing levies or 
other trade measures to fund peacekeeping ef forts, those would  also need to be implemented or WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  maintain ed in a WTO consistent manner. The collection of any levy for peacekeeping efforts or 
implementation of any other trade measures intended to fund such efforts should not occur prior 
to WTO complianc e. 
17.5.   The U nited States strongly encouraged that those AU Members that we re WTO M embers 
begin discussions on that matter with other WTO Members  as well as  with the WTO Secretariat.  
That engagement would help to identify pos sible issues at an early stage , to find ways to address 
those issues  and to begin the discussion on how to manage the implementation of t he levy or 
other trade measures , including th e possible need for WTO waivers where necessary  and the 
development of a transparency mechanism. The United St ates looked forward to continued 
discussions on that  issue in 2017.  
17.6.   On a personal note, he thank ed everyone and appreciated the comment s from his 
colleagues. As he had been sitting there thinking about sitting in that  room on many prior 
occasions  and refl ecting back a bit, he had been thinking back to the job that he had before he had 
come to his current job. He had been  a profess or at the University of Montana where he  had 
taught a cours e about governments, international relations and foreign policy. Duri ng th e last 
lecture of every semester , he would make the same comment to his students. He would  note that 
usually on that cover of a textbook about government or politics or international af fairs, they had  a 
picture of a building – the White  House or the U S Capitol if it was American Politics or they would  
have the UN Headquarters or the WTO Head quarters. What those buildings we re meant to 
symbolize obviously wa s institutions. Institutions really matter ed and the fact that institutions 
matter ed was one of t he reasons that he was very o ptimistic about the future of his  country. The 
Director -General  in his earlier comments at the meeting had talked about the institu tion of the 
WTO and how he felt confident that Members had  strengthened that institution over th e last eight 
years – and he  agree d with him.  
17.7.   But he would also tell his  students that as much as institutions matter , his experienc e from 
working in government had been that people were fundamentally significant. That was his  biggest 
impression from livin g in Geneva and working in the institution – the people did  matter. He was 
continuously i mpressed over the time that he had been in Geneva and in the organization with the 
quality of his colleagues. They had  worked through all sorts of diffe rent moods – good and bad. 
They had laughed at each other. They had  fought with each other. The  fought with each other. T he 
quality of the people in the town made  an enormous difference. Between the strength of the 
institution and the quality of the people, he was very c onfident that the WTO would  continue to be 
a place where important things got done and he was very grateful  to everyone  for their friendship 
and support . 
17.8.   The representative of the European Union  welcomed  the African Union's efforts to explore 
possible way s of providing sustainable sources of financing to support African peace and stability 
and the integra tion process. The European Union had  taken note of the decision taken at the 
27th African U nion held in Kigali in July to institute a levy of 0.2 percent  of all eligible imports in 
order to fund the peace sup port operations. However , at that  stage WTO Members did  not hav e all 
the details regarding that measure that would  be needed in order to perform a full assess ment of 
the measures under WTO r ules. Consequ ently, the EU echoed  the need to ensure that  any 
measures being considered w ould be WTO -compliant.  The EU  sought  clarifications about the actual 
implementation of the measure and stoo d ready to support the African Union  in ensuring that the 
proposal wa s WTO compliant.  
17.9.   The representative of Japan  echoed  the statement made by the E uropean Union and the 
United States. Japan welcomed  the African Union's initiative to further contribute to the funding of 
its peace support operations.  On the AU Decision  on the 0.2% levy, Japan request ed AU Members 
which we re Members of the WTO to provide other WTO Memb ers with further information. Japan  
expect ed that the decision would  be implemented in a manner consistent with the obligations 
under the WTO Agreement including the  MFN principle and the bound rates.  
17.10.   The representative of China  bade farewell to all the departing Ambassadors and said that 
in the past three years he had  seen all of them making great contribution s to the multilateral 
trading system. He  thank ed them all for the valuable assistance they had given to his  mission and  
to himself including Ambassador Mero (Tanzania)  in the AB Selection Committee.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  17.11.   Even before he had come to Geneva he had known some of the Ambassadors quite well. 
His first meeting  with Ambassad or Punke (United States) had been in Big Sky of his hom etown in 
Montana back in 2011. He  remember ed it had been in the spring time in May when he had  
participated in the APEC Trade Ministers Meeting on behalf  of his  Minister. It had never occurred to 
his m ind at that moment that he would be his  biggest counterpart years later. He had first met 
Ambassador McCormick  in Beijing early in 2013 when he had been  the APEC Senior Official  of 
Australia. They  had a meeting  and a good work ing lunch in the cafeteria of his Ministry. 
Interest ingly, several months after that  lunch , both of them had co me to Geneva to serve as 
ambassadors to the WTO.  
17.12.   From Bali to Nairobi, from TFA to ITA exp ansion, in the past three years , together they had  
witnessed a lot of im portant land mark moments in the organization and together they had  done a  
lot of work to help achieve those goals. It wa s clear that they were faithful believers and staunch 
supporters of the multilateral trading system and the WTO. Some had complain ed that the 
ambass adors of the United States and China never talk ed to each other. On the contrary, over the  
past several years, they perhaps had had the closest interactions among all the ambassadors or 
PRs in the organization. There had been  conversations, good mood, bad mood, dialogues a s well 
as debates in the  building or  somewhere else just between the two of them – over twenty times in 
the past three years. He had been honoure d to have received a signed copy of Ambassador 
Punke's famous book and he  still believe d that that book was  better than the film.  
17.13.   In 2016, China was glad to have Ambassador McCormick as the CTG Chair . As invited by 
the Chinese delegation, Ambassador McCormick had  graciously agreed to serve as discussant for 
China's sixth trade policy review in Jul y. His contribution to the success of  the TPR would  be 
remembered along with his sacrifice of changing his summer holiday plan. He thought that they 
had all  built a good friendship. As they  represent ed different countries  with different situation s and  
different national interest s, they  often argue d and debate d. But their  red line was that business 
was business. Friendship was friendship. There were no hard feeling s as they  agree d to disagree.  
17.14.   He had learned a lot from all the departing ambassadors . Their s ense of duty, their 
penetrating insights, their extensive knowledge and most importan tly, their sense of humo ur. As 
an ancient Egyptian proverb provided , "Once you drink from the river Nile you are destined to 
return ". He thought it wa s also true w ith the water flowing outside thei r window in the  Geneva 
Lake. He firmly believe d that their roads would  cross again  and hoped that they would return in 
Geneva  in the future . But he asked them to continue caring about the multilateral trading system 
where ver they would go particularly as global trade was facing serious challenges. For their shared 
future, they needed to join hands and make glo bal trade more open, free and fair – something 
that would benefit everyone in the  world.  
17.15.   The General Council took note  of the statements.  
18  WTO YOUNG PROFESSION ALS PROGRAMME – STATEMENT BY THE DIR ECTOR -
GENERAL  
18.1.   The Director -General , speaking under  "Other Business ", said that t he objective of the WTO 
Young Professionals Programme wa s to enhance the knowledge of WTO issues among you ng 
professionals from developing and least -developed M embers. The Programme pu t a particular 
focus on Members that we re not currently represented at the professional level in the Secretariat.  
18.2.   Concerns had  been raised in the past that the mak e-up of the WTO  Secretariat did  not full y 
reflect the diversity of its M embership. Th e Programme could help address that issue  by widening 
the pool of qualified applicants for future r ecruitment exercises at the WTO  and elsewhere.  
18.3.   He was pleased to inform M embers that pr eparations for the first in take of Young 
Professionals had already been finalized. At the end of a merit –based recruitment proces s, five 
young professionals had been selected and would start their 12 -month placements early in 2017. 
He congratulate d the sel ected candidates and thanked all involved in the initiative especially DDG 
Agah who had played a key role in developing the programme.  
18.4.   They had kept the numbers low for the first cohort but it clearly had potential to grow. The 
vacancy notice for those pos itions had been  posted o n the WTO website on 19 May . By the 
30 June deadline , a total of 848 applications had been received with a wide geographical spread – WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  a phenomenal response. They were considering the approach for the second cohort of young 
professio nals and would consult M embers on the best way forward in 2017 . 
18.5.   The General Council took note  of the Director -General's statement.  
19  WORKING PARTY ON THE  ACCESSION OF BELARUS  – STATEMENT BY THE CHA IRMAN  
19.1.   The Chairman , speaking under  "Other Business ", recalled  that Deputy Director -General 
Shark had conducted consultations on his  behalf regarding the Chairmanship of the Acc ession 
Working Party of Belarus and in that respect, he  referred to the faxes dated 21 October. He was 
pleased to inform Members that followi ng tho se consultations and in keeping with the usual WTO 
practice, there wa s a broad consensus on Ambassador Kemal M adenoğlu  (Turk ey) to serve as 
Chairman of the Working Party who wa s therefore appointed as Chair.  
19.2.   The representative of Turkey  thank ed the G eneral Council Chair and it s Members for the 
confidence they had placed in Turkey. As a country that had  been a strong advocate fo r the 
enlargement of the WTO, Turkey was mindful and aware of the task of the Working Party and of 
the importance of the Acces sion of Belarus to the WTO family. He  hoped he would  be able to carry 
out the accession process of Belarus successfully with the help and guidance of Members and of 
the Secretariat.  
19.3.   The representative of Belarus , speaking as an Observer , said that Belarus was delighted to 
the appointment of Ambassador Kemal Madenoğlu as the Chairman of the Working Party on the 
Accession of Belarus to the WTO. On behalf  of the Government of Belarus, he  extend ed sincere 
congratulations to Amb assador Madenoğlu  and assure d him of his delegation's  full support and 
cooperation in the discharge of his new functions. Ambassador Madenoğlu  brought  with him a 
brilliant mix of economic, diplomatic an d political experience that would  greatly contribute to the 
accession process of his cou ntry to the WTO.  
19.4.   He also thank ed the Government of Turkey for its continued commitment to support 
Belarus' WTO accession bid since it wa s the fourth consecutive time that a Turkish diplomat 
presided over the Working Party. H e also express ed gratitude to t he Chairman of the General 
Council, DDG Shark and the WTO Secretariat for the smooth conduct of the consultati ve process 
as well as to the  Members for their positive considerat ion to the nominated candidate.  
19.5.   He paid tribute to the former Chairman of the W orking Party, Amb assador Haluk  Ilicak  
whose considerable efforts had allowed setting  the stage for the new intensive phase of the 
negotiation process.  Belarus reaffirmed its  commitment to continue constructive engagement with 
the WTO in or der to successful ly conclude its  accession process.  
19.6.   The General Council took note  of the statements.  
20  STATEMENT BY THE CHA IRMAN IN CONNECTION WITH ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES 
FOR MEMBERS IN ARREA RS 
20.1.   The Chairman , speaking under  "Other Business ", said that a t its meeting in Octob er 2012, 
the General Council had approved a recommendation from the Budget Committee regarding 
revised Administrative Measures for Members in arrears  which  had entered into fo rce on 
1 January  2013. Among those Measures there wa s a requirement that  at the e nd of each 
GC meeting  the CBFA Chair should provide information with regard to which Members and 
Observers we re under Administrative M easures. He invite d Ambassador Inga Ernstsone (Latvia)  to 
provide the Council with that  information.  
20.2.   Ambassador Inga Erns tsone (Latvia), Chairperson of the CBFA , said that t he General Council 
had approved the rules for Members and Observers subject  to Administrative Measures. Those 
rules had been implemented on 1  March 2013 and as required by the decision o f the General 
Council, she would  list Members and Observers under all categories of Administrative Measures  as 
at 30 November 2016. There we re 5 Members and 1 Observer in Category 1: Cameroon; Congo; 
Dominican Republic; Vanuatu; Yemen and Sudan (Observer). Th ere we re 3 Memb ers and 
1 Observer in Category 2: Dominica; Suriname; Bolivarian Republic of Venezue la and Libya 
(Observer). There we re 5 Members and 1 Observer in Category 3: Central African Republic; 
Djibouti; Guinea -Bissau; Mauritania; Niger and Sao Tomé and Principe ( Observer)  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  20.3.   The Chairman  said that under the new revised Administrative Measures he was  also 
required at each meeting to request Members and Observers in Categories II and III of the 
Measures to inform the Secretariat as to when their payment of arrears coul d be expected.   
20.4.   The General Council took note  of the statements.  
_______________  
 
 WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  ANNEX 1  
THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL'S REPORT AT THE INFORMAL HEADS O F DELEGATION MEETING 
HELD ON 1 AND 5 DECE MBER  20161 
Let me now report on my recent contacts and activities ove r the last two months.  
 
Here in Geneva, I have continued my regular coordination with Chairs of Negotiating Groups, 
including on Tuesday last week. I have also met with group coordinators and a range of 
delegations. These meetings have been very helpful i n building a deeper understanding of 
Members' views and expectations for our work ahead, including its developmental aspects. I will 
continue these exchanges over the coming months.  
 
I have also participated in a wide range of meetings in capitals.  
 
In October I was invited to attend the informal ministerial meeting in Oslo, which was convened 
and hosted by Norway. A range of Members attended this meeting, including developed and 
developing countries, and LDCs. The coordinators of the Africa, LDC and ACP Groups were all in 
attendance. You have already received the Chair's summary of the meeting, provided by Norway's 
Foreign Minister, Borge Brende. This was circulated in document JOB/GC/108. We will hear a 
further report on this meeting when I open the floo r in a few moments.  
 
Also in October, I attended the Cotton -4 ministerial meeting in Bamako, Mali. C4 Ministers 
acknowledged that important advances had been made on cotton, particularly in the pillars of 
market access and export competition. They stressed  the importance of implementing the cotton 
outcomes from Bali and Nairobi, and the need for action on domestic support. Progress on 
domestic support in cotton is very much linked with the overall progress in agriculture, so will 
require renewed energy in t hose negotiations.  
 
In November I attended the APEC ministerial in Lima. Again, there was a constructive exchange, 
and a lot of support for our work here.  
 
In addition, over this period I have attended meetings of the OECD, IMF, World Bank and the UN 
Chief Executives Board for Coordination. And I have made bilateral visits to Members including 
Benin and Tunisia.  
 
I won't detail the outcomes of all these activities, but I think a number of common points have 
emerged from my discussions:  
 
 First, a shared d esire among Members to deliver concrete results at MC11;  
 Second, the importance of sustained ministerial engagement throughout the preparatory 
process for MC11;  
 Third, that outcomes were more likely to be achieved through incremental progress rather 
than major leaps; and,  
 Fourth, the importance of advancing the development and LDC components of any of the 
issues that are being discussed.  
 
I think that these elements – and others – would provide useful guidance for our work here.  
 
We can look back on a ver y constructive year of discussion and debate. As I have said before, I 
can't easily recall when we last saw this kind of dynamism and engagement at the WTO. 
Longstanding issues are being discussed in new ways. Other issues are also being debated. We 
can be  pleased with the progress made and positive about the way forward.  
 
But, in order to make further progress, and with MC11 in mind, we will clearly need to intensify 
our work in the New Year.  
 
As discussions evolve, I am hearing divergent views in many a reas. I am also hearing convergent 
views in many areas, but with different approaches.  
 
                                                
1 Also issued as JOB/GC/111.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  Therefore, when we resume in 2017, I intend to start facilitating exchanges among proponents as 
well as delegations that have shown particular interest on specific iss ues. The idea would be to 
share views and see how we might be able to move forward. I will do everything I can to help you 
and to facilitate this work.  
 
It's important to stress, however, that any progress will need to be driven by Members. You are 
the on es who must be pushing things forward. It is up to proponents to get traction and 
convergence behind their priority issues. Deliverables for MC11 will be defined by how much 
traction and progress is achieved by proponents.  
 
Issues that are ripe by MC11 ma y be harvested. Issues that do not progress may still be harvested 
at a later stage. Of course linkages and trade -offs between different areas of work will likely 
emerge as we go along and they will also play a role in defining what can be achieved in Buen os 
Aires.  
 
I have been encouraging proponents to take a multilateral approach whenever possible, without 
precluding the possibility of going in a different direction if that does not work. If proponents want 
to explore different options then I also urge th em to keep them open -ended and inclusive.  
 
So please, continue to talk to each other. Remain pragmatic. Remain open -minded. And be ready 
to intensify work in the New Year. I will continue to reach out to Members, here and in capitals, to 
support you in an y way I can.  
 
That concludes my report.  
 
_______________  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  ANNEX 2  
STATEMENTS BY MEMBER S AT THE INFORMAL HE ADS OF DELEGATION ME ETING HELD 
ON 1 AND 5 DECEMBER 2016  
Following the Director -General's statement at the above -mentioned meeting, the statements mad e 
by Norway; Chad (LDCs); Lao PDR (ASEAN); Argentina; Egypt; Japan; Ecuador; Chile; New 
Zealand; Rwanda (ACP); India; Republic of Korea; Uruguay; Australia; European Union; Indonesia 
(also on behalf of the G -33); United States; China; Singapore; Colombia; Pakistan; South Africa; 
Dominican Republic; Russian Federation; Costa Rica; Hong Kong, China; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
(Arab Group); Switzerland; Senegal; Mexico; Chinese Taipei (Article XII Members); Plurinational 
State of Bolivia; Tunisia; Brazil; Zimbabw e; Nepal; Paraguay; Bangladesh; M ontenegro; Tanzania 
and Nigeria  at that  meeting are included below as part of the Minutes of the General Council 
meeting.  
 
_______________  
 
 
 
1. Norway  
 
We appreciate the increased engagement this autumn and the new submission s that have been 
put forward in different areas of work. This is a welcome development.  
 
I asked for the floor to inform the membership about an informal ministerial meeting on the WTO. 
Ministers and officials from 25 members, representing a broad spectrum  of WTO’s membership 
met in Oslo on 21st and 22nd of October.  
   
The meeting was informal. The Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs ensured the participants that 
no firm conclusions would be drawn from the discussions in Oslo, and that conclusions should be 
left to the membership of the WTO as a whole. Minister Brende summarized the discussion on his 
own responsibility. The document JOB/GC/108 has been shared with all WTO members.  
 
In Oslo , Ministers discussed outcomes they wanted to achieve by the next Ministerial Conference 
and beyond, and how to develop convergence. They recognized the importance of preparing 
properly for MC11, and underlined the need for continued political engagement. In the face of the 
backlash over trade, the importance of taking se riously the concerns expressed in the public 
debate over trade was recognized. It was agreed that it is important that the WTO’s negotiating 
function continue to deliver meaningful outcomes.  
 
Development was at the cent re of the discussions. It was unders cored that integration of 
developing economies, and in particular, the least developed members, in the global trading 
system is an underlying theme of all trade issues.  
 
The need for an open, inclusive and transparent process leading up to MC11 was recogn ized by all. 
Although there were differences in emphasis and priorities, many stressed the need to be realistic, 
look for doable and meaningful results and be open to new approaches. It was agreed that 
outcomes should be achieved through incremental steps rather than major leaps, at least in the 
short term.  
  
While recognizing that it was too early to assess what potential results may be achieved in Buenos 
Aires, the Ministers were in general agreement that issues for further work in the lead up to MC11 
with development at its centre  would likely include:  
 
 elements of domestic support in agriculture, based on updated notifications ,  
 the mandated permanent solution for public stockholding for food security purposes , 
 the other mandated tasks from Nairobi ,  
 a multilateral process on fishery subsidies to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goal 
14.6,  
 domestic regulations in servic es including trade facilitation, and   
 S&D and issues of particular relevance for the Least Developed Countries .  
 WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  The Minister of F oreign Affairs underlined that this list was not exhaustive. He added for instance 
that many had mentioned e -commerce as a potential candidate for harvesting results in one form 
or another in Buenos Aires, while others had seemed more sceptical . Thus furth er focused, but 
open-minded, discussions and scoping of e -commerce were needed before any conclusions could 
be drawn.  
 
Minister Brende said after the meeting that he hoped the discussions in Oslo had provided 
inspiration for further negotiations and that h e looked forward to Argentina’s leadership in the 
preparations for MC11.  
 
As Norway sees it, trade and the Multilateral Trading System are essential and can contribute to 
inclusive economic growth, pursuit of sustainability goals, good framework condition s for trade and 
industry and new jobs.  
  
Norway is committed to work with other members and under your guidance , Director -General,  to 
achieve further progress in Buenos Aires and beyond.  
 
2. Chad (LDCs)  
 
The LDC Group endorses the statements to be made by Mor occo on behalf of the African Group 
and by Rwanda on behalf of the ACP Group.  
 
The countdown to the Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires has begun. It is now 
almost 12 months to the day before the conference begins, and 12 months in a negoti ating round 
does not leave much room for manoeuvre. The LDC Group would therefore urge all WTO Members 
to truly commit themselves to the process and adopt a consensus -based approach for our ongoing 
work.  
 
The Director -General's  review and the status report s presented by the Chairs of the negotiating 
groups and bodies show that substantive work has recently been carried out or is currently being 
conducted by certain Members and groups of Members.  
 
As part of the consensus -building process and with reference to all outcomes, the LDC Group 
would like to recommend that the LDCs' concerns, areas of interest and priorities be effectively 
studied and taken into consideration during the negotiation process leading up to the Buenos Aires 
Conference, in accordance wit h paragraph 24 of the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration.  
 
At the LDC Group retreat organized in Montreux on 18 and 19  April 2016, the LDC Group set its 
priorities for the negotiations and the approach it would take in examining these issues.  
 
The priorities are to:  
 
-  Substantially reduce trade -distorting domestic support for agricultural products, including 
cotton, by putting in place an effective notification, control and supervision system for the 
various categories of support. Given that an outcome on dome stic support in agriculture, 
including cotton , is eagerly awaited, the Group will submit concrete proposals in this 
regard, with elements relating to the crucial issue of cotton . 
-  Adopt a permanent solution for the administration of public stockholding for  food security 
purposes . 
-  Adopt multilateral disciplines and measures concerning fisheries subsidies, in accordance 
with Goal 14.6 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Regarding fisheries 
subsidies , the LDC Group would like to reiterate that it is in favour of taking a multilateral 
approach in order to set disciplines on subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and 
overfishing and to eliminate subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. At 
the 11  November  2016 meeting of the Worki ng Group  on Rules, the Group reaffirmed its 
position, that is, that any outcome on this issue must take account of LDCs' needs and 
concerns in terms of food security and socio -economic development. The Group considers 
that if Sustainable Development Goal N o. 14.6 is to be attained, a balanced text is 
resolutely required, one that sets out disciplines that do not impose new commitments 
upon LDCs, takes into account the situation of traditional small -scale fishermen in LDCs 
and includes appropriate special an d differential treatment and technical assistance in WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  order to build catching, monitoring  and coastline -control capacities, leading to more 
thorough and effective State intervention at sea.  
LDCs do not as yet have the technical and financial resources to or ganize and conduct 
State intervention at sea , so cannot ensure that the disciplines adopted will be 
implemented.  
 
Given how vital this issue is for several LDCs, the Group held consultations aimed at 
harmonizing the positions of those concerned  and is now getting ready to submit its  
proposed negotiating text. The Group would like to thank the European Union for its 
proposal and Peru and the ACP Group for announcing their upcoming submissions. The 
Group is looking forward to working with these Members and groups of Members with a 
view to achieving key outcomes in Buenos Aires in December  2017.  
 
-  Adopt appropriate decisions on special and differential treatment (S &D) that take account 
of the needs, specificities and constraints of developing countries, especia lly LDCs. Various 
studies on preferences indicate that there is a positive correlation firstly between receiving 
such preferences and diversification with a view to the structural transform ation of  
LDC economies , and secondly, between receiving such prefer ences and growth and 
development. The LDC Group therefore believes that S &D provisions should be considered 
within the context of the mandate set out in paragraphs 24, 31 and 32 of the Nairobi 
Ministerial Declaration. Above all, S &D provisions should aim t o promote development. A 
balanced approach should be taken to this work, one that bears in mind LDCs' interests 
and concerns. Our work on this central issue should take account of what was learnt during 
the negotiations on the joint G90 proposals conducted  in preparation for the 
Tenth Ministerial Conference.  
There is an urgent need to tackle the shortcomings in various Members' approaches to 
handling S &D proposals. As the weakest and most vulnerable Members of the multilateral 
trading system, LDCs need stro nger S &D provisions that are more precise, effective and 
operational so that they can increase their share of international trade. For this reason, the 
Group would encourage Members to listen to each other. By listening to each other, we will 
understand ea ch other better, and only through mutual understanding can we find 
mutually advantageous solutions.  
 
-  Ensure duty-free and quota -free (DFQF) market access  for by -products exported by LDCs 
to the markets of developed countries and those of developing countr ies able to offer this 
preferential treatment , taking into account the situation of certain LDCs that export the 
same products as other Group Members to the same markets. The Group is moving 
forward with its consultations to finaliz e the terms of reference  for a clinical examination of 
DFQF market access. As a reminder, the aim of this clinical examination is to come up with 
an impartial and objective diagnosis on the basis of statistical data, which will, over time, 
help to identify the constraints and dif ficulties facing the LDCs in implementing the decision 
to grant them DFQF market access. Ultimately, then, the examination will contribute to 
producing recommendations aimed at improving LDC market access , with a view to the 
building of export capacity, the diversification and structural transformation of 
LDC economies , and industrialization and development.  
-  Adopt simplified preferential rules of origin for LDC exports to the markets of developed 
and developing countries. The Group continues to work and co nsult with other Members on 
this matter, which is also extremely important. It is awaiting notifications from these 
partners for the implementation of the Nairobi Ministerial De cision on Preferential Rules 
of Origin.  
-  Implement the LDC Services Waiver thro ugh effective and substantial preferential 
measures that are to be notified by Members and will truly support the advancement of 
LDCs' trade in services.  
The Group is aware of the momentum behind the issue of electronic commerce. We would like to 
remind Me mbers that LDCs continue to lag behind in terms of basic infrastructure in this area. 
According to the ITU's 2015 report, more than 940  million people live in LDCs, but only 89  million 
of them use the internet. This represents a penetration rate of 9.8 %, whereas the average rate in WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  some developed countries is 60 %. Furthermore, only 7 % of households in LDCs have internet 
access, compared with 80 % in developed countries, and the penetration rate for fixed broadband 
is less than 1 % in LDCs. Finally, only five LDCs have been able to meet the targets concerning 
affordability and broadband costs. Less than 30 % of African countries, which are predominantly 
LDCs, have legislation on online consumer protection, and only 39 % have legislation on digital 
data protection . 
 
In addition, several other hurdles still need to be overcome, including: defining the means of 
delivery for physical and/or electronic products; the lack of skills concerning server security, and 
the related costs; the reliability of postal services and  of using credit cards for online payments in 
LDCs; the difficulty of obtaining the electronic addresses of platforms and accessing them; and the 
almost total lack of a dynamic electronics industry in LDCs.  
 
The LDC Group would therefore recommend continui ng the technical work on this matter in order 
to identify the needs, constraints and priorities of developing countries, particularly LDCs. We 
would also recommend taking account of any relevant aspects of technical assistance and 
flexibilities in legislat ion, in accordance with the framework established by the Work Programme on 
Electronic Commerce under its 1998 mandate, and with the involvement of all the te chnical 
institutions concerned.  
 
3. Lao PDR (ASEAN)  
 
ASEAN notes that considerable work has been under taken since the summer break to follow -up 
the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration, both through formal WTO Committees and Negotiating Groups, 
and also informal consultations and workshops.  
 
As the year 2016 is closing in, we are steadily moving closer to the E leventh Ministerial 
Conference. Time is of the essence. ASEAN welcomes the fact that many Members have come up 
with new proposals on various remaining DDA issues, such as agricultural domestic support and 
market access, domestic regulation in services, tra de facilitation in services, fisheries subsidies and 
so forth. ASEAN also takes note of the exploratory discussions on e -commerce, and MSMEs.  
 
ASEAN has been, and will continue to engage constructively in all areas of WTO work, with the 
view to achieving c oncrete outcomes that are agreeable and beneficial to all, including the least -
developed countries. Finally, we reiterate our commitment to the inclusive, rules -based 
multilateral trade governance system, with the development dimension at its heart.  
 
4. Argen tina 
 
With the 11th Ministerial Conference twelve months away and the first mission of the Secretariat 
Task Force to Buenos Aires under the leadership of Deputy Director General David Shark 
successfully completed, we are confident that the organization of the meeting will be a success. 
However, it is essential that this success should be coupled with a broad and substantive outcome 
in the most important areas of our negotiating agenda.  
 
It is up to us, the Members, to identify the areas in which an outcome is possible in Buenos Aires 
and to move forward in those areas. We need to learn from our past errors and avoid submitting 
for the consideration of our Ministers in Buenos Aires issues that we have failed to agree upon in 
Geneva. It became clear, after Osl o, that Ministers would have a decisive role to play in preparing 
the Buenos Aires agenda while closely following the process in Geneva, with three meetings at the 
highest level in 2017: in January (Davos), July (Paris) and September (to be decided). In Os lo, 
both our Foreign Minister, Susana Malcorra, and our Minister of Production, Francisco Cabrera, 
showed that they were deeply involved in the preparatory negotiations, and undertook to hold 
rounds of consultations with their counterparts in the lead up t o the Ministerial Conference; not to 
mention the Argentine Minister of Agriculture, Ricardo Buryaile, who will also play a central role in 
the agriculture negotiations.  
 
We note that one year after MC10, the decision to eliminate agricultural export subsid ies has not 
yet been entirely implemented. Once again, we urge Members that have bound agricultural export 
subsidies in their schedules of concessions to implement these commitments as quickly as 
possible. This excessive delay is undermining the credibly o f the multilateral trading system.  
 
With respect to our future work:  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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First, regarding the current negotiations in the Special Session of the Committee on 
Agriculture, we note with interest and encouragement that a growing number of Members 
are calling for  a concrete and tangible outcome under the domestic support pillar at the 11th 
Ministerial Conference, an outcome which should also include a specific solution for cotton. 
To that end, Argentina is working with different groups of Members to come up with a n 
integrated proposal that would be feasible and acceptable for Members. We hope to be able 
to submit the proposal during the first quarter of 2017.  
 
Mr Director General, I would like to share with all Members what was said with regard to 
agriculture in th e WTO by our Ministers Malcorra and Cabrera at the Oslo meeting: "It is 
unthinkable that we should fail to achieve an outcome on agriculture in Buenos Aires".  
 
Second , we believe that the time has come to work on concrete proposals so that we can act 
rapidly on fisheries subsidies. In order to start the ball rolling on fisheries subsidies at the 
multilateral level in the WTO, Argentina has been working with Peru to "adapt" the approach 
taken in the case of the Trade Facilitation Agreement to the particulari ties of the 
negotiations on fisheries subsidies in order to foster their discussion. Following a long 
process of consultations with more than 30 Members and coordinators of regional groups, 
Argentina, together with Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru and Ur uguay, submitted a 
working paper entitled "A Framework to Guide the Multilateral Negotiations to Eliminate 
Harmful Fisheries Subsidies" (TN/RL/GEN/183). We trust that it will be well received by 
Members at the next meeting of the Negotiating Group on Rules  on 9 December. We also 
hope to work together with the EU and the ACP Group, which have also submitted proposals 
on fisheries subsidies, in an effort to seek convergence and help ensure a concrete 
multilateral outcome for MC11.  
 
In this area, Argentina fav ours the multilateral option, without excluding other formats on 
which it is also working as long as they can be an intermediate step towards a multilateral 
agreement on fisheries subsidies.  
 
Third, Argentina would like to see concrete results at MC11 in t he area of services, which 
today account for 65.7% of the economy and employment in Argentina. To that end, we 
would like to work on all aspects of the services pillar: market access, domestic regulation, 
and trade and investment facilitation.  
 
Finally , we think that e -commerce should be included in the outcomes of MC11. E commerce 
is a fundamental tool to narrow the gap between SMEs and the big companies and overcome 
the developed/developing country paradigm. An outcome in e commerce at the next 
ministeria l conference would prevent the topic from being settled in other forums.  
 
5. Egypt  
 
We would like to associate with the statements to be delivered by Morocco  on behalf of the African 
Group  and Saudi Arabia on behalf of the Arab Group.  
 
It is certainly timely  to reiterate the importance that Egypt attaches to the Multilateral Trading 
System, which in the current economic environment, is more relevant than ever. We believe that 
the advantages of the multilateral trading system by far outweigh those of plurilate ral and regional 
arrangements, since the multilateral format helps in avoiding trade distortions and imbalances 
thus provide a sustainable pattern for liberalization.  
 
The two previous Ministerial Conferences in Bali and Nairobi, have provided enough proof  that the 
system works, as we had our first multilateral agreement in the history of the World Trade 
Organization, then followed by an agreeme nt in Agriculture negotiations.  
 
Unfortunately, the Nairobi declaration failed to reflect convergence on the Doha Work Program, as 
some members called for completely abandoning the Doha architecture and start using what so 
called " new approaches ", though there is a lack of clarity on what those new approaches would 
constitute in contradiction to what we have tried in the past and led us to where we are today.  
 
Although Egypt is in favo ur of trying all possible avenues to break the impasse, we would like to 
caution against any new approach is not consistent either with the foundation of this organization WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  or with the Doh a mandate. Our future work has to be based on multilateral consensus and on real 
problems that we can fix. It should be clear that all the negotiating pillars are on equal footing, 
and that all the outstanding issues in our Program should be resolved, whil e maintaining 
development and S&D provisions for all developing countries at the heart of our negotiations.  
 
Egypt is the largest net food importing developing country, so agriculture negotiations remain at 
the top of our priorities; we are encouraged by t he intensity of the debates concerning domestic 
support as many submissions have been discussed.  We believe a balanced outcome following 
further work on agriculture draft modalities in Rev.4 can constitute part of the package for MC11. 
Unfortunately the de dicated discussions on Public stockholding (PSH) and the Special Safeguard 
Mechanism (SSM) did not feature the same enthusiasm though they were mandated by th e 
ministerial declaration of MC 10.     
 
The countdown for MC11 has already started; we should make  sure that we use time wisely and 
with a sense of urgency to make tangible progress for the interest of all WTO members.  
 
We also should work in a positive spirit and show the necessary political will in order to deliver a 
successful outcome at the confer ence. Moreover, our future work should be guided by the 
Decisions adopted in the previous Ministerial Conferences in spirit and letter.  
 
Before concluding, I would like to emphasize that Egypt is willing to work positively and engage 
constructively with ot her Members to resume the negotiations on all issues in a pragmatic, open -
ended and transparent manner, in order to deliver a meaningful outcome for the entire 
membership.  
 
Finally, we reiterate our commitment to the Multilateral Trading System and remain ready to 
engage constructively in the work ahead.  
 
6. Japan  
 
In previous HoDs meetings, I have been emphasizing that in order for the WTO to remain relevant, 
we must produce outcomes that meet the needs of today’s world.  
 
In the current anti -globalization at mosphere, trade is often unfairly blamed for many social, 
economic and other problems such as unemployment, redistribution failure, de -industrialization 
and so on. We must have the courage to send out the right message that free and open trade is a 
good th ing and that it contributes to global economic growth and the welfare of the people.  
 
However, at the same time, we have to pay more attention to the impacts and ramifications trade 
and trade policy may have in non -trade areas, including for the environmen t and sustainable use 
of resources. From this point of view, the ongoing EGA negotiations are important. Also fisher ies 
subsidies need to be appropriately addressed.  
 
While working on the remaining issues is indispensable, reducing trade cost through faci litation is 
crucial in order to generate more trade. It is therefore encouraging that the TFA is about to enter 
into force soon. In this context, efforts in the regular committees are meaningful as well. 
Facilitation is not limited to trade in goods; we we lcome constructive discussions on domestic 
regulations in services in its Working Group and Japan is open to exploring the possibility of TF in 
services. Efforts under the Aid for Trade initiative, including through the sixth Gl obal Review under 
the theme of "promoting connectivity " next year, will also play a significant role. Trade facilitation 
is a horizontal issue which we need to work on.  
 
As I mentioned in the last HoDs Meeting, in response to certain scepticism  about international 
trade, we must redo uble our efforts to make trade more inclusive. Least developed countries, 
SMEs in both developed and developing economies, farmers in rural areas, women, and young 
entrepreneurs — we should ensure that these countries and these people could reap and feel t he 
benefits of trade. From this point of view, Japan believes we should give priority to electronic 
commerce and digital trade.  
 
The ICT enables various actors and players to have better and easier access to the global market. 
However, in order to fully u tilize it, we need more discussions and cooperation regarding necessary 
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  facilitated by digital revolution. Many proposals and papers are on the table. Japan expects to have 
substantive discussions on this important subject.  
 
We should bear in mind that, digitization of the economy is making progress rapidly regardless of 
what we are doing here in the WTO. E -commerce can be a useful tool to make trade more 
inclusive, but without our deliberate efforts, it could widen the digital divide, which, I am afraid, 
would be very consequential.  
 
We have twelve months left until MC11. Those who want to achieve something there must present 
concrete proposals. It is encouraging th at many are already on the table and more are coming. 
What we should do is depart from the sequence argument and focus on each of the issues 
presented based on their individual merits. I don’t believe it useful at this stage to consider the 
balance of issu es. We need to keep the process inclusive and transparent and seek to make 
gradual progress by taking an incremental approach.  
 
We have no time to waste, let us continue our work more intensively.  
  
7. Ecuador  
 
Once again, we find ourselves debating the futur e work of this Organization, with the aim of 
achieving concrete outcomes for the next Ministerial Conference in 2017, and we are pleased that 
this will take place in a Latin American country. We will make every effort to reach agreements 
that facilitate th e smooth running of the Organization.  
 
It is indisputable that priority should be given at the next Ministerial Conference to the fulfilment of 
the Nairobi mandates and the conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda issues that remain 
outstanding in the are a of agriculture. We firmly believe in the need to apply the mandates 
contained in paragraphs 31 and 32 of the Nairobi Declaration, which constitute the foundations on 
which the future work of this Organization should be based.  
 
On this occasion, we would like to speak about one of the main pillars of WTO work: agriculture. 
Once again, we emphasize the need to ensure real, comprehensive reform in agricultural trade, 
which can be achieved through the attainment of balanced commitments for all Members. We 
believe that in order to do this we must achieve results in the sub pillars of domestic support and 
market access, guided by the 2008 agricultural modalities text, which continues to serve as the 
basis for negotiations given that these modalities embody a bal ance achieved through ten years of 
discussions.  
 
Ecuador also supports the initiatives of the special safeguard mechanism and public stockholding 
for food security purposes. As both of these issues have specific mandates, their negotiation 
should be priori tized with a view to the next Ministerial Conference.  
 
Regarding the services pillar, we believe that any outcome achieved must be founded on 
development principles and take into account the flexibilities, advantages and realities of 
developing and least d eveloped countries. For this reason, we firmly believe that the special and 
differential treatment model in the Trade Facilitation Agreement could be an option for services.  
 
The negotiations on fishery subsidies are particularly important in light of thei r trade and 
environmental components. This is why we believe that the recent presentation of proposals on 
this subject, including those that called for fresh approaches, is a clear signal that a growing 
number of Members are interested in intensifying the negotiations. Ecuador supports this process 
and is prepared to participate actively in any debates that are arranged with a view to obtaining 
concrete outcomes in the establishment of disciplines for the subsidies that lead to over fishing 
and overcapacity . 
 
Regarding the proposals presented by various Members on electronic commerce, Ecuador is open 
minded and will continue to participate in the discussions, since it is clear that Members should be 
informed about technological advances, and the experiences of other Members, without this 
necessarily being a basis for possible future negotiations. As we have mentioned, the outstanding 
Doha issues are the priority, as these already have a mandate for negotiation with a view to next 
year's 11th Ministerial Confe rence.  
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  We will continue to participate in these conversations in each of the relevant bodies on the basis of 
the 1998 Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, which is the valid and appropriate framework 
for an inclusive and transparent debate on this subje ct. 
 
In this connection, we would like to draw attention to paragraph 34 of the Nairobi Declaration, 
which provides that identifying and discussing non Doha issues with a view to multilateral 
discussion requires a decision that must be adopted by consensus . 
 
Lastly, we emphasize the need to deepen and move forward the WTO multilateral negotiations, in 
line with the principles that guide our work.  
 
8. Chile  
 
Without wishing to insist too much on what we have already said on several occasions concerning 
the spec ific topics, I simply wish to express our support for the Chairs of the Working Groups and 
our commitment to seeking ways forward and working towards substantive agreements for the 
next ministerial.  
 
This is a key moment for the world economy and internati onal trade.  
 
There appears to be a prevailing sense of uncertainty these days regarding political and social 
situations in different parts of the world. Though much of what is happening is not new, the 
novelty is that these situations have become globalize d, with the result that communities are 
becoming disillusioned, there is a lack of confidence, and strong protectionist trends are causing 
trade liberalization to retreat in the developed world.  
 
This is inconsistent with reality. International trade is a lever for economic growth. WTO 
documents will show that since the GATT was created, the volume of international trade has grown 
37 fold, much more than world production; and since the creation 20 years ago of the WTO, which 
now groups together 162 economie s, the share of the developing countries has increased from 
27% in 1995 to more than 43% today.  
 
During that period, according to the figures published by international bodies and human 
development indicators, there has been considerable progress in educat ion, health, democracy, 
human rights, food, housing, etc. The infant mortality rate has fallen by 47% since 1990, extreme 
poverty in the developing world has decreased from 51% to 17% over three decades, and the 
primary school completion rate has increased  from 81% in 1990 to 91% in 2011. Since 1990, 
2.3 billion more people now have access to drinking water, and life expectancy at birth has 
increased globally from 67 to 71 years between 2010 and 2014.  
 
However, there are still 1.3 billion people that have n o access to energy, some 800 million without 
drinking water, and life remains precarious for millions of human beings. Hence the need to 
continue to pursue growth and development.  
 
For our part, we can testify to the fact that opening up is a basis for gro wth and progress. A couple 
of figures will bear us out: since 1990, when we began to open up at three levels – multilateral, 
bilateral and unilateral – poverty has decreased from 43% of the population to 8% today. GDP has 
quadrupled and per capita income h as grown from $2,500 to $21,000.  
 
Although growth in international trade has slowed down over the past two years, this is not due to 
the opening up of trade, but to the fact that there remain a number of exogenous and endogenous 
problems in our countries.  
 
Many of us, including large industrialized nations, have adapted reasonably well to the new 
systemic competitiveness, to the fourth industrial revolution, to the new parameters and job 
supply, to augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robotics and te chnological singularity.  
 
Internet coverage has already reached 40% of the population. In five years' time, it will be 50% 
and soon we will all be linked to the net. The Internet has gone from being a depository for 
information (Web 1.0) to a participative  system (Web 2.0) and is moving on to Web 3.0, a more 
intelligent system which "knows" the significance of the information stored and has the capacity to 
make decisions.  
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  The emergence of the Internet has opened up the irreversible option of doing absolute ly 
everything in a different, dynamic, accelerated, omnipresent, ubiquitous and unlimited 
environment. Coupled with the exponential development of artificial intelligence, which is fed by 
the symbiosis between biotechnology, genomics and cybernetics, these  two forces are changing, 
day by day, not only the present, but the future, which only a few decades ago was fairly 
predictable.  
 
So what we need to do today is to keep on moving towards the elimination of barriers to 
international trade rather than imposi ng new barriers and protections that are in any case unviable 
given the reality of the new economy, which transcends national borders.  
 
Full implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement will be a big step forward. Our country has 
just deposited its i nstrument of ratification with the Secretariat.  
 
However, important though it certainly is, the Trade Facilitation Agreement is not enough.  
 
We need to implement what we agreed in Nairobi on export competition and conclude the 
substantive negotiations on t he outstanding issues in agriculture, NAMA, services and other 
commitments.  
 
At the same time, we need to tackle the so called new issues, which are no longer new, because 
the environment in which we are called upon to develop international trade is differ ent, even from 
the environment that resulted in the Bali Agreement.  
 
A lot of water continues to flow under the bridges, and we need to adapt to this if we are to 
strengthen multilateralism and build up convergent plurilateralism to support it.  
 
The world population will grow by 1 billion in only 12 years, and 2.3 billion in 35 years. In 2050, 
most of the world's population will live in cities and will belong to the middle class. The impending 
demand for goods and services will be enormous. Suffice it to sa y that in order to balance the 
equation between population and economic growth, food production will have to increase by 70%.  
 
Only an open and undistorted multilateral trading system, coupled with institutional growth and 
with public R&D and innovation po licies associated with production and trade in each country and 
at the global level, will enable us to face these realities and transform them into opportunities and 
environmentally sustainable social development.  
 
In times such as these, we need to make a  special effort to highlight and defend the importance of 
international trade and the role of the WTO in that trade.  
 
The WTO is a global public good which it is our duty to protect and support.  
 
The 11th Ministerial Conference will be our next key target,  and it is therefore our duty to produce 
clear and substantive outcomes that will benefit the global econom y, and hence individual people. 
Subjects such as agriculture, fisheries, trade in services and electronic commerce involve millions 
of people around the world.  
 
Our country is committed in this respect, and will make every effort to pursue our progress 
towards concrete results next year in Bueno s Aires. Buenos Aires is both a challenge and an 
opportunity of which we must take full advantage in the curr ent environment with a view to our 
future development.  
 
9. New Zealand  
 
Introduction  
 
At the risk of stating the obvious, it is clear that the world has not become a simpler place. A 
series of events this year have served to underline that we are now entering  an era of complexity 
characterised by a potential unravelling of existing certainties. Many are saying we have never 
been here before. This sense of singularity and novelty is not surprising, but it is over -stated.  
  
Two thousand five hundred years ago Th ucydides wrote his magisterial History of the 
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  multilateral structures designed to manage international foreign and economic relations. These 
served the region we ll until they were fractured and eventually destroyed – a process aided and 
abetted by the two major powers who perceived that these structures were not in their self -
interests. Within a decade the collapse of these multilateral structures led to the eclip se and long 
term decline of both powers. The lesson from Thucydides then is clear. Maintaining prosperity, 
stability and security requires a cooperative environment in which countries secure their national 
economic interests through multilateral processes that facilitate partnerships – not rivalries. In 
short, misjudge the value of multilateralism and the consequences are profound.  
  
For New Zealand three observations are apposite in the current climate. These are: 1) the 
collective benefits of the multilat eral trading system; 2) international economic policy coherence 
underpinned by a  functioning World Trade Organiz ation; and 3) progress in the post -Nairobi 
negotiations through to MC11 in Buenos Aires and beyond.  
 
Systemic Benefits  
 
The multilateral trading  system in general and the WTO in particular is in all of our shared 
interests. The latter really is a global public good – a point enshrined in its objectives. To 
paraphrase, these include ‘to raise standards of living, ensure full employment…expand the 
production of trade in goods and services…with the objective of sustainable development.’  In fact, 
the international trading system has worked precisely as advertised. It has quadrupled the global 
output of goods and services, lifted hundreds of millions of  people out of poverty and into 
employment across the globe, not just in the behemoths  of the US, the EU, China and India, but in 
Southern and Central America, Eastern Europe, sub -Saharan Africa and in New Zealand’s h ome 
region of the Asia -Pacific.  
 
Agains t this background there is one general principle and five specific ones that underpin this 
system which we believe all Members – large and small - share. The first is a constitutional 
principle, i .e. that our system is rules -based. This ‘constitutional pri nciple’ is informed by five more 
specific ones we all know and value – non-discrimination, transparency, reciprocity; flexibility; and 
consensus decision -making.1 These are the essence of this institution.  
  
In fact, the work we have done collectively sinc e 1947 to create the WTO reminds us of the 
limitations inherent in the realist and neo -realist schools of international relations theory. These 
theories express scepticism that large states will allow multilateral institutions to constrain their 
actions. T hey argue that the institutions that implement and monitor these international rules will 
only survive so long as they serve the interests of large and powerful states.  
 
The objective facts state otherwise. The realist school – notwithstanding its brutal, if not elegant 
simplicity – have it wrong. The WTO is an empirical demonstration that small, medium and large 
states at all stages of development can work together effectively to structure norms, behaviours 
and rules that are not solely dependent on suppor t or acquiescence from a hegemon or set of 
hegemons.  
 
All of this is not to deny that we confront real challenges to the multilateral trading system. There 
are two immediate challenges. First, public scepticism of globalisation is on the rise again. Recent  
election results and referenda underline the breadth and depth of the concern. This cannot and 
should not be ignored or underestimated. There is a profound sense of unease and this is 
something which we must collectively address and dispel.  
   
Second, tra de growth relative to GDP is in decline – a situation compounded by growing 
protectionism. The WTO Director -General’s most recent Trade Monitoring Report reminds us that 
between mid -October 2015 and mid -May 2016 WTO Members were implementing 22 new 
protect ionist measures per month.2 This is the highest monthly average registered since 2011.  
  
There are two ways to think about this. Either this public scepticism about globaliz ation and these 
kinds of expanding trade restrictions will have a chilling effect o n progress multilaterally; or this 
trend amplifies the urgency of our negotiations. The Director -General’s conclusion in the Trade 
                                                
1 This is extracted from R. Baldwi n (2016) The World Trade Organiz ation and the Future of 
Multilateralism, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol 30, Number 1, pp. 95 -116. 
2 https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/new s16_e/trdev_22jul16_e.htm .  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  Monitoring Report is precisely right: “the best safeguard we have against protectionism is a strong 
multilateral trading syst em.” New Zealand could not have put it better.  
  
International and Domestic Economic Policy Coherence  
 
It is a truism that a strong multilateral trading system hinges on coherence in the nexus between 
domestic and international economic policy. This is an obvious focal point for our work here at the 
WTO. In this regard, we need to collectively understand the UN Sustainable Development Goals 
(SDGs) not as an irritating distraction from the so -called " real work " of this institution, but as a 
fundamental oppor tunity for trade in general and for the WTO in particular. After all, the SDGs are 
an expression of public concern about global issues and challenges. These therefore represent an 
opportunity to demonstrate to an increasingly sceptical international and do mestic polity that we in 
the trade policy community can contribute to solutions. In other words that trade really does 
matter.  
  
In fact, unlike many other international organisations, this institution can already point to a swift 
and effective WTO respons e to the targets set by Leaders. In Nairobi, for instance, WTO Ministers 
eliminated agricultural export subsidies – a specific contribution to SDG2 which seeks "to correct 
and prevent distortions in world agricultural markets. " We have of course more to do  in this sector. 
Our negotiations here to conserve global fish stocks by disciplining fisheries subsidies will also be a 
practical, measurable and, crucially, disciplinable contribution to achieving SDG14.  
  
We can and should do more to reinforce coherence  and sustain public confidence in the benefits of 
trade disciplines. In this regard, New Zealand recently organised a seminar here at the WTO on 
trade and fossil fuel subsidy reform. This was a chance for more than fifty participants to discuss 
how reforms  might correct distortions in global trade, while helping to mitigate climate change and 
achieve SDG12. This seminar represents a first step in an ongoing conversation.  
  
Above all, there is no escaping a sharp edged question to this institution: if trade and the WTO 
aren’t part of the solution how will Members deliver on their Leaders’ commitments enunciated in 
the SDGs?  
  
Within the WTO itself we continue to make solid progress in our regular work. We are, for 
instance, now at 90% of the ratifications nee ded to bring the Trade Facilitation Agreement into 
force. Implementation of the Nairobi Ministerial Decision on Export Competition is well under way. 
The WTO Appellate Body has a full complement once again and our regular committee processes 
continue apace . To this I would add the constructive engagement by Members on the recent 
review of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism. That is significant too sin ce this is  a vital instrument 
"to examine the impact of a Member’s trade policies and practices on t he multil ateral trading 
system."3  
  
The Way Ah ead to Buenos Aires and MC11  
 
Turning now to the negotiations themselves, we are at last seeing intensified engagement across 
the suite of issues under consideration. This is a positive development and one to be sustai ned and 
supported. In this context, New Zealand has three reference points for the period ahead: 
intensified engagement; the value of pragmatic incrementalism; and leadership:  
 
­ Intensified Engagement: We need to be serious. Members are moving from reflecti on 
into action – that is happening in agriculture, in services and arguably elsewhere. This 
needs to intensify and we need to actively engage one another, bilaterally, in groups 
and then across the institution. Above all, we need to be clear that we expect  outcomes 
in Buenos Aires and beyond;  
 
­ Pragmatic Incrementalism: Speaking of deliverables from Buenos Aires, like many 
Members New Zealand would prefer ‘big bang’ outcomes, not least in agriculture where 
real change is both overdue and is the best way to d eliver to the development needs of 
Members. We also acknowledge, however, that pragmatic incremental outcomes of the 
kind secured at Bali and Nairobi have value. Real value. These outcomes help level the 
playing field and they matter commercially and in de velopment terms. They are 
                                                
3 Contained in Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO.  
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  important systemically too.  Given the well -known challenges we face, we suggest that a 
focus on pragmatic incrementalism – evolution not revolution – should therefore be the 
hallmark of our work to Buenos Aires. Put simply, we hav e expectations for Buenos 
Aires, but can be pragmatic about what these need to look like. We also need to 
understand MC11 as an opportunity to do two things 1) to deliver pragmatic 
incremental progress that matters; and 2) to set a foundation for further d elivery after 
Buenos Aires;  
 
­ Leadership is critical and urgent. There is no substitute for it. This has been missing 
since Nairobi. It is New Zealand’s view that here the majors have a special obligation to 
sustain, support and contribute to the multilate ral trading system in general and the 
WTO in particular. Like others, we regard this institution as nothing less than a global 
public good – membership of which has benefitted the larger Members at least as much 
if not rather more than most. All must contr ibute to its sustainment and enhancement. 
Leadership from the majors will be strongly supported by New Zealand and we believe 
many others. In this regard, we have warmly welcomed the intention by our Ministers 
to stay closely involved and engaged on our ne gotiations to Buenos Aires. This will be a 
vital ingredient in our eventual success.  
 
Conclusion  
 
From New Zealand’s perspective, there is a clear emerging agenda of work for us to undertake as 
we head to Buenos Aires. This was enunciated most recently at a political level in Oslo by a sub -
set of Ministers and our assessment remains that this has been validated by the past several 
weeks of work in Geneva. Our challenge now is to sustain that momentum and intensify it. New 
Zealand will do everything we can t o support that in substance and in form.  
  
Finally, to my fellow representatives from small and medium -sized Members of this institution. In 
these challenging times, it is to us – the majority of the membership - to whom it falls to sustain 
and support the  global public good that is the WTO. We must continue to be the policy 
entrepreneurs of economic diplomacy. To adapt Schumpeter’s description of the role of 
entrepreneurs and apply i t in this context: we must act with confidence beyond the range of 
familia r beacons and overcome resistance which requires aptitudes and persistence.4 It falls to us 
therefore to continue to make the case to the handful of so -called Majors that trade is a genuinely 
win-win proposition for them and for us.  We all benefit, so we s hould all actively engage and 
contribute.  
 
And in those darker moments – remembering it is always darkest before dawn - we should remind 
one another that we are all committed to the founding objectives of this organisation as enshrined 
in the Marrakesh Agr eement, including in particular " to preserve the basic principles and further 
the objectives underlying th is multilateral trading system."5   
 
10. Rwanda (ACP)  
 
The ACP Group’s positions are very well known as they have been articulated in various meetings 
in particular during past HOD/General Council meetings. In this meeting therefore, I will avoid 
repetitions and try to follow your guidance.   
 
Recent activities/ substance  
 
The ACP Group experienced an intensive post -summer period with various consultations b oth 
within the group and outside the group at variable geometry.  The purpose was to share views, 
internally and with other Members, on possible urgent actions in order to properly move from 
reflection to action.   
 
Accordingly, on 16th of November, the ACP  Group circulated two submissions, (i) one on 
Agriculture domestic support; (i) another on Fisheries subsidies; as input to stimulate constructive 
                                                
4 Schumpeter, J. 1942. (3rd edition: 1950). Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. New York: Harper 
Torchbooks, Harper and Row Publishers.  
5 The agreement establishing the TPRM is contained in Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement 
Establi shing the World Trade Organisation available at: https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/29 -
tprm_e.htm .  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  engagement on possible approaches to achieve concrete outcom es in these two areas by the 
MC11.  
 
During the i nformal meeting on agriculture chaired by Ambassador Vitalis on 16th November, many 
Members welcomed the ACP submission as a realistic step towards the attainment of results at 
MC11. Allow me to take this opportunity to briefly share with my colleagues – Ambassadors – the 
essence of our two submissions.  
 
On agriculture, the ACP submission calls for binding overall comprehensive limit to the sum of all 
trade -distorting domestic support as well as setting product -specific limits to avoid subsidies being 
concentrated on particular products. We propose that these disciplines apply to all Members with 
AMS and those without AMS but taking into account development and food security needs of these 
Members; with no reduction commitment for vulnerable economies and N FIDCs. For the ACP 
Group, this is a minimum step that we can build upon in the post -Buenos Aires process towards 
realizing the longstanding agriculture reform in a few years to come.  
 
On Fisheries subsidies, the ACP submission calls for a prohibition of su bsidies negatively affecting 
overfished stocks and subsidies to IUU fishing as explicitly expressed under SDG 14.6. The 
submission also proposes to discipline subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing 
With Special and Differential Treatmen t (S&D) for developing countries as integral part of the 
outcome. We are encouraged by a number of submissions by some delegations on this issue and 
we look forward to constructively engage with them. At the same time, we are aware that some 
Members are co ntemplating another approach in this area but we firmly believe that a multilateral 
outcome can better result in a global sustainable fishing. Furthermore, we call upon all Members to 
avoid linkages with other issues in view of the vital importance of this  sector to millions of people.  
 
In view of the expectations we place in the removal of harmful subsidies in these two areas 
(agriculture and fishing) towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the ACP States, 
we strongly consider that any outc ome at MC11 must include them. That is why the process 
matters.  
 
Process  
 
On the process, we must build on the current positive momentum and shift gear if we are to 
achieve a realistic outcome by MC11. We must resume our work as early as possible based on 
clear timelines and targets with an in -built mechanism for regular self -evaluation. This will allow us 
to look at the horizon (Buenos Aires) and be able to calibrate for a realistic outcome. Buenos Aires 
must be a success.  
 
11. India  
 
Since the beginning of th is year, members have been engaged in seeking ways to move 
discussions forward in certain areas.  
 
We are currently in an important phase of engagement as we find ways to build convergence for 
advancing work. However, we note with concern that attempts are  being made to project 
consensus where none exists at present. Issues like e -commerce, domestic support in agriculture, 
domestic regulation in services are in our view, some such areas where we have not even begun 
exploratory discussions to define the boun daries within which action is possible for the larger 
membership. Wide divergences continue to exist. While there is a growing desire on the part of 
some, including the host, to find deliverables and outcomes for MC -11 it is important that this 
process is driven by deeper, inclusive engagement within the larger membership, rather than a 
handful of members creating an atmosphere of convergence around certain issues.   
 
We wish to strongly reiterate that the effective and timely implementation of the decision s 
emerging from the Bali and Nairobi Ministerials must get precedence over any other area to be 
explored. We get the impression that there are attempts to cherry pick even Ministerial decisions 
that are to be implemented. It is heard time and again that if  ministerials do not deliver outcomes, 
the credibility of the WTO will be adversely affected. We want to ask, Chair, will the credibility 
stand if these outcom es are not implemented? Clearly not. If ministerial decisions are not 
implemented and we digress from agreed decisions and mandates there will be no credibility left in 
the WTO and multilateralism.   
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  It is also important that members do not lose focus on the centrality of the development 
dimension for broad basing the consensus amongst all members. T he issues of Public Stockholding 
for food security as well as Special Safeguard Mechanism are extremely important for many 
developing countries and should be considered in right earnest. While there may be divergence of 
views on these, what is of concern t o us is the almost deliberate attempt by some to avoid 
engaging in discussions on substantive aspects. May we remind members that there is a deadline 
for a permanent solution on Public Stock Holding by the next Ministerial.  
 
India had introduced a concept  note on Trade Facilitation in Services in October 2016.  We have 
recently followed up and tabled a paper on possible elements of a Trade Facilitation in Servic es 
Agreement in November 2016. The proposal aims to remove unnecessary regulatory and 
administrat ive obstacles in trade in services thereby benefitting all members.  We hope in the near 
future to introduce a text based proposal to carry forward the discussion on facilitating trade in 
services.  It is our earnest hope that members would engage constructi vely in the discussions to 
look at the proposal in a comprehensive and holistic manner in toto.   
 
We also strongly believe that Plurilateral agreements should be an exception rather than the rule 
in the WTO and multilateralism should remain central to WTO ’s Agenda.  India looks forward to 
constructively engaging in consultations in all areas of work to seek inclusive and balanced 
outcomes which would be of benefit to the entire Membership.  
 
12. Republic of Korea  
 
First of all, we associate ourselves with the s tatement that will be made by Indonesia on behalf of 
the G -33. 
 
This year has been tough for the WTO for several reasons.  When it comes to WTO’s legislative 
function, we have been negotiating in  a very difficult environment. Misinformed, but 
understandable  anti-trade sentiment is on the rise throughout the world.  We are struggling to 
move the negotiations forward without an agreed negotiating agenda, while objectives and 
priorities differ significantly across Members.   
 
Nevertheless, we can commend ourselv es for all the efforts we have made this year amid these 
challenges. We started this year in a reflection mode following the Nairobi Ministerial Conference.  
And since mid -year, we have been gradually making a transition from reflection to action.  This was 
a welcome development, reflecting our implicit agreement to take a “defining by doing” approach.  
 
There are increased activities in several areas, namely agriculture, services, fisheries subsidies, e -
commerce, and more recently dispute settlement understan ding (DSU).  Yet, in terms of substance, 
we have to admit that Members are not moving much from their previous positions.  In newly 
emerging issue areas such as e -commerce, substantive discussions are often hindered by different 
views on procedural matters.  I am afraid that behind this procedural debate are traditional fault 
lines, such as policy space and S&D treatment.  
 
Members are talking, but they are very often talking past each other.  Demandeurs are putting 
forward good reasons for liberalization or ref orm in their priority areas.  In response, Members with 
defensive interests call for considerations to be given for their specific circumstances.  These 
Members also have less incentive to engage in a serious manner, because they see slim chance to 
gain in o ther areas of their interest, in return for their concessions.  
 
Merely calling for political will without addressing these underlying problems will not lead to a 
meaningful change in the state of the play.  We do not have answers to these questions.  But, I 
believe that understanding the problems is the starting point in finding solutions.  In this regard, I 
would like to offer some thoughts.  
 
We know that " one-size-fits-all" arrangement is no longer feasible at the WTO.  It is even less so in 
the current globa l economic landscape.  In almost all negotiating areas, it is difficult to identify a 
common ground that satisfies all Members who have widely differing priorities based on their own 
circumstances.  We need to be more open -minded to alternative ways of doing  our business 
including plurilateral and "hybrid " approaches, while keeping multilateralization as our ultimate 
goal. 
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  A traditional way of providing necessary flexibilities to developing and least developed country 
Members has been S&D treatment.  Now, Mem bers have significantly different perspectives on the 
role and extent of S&D treatment, which makes striking a deal even more difficult.  We are in need 
of a more creative and practical approach.  The Trade Facilitation Agreement model is a case in 
point, an d we should explore whether a similar approach can be replicated in other areas.  
 
We need a new thinking on how to incorporate development dimension in our work beyond S&D 
treatment in a conventional sense.  One encouraging development is that there is incr easing role of 
capacity building and technical assistance at the WTO.  We should continue to strengthen such 
efforts.  In this regard, a seminar scheduled next week by the Friends of E -commerce for 
Development and the proposed CTS seminar on e -commerce will be very useful.  
 
There remain many challenges ahead.  We may not be able to overcome them all at once.  
However, we should not give up and remain idle.  We have to demonstrate to the world that the 
WTO has the ability to move, at a gradual and deliberate pace  but still in a sure manner, and to 
adapt to the new realities.  MC11 offers an excellent opportunity to do so.  We should strengthen 
ongoing engagement in different negotiating areas focusing on realistic yet valid goals.  At the 
same time, we should continu e reflection on how best we could collectively address more 
fundamental and longer -term challenges to the WTO.   
 
13. Uruguay  
 
Agriculture  
 
Uruguay reaffirms its belief that agriculture is a central component of the trade negotiations and 
we must therefore com mit to achieving a result at the next Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires. 
We welcome the efforts made by the Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session.  
 
Agriculture must remain at the centre of our negotiations and the results in this  area must be 
meaningful and as ambitious as possible. Uruguay continues to support the multilateral trading 
system in order to increase and improve market access opportunities for its agricultural exports. 
As we have previously mentioned, Uruguay can prod uce safe, high quality food for 30/ 40 million 
people.  
 
World agricultural trade is subject to high tariff averages, tariff peaks, tariff escalation, tariff 
quotas, non -tariff measures, and specific tariffs, to name but a few.  
 
This situation is compounded by the fact that there has not been a single multilateral result in 
market access in over two decades. From the point of view of the private sector and the general 
public, the market access pillar is one of the most visible areas of the negotiations and al so the 
area in which tangible results could be obtained.  
 
Uruguay wishes to drive forward the market access negotiations and achieve results for exporters 
in all markets, whether developing or developed. We would also like to recall that market opening 
can increase opportunities for attracting new flows of foreign direct investment and, at the same 
time, lead to the acquisition of new technologies and knowledge.  
 
The opening up of agricultural markets also contributes to stable food supplies and thus plays a 
role in improving short term and long term global food security, including by reducing price 
volatility.  
 
Uruguay also believes that we must aim to achieve an ambitious result for the domestic support 
pillar, since addressing this area has an impact on w orld trade in agricultural products and has the 
potential to neutralize the benefits obtained in market access.  
 
We would like to stress that in order to begin working on this pillar, it is important that Members 
keep up to date with their obligation to su bmit agricultural notifications.  
 
We believe that eliminating the special agricultural safeguard from the Agreement on Agriculture 
could be an ancillary result for Buenos Aires.  
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  Fishery Subsidies  
 
Uruguay considers it very important to reach a multilatera l result regarding fishing subsidies, in 
accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 14.6 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for 
Sustainable Development. We need not elaborate here on the reasons for achieving a result in this 
area, but it is crucial for t he conservation of fishing resources, which is in all our interests.  
 
Uruguay has supported the proposal made by Peru, Argentina and other Members, which sets out 
a novel approach to putting the negotiations back on track. We look forward to the discussion  that 
will take place in the dedicated session on fisheries subsidies, scheduled for 9 December.  
 
Electronic Commerce  
 
We are open to moving forward with respect to electronic commerce, and recognize, in particular, 
its relevance in terms of the global eco nomy and as an especially important tool for boosting trade 
opportunities for Members with developing economies. This is a cross cutting issue that 
encompasses many aspects and although we are far from a comprehensive agreement, we can 
surely improve the q uality of our existing regulations and transparency.  
 
14. Australia  
 
Clearly, we are facing a very uncertain period ahead on the global trade front. In 2017, global 
trade growth will be weak and protectionist pressures are on the rise. Populism sometimes with 
anti-trade sentiments is becoming a common feature in the political landscape of key Members 
and there is a continued prioritization of bilateral and regional trade agreements over WTO 
negotiations.  
 
In response to this, the only message that Australia ha s is that now is not the time to stand still in 
the WTO. We need to build on what has been achieved in Bali and Nairobi – something we should 
all collectively be proud of. Together we can demonstrate the value of the WTO's negotiating 
functioning by focusi ng on delivering tangible and credible results in reasonable timeframes. In 
Australia's view, this means we have to focus our efforts for MC11 on those areas which have the 
greatest chance of success and adopt a pragmatic and flexible approach to the negot iations 
including through plurilateral approaches where necessary to make progress.  
 
For Australia, a number of issues have been identified as areas for further work in 2017 and for 
potential deliverables by MC11. The priorities that we see include Agricu lture particularly domestic 
support. The recent visit to Geneva by Cairns Group farm leaders has also reinforced the 
importance of finding a way to address market access barriers through the WTO. The other areas 
that are getting wide -spread support include  fisheries subsidies; e -commerce and digital trade; 
and services particularly domestic regulation. They are areas that we also think are worthy of our 
focus for our efforts.  
 
But we are also open to any practical ideas to further facilitate trade or reduc e trade costs whether 
it is trade in goods or trade in services. In particular, we think there are some good ideas out there 
which could help us assist SMEs but also the broader economic situation for all countries and all 
Members of the WTO. There are way s in which we could practically build on the positive 
experience with the Trade Facilitation Agreement.  
 
Australia remains hopeful that agreement on a balanced package of outcomes can be reached at 
MC11. We will continue to engage constructively with othe r Members to achieve this result 
including by accelerating in the pace and the specificity of our work in 2017.  
 
15. European Union  
 
Today's meeting, midway between MC10 and MC11, provides a good opportunity to assess what 
we have achieved this year and to loo k at the state of our preparations for Buenos Aires.  
 
We have been heartened by the engagement we have seen over the last months in discussing and 
exploring possible candidates for outcomes in MC11. The EU has actively contributed to these 
exchanges as we strongly believe in the need for this organisation to gain momentum and we are 
committed to having a successful ministerial next year.  
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  For several months now, we have collectively heard repeated calls coming from various parts of 
the Membership regarding the need to move from reflection to action. A similar message came 
from the recent Ministerial meeting in Oslo where minsters agreed to instruct negotiators to "do 
the job needed to secure negotiated results". While some efforts have been made in this rega rd, 
the overall situation remains unsatisfactory.  
 
In essence, while there have been reflections, we have not yet seen enough action that would be 
necessary if we want to achieve concrete results in Buenos Aires. This is al l the more worrying in 
the diffic ult global context where trade is put into question.  
 
A successful outcome of MC11 is our collective responsibility and the right answer to the trade 
backlash. This does not mean outcomes at any cost. It means outcomes that are good for our 
citizens, for d evelopment and for the global economy.  
 
Several potential issues are already being discussed in this context; some in more detail, while 
others in less. We need to accelerate work in all of these areas, where the interest of Members has 
crystallised over t he last months, and Members need to engage constructively.  
 
First among these is domestic support. Recent discussions in the Special Session of the 
Committee on Agriculture have shown common ground among many to advance. Indeed, 
many  delegations have been clear that there should be an outcome on domestic support in 
Buenos Aires. While there are clearly different interests at play, we need to make a genuine 
effort to discuss and prepare a possible architecture allowing us to take an incremental step 
forward on this issue. What is most important at this point in time, as we prepare MC11, is 
that we create a common baseline that provides a foundation to put all Members on a 
trajectory of reform.  
 
Secondly , there is a clear call for the global community to addre ss fisheries subsidies in line 
with SDG 14.6. We welcome the submissions that have been made in the WTO on this issue. 
The EU has also contributed by putting forward a concrete text for a comprehensive 
response to the issue. With these submissions in place , we are well placed to advance to 
more substantive discussions, which will be the true test of Members' intentions. While 
creative solutions can and should be sought in order to ensure that the most harmful 
subsidies are disciplined while providing flexib ility for those most in need, we need to be 
careful not to lose sight of the objective we have set for ourselves, that is protecting the 
sustainability of our oceans. Hence, we need to be careful with regard to possible ideas 
which suggest tough discipline s on the one side, while providing generous exceptions which 
undermine their value, on the other.  
 
Third, we have a duty to deliver on issues which will benefit SMEs facilitating their access to 
global trade. SMEs face higher obstacles in navigating the le gal landscape and the regulatory 
burden tends to fall more heavily on SMEs than on other larger businesses. Disciplines on 
transparency and Good Regulatory Practices would help addressing some of these 
challenges, as would need disciplines on domestic regu lation in services.  
 
Finally , closely linked to our SME objectives as well as to the broader question of the 
capacity of the WTO to respond to today's challenges, is the issue of e -commerce and digital 
trade. We strongly welcome the leadership shown in thi s area by China and Pakistan and 
look forward to advancing this discussion. These submissions in certain w ays complement, 
while in other ways build on, the multiple other submissions that have been made on this 
issue over the last few months. Further discu ssions on e -commerce are needed in multiple 
formats to allow Members to better understanding the issues and to be in a position to take 
an informed decision on where the WTO can provide the most added value.  
 
We achieved major steps in Nairobi and Bali by sending the signal that the WTO was capable of 
delivering on issues that mattered. Over the last months we have seen an increased engagement 
on a number of important issues that have the potential of further rebuilding the WTO's position as 
the centre of t rade negotiations.  
 
However, for that to happen, it is now important to change gears and step up our efforts to 
develop further work on each of the individual issues to bring them ripe for decisions in Buenos 
Aires. It is premature to look at possible pack ages or to define the overall level of ambition, as WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  none of the issues are technically ripe. What we need is for all areas which have garnered interest 
lately, to be taken to the next stage of concrete proposals.  
 
We meet today at a time of considerable un certainty, when trade policies are being put under 
increasing scrutiny and strain. Although the WTO has so far largely avoided the spotlight, the fact 
remains that whatever we do needs to stand up to today's complicated times when extraordinary 
pressure is  being put on trade policy and uncertainty persists regarding what lies ahead. What is 
needed more than ever is leadership by Members. The European Union is contributing its share 
and we welcome the efforts of others to do the same. It is only with genuine  leadership that we 
will be able to sail through the storm and to safeguard the multilateral trading system.  
 
16. Indonesi a (G-33) 
 
While there is yet to have more clarity on the direction of current negoti ations in the context of the 
MC11, the Group welcomes your efforts, Chair, to continue negotiations on the remaining Doha 
issues, taking into account of the centrality of development. The Group also welcomes various 
submissions that have been made by Members to move the negotiations forward.   
 
In bringing th e overall negotiations forward, however, Members must not lose sight of the specific 
mandates agreed by our Ministers to continue the negotiations on the Public Stockholding for Food 
Security Purposes (PSH) and the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) through  the dedicated 
sessions. Since both issues are Nairobi priorities, the Group looks forward to having  these 
harvested in the next MC 11. The Group therefore calls Members to continue the discussion on both 
issues with the sense of urgency. As shown in the pa st, the Group stands ready to consider any 
reasonable, warranted, credible and solution -finding ideas that are consistent with existing 
mandates since Doha.  
 
While expecting Member’s constructive engagement in discussing the issues of PSH and SSM, the 
Group also wishes to reiterate that it will continue to pursue the special products (SP) for 
developing country Members as soon as discussions on tariff reduction in the market access pillar 
resumes.  
 
In conclusion, the group stands ready to continue to work  constructively with you and with other 
Members to follow up the Nairobi Ministerial Decisions.  
 
17. Indonesia  
 
Indonesia wishes to thank the Director -General for his update on the state of play of the DDA 
negotiations, particularly in follow -up of the Nairobi  Ministerial Conference. We wish also to thank 
Chair Persons of various negotiating groups for their comprehensive reports.  
 
After the summer break, we have been witnessing intensified engagement in various 
configurations by Members in discussing tangible  and meaningful outcomes that we ought to 
deliver in the next Ministerial Conference, to be held in Buenos Aires. In this regard, Indonesia 
welcomes Member’s submissions on different issues, which we believe will greatly facilitate us in 
identifying possib le overlapping interests for the MC11 deliverables.  
 
In advancing the negotiation on the remaining Doha issues, such as in Agriculture, NAMA, 
Development, Services, my delegation wishes to reiterate that the negotiations shall continue to 
be guided by the  centrality of development, as clearly mandated by the Doha Development 
Agenda and the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration.  
 
With regard to the negotiation in agriculture, we fully associate with the G33 statement. As far as 
Indonesia is concerned, the agricu lture sector has been playing an important role in the national 
economic development program, particularly related to the rural development, food security and 
poverty alleviation. It is therefore our strong view that the SSM and PSH must be an integral par t 
of any package of agreements that we all ought to deliver in MC11.  
 
With regard to the discussion on the issues pertaining to the electronic commerce (e -commerce), 
Indonesia welcomes several proposals that have been made by Members. We believe that they  will 
facilitate Members to better understand the issue. Nevertheless, we are also of the view that the 
discussion on e -commerce should not deviate from the Nairobi Ministerial Decision, particularly on 
the Work Program on E -commerce. The Decision gives di rection to Members that the discussion WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  should be held in the CTS, CTG, TRIPS and CTD. Moreover, it also mandated Members to take into 
account the work of other intergovernmental organizations on this issue. It is our interest to 
ensure that the discussion on E-commerce will take into account of the centrality of development 
and in line with the Nairobi Ministerial Decision.  
 
In conclusion, Indonesia trusts your leadership and is confident that you would continue to ensure 
the Nairobi Ministerial Decisions are respected and followed -up. Indonesia stands ready to 
continue to work constructively with you and with other Members.  
 
18. United States  
 
When Ambassador Froman visited Geneva in October,  he spoke about the need for a "pragmatic 
multilateralism"  as the WTO  charts new paths for its future.  In outlining this view, Ambassador 
Froman emphasized that our future success should rely on multiple sources of inspiration – 
including an enduring commitment to pursue multilateral outcomes that are relevant to today’s 
global economy, a readiness to understand and consider approaches tested regionally or 
bilaterally, and an openness to plurilateral negotiating formats as a means of fostering steady 
momentum in our work here at the WTO.  
 
It seems to the United States that, despite some understandable anxiety that the pathway towards 
our next ministerial conference is still unclear, we are nonetheless engaged in pragmatic work and 
useful discussions that can lead to early concrete outcomes.  Let me mention a few illustrations of 
this. 
 
First, the United States is convinced that, in the few days between now and the meeting of 
our General Council, participants in the Environmental Goods Agreement negotiations have 
the opportunity to conclude that agreement.  We have much work to d o, and some important 
obstacles to overcome.  All participants, and particularly those seeking the most from this 
negotiation, must be willing to contribute meaningfully.  The United States is deeply 
committed to playing its part, and Ambassador Froman will be bringing his personal 
engagement to this endeavo ur here in Geneva starting on Saturday.   
 
This agreement would represent an important new achievement for the WTO’s negotiating 
credibility, building on our successes at Bali and Nairobi, would advance sh ared global 
environmental objectives, and would benefit every Member of this organization by virtue of 
its MFN application.  We hope for good news when the General Council meets next 
Wednesday, and again, we will be working hard to achieve that.  But we shou ld also be 
mindful that opportunities such as this weekend’s ministerial are fleeting.  It would be an 
enormous mistake to take it for granted.   
 
Second , we remain encouraged by the broad interest that continues to surround the 
critically important issue o f fisheries subsidies.  The energy behind this issue is real, its 
development dimensions are clear, and considerable work is going into the effort in several 
formats.  The United States and its partners in an initiative for a high -ambition plurilateral 
outco me are making good progress as we organize for in -depth negotiations next year.  We 
are also interested in the attention this issue is receiving in several multilateral bodies.  Here 
again, we see pragmatism and positive energy at work.  
 
Third, we appreciate  that many Members are continuing to devote creative thought and 
energy to areas like e -commerce, and the political -level interest of some of our ministers 
was apparent recently in Oslo.  We should not be surprised or discouraged that it is perhaps 
taking s ome time to define clearly the scope of these issues, and to raise the level of 
understanding of their technical aspects.  We will all be better off if we allow discussions on 
these issue to develop at a pace that fosters progress, rather than trying to for ce progress 
multilaterally when the ground may not have been fully prepared.  
 
Fourth , we are encouraged that discussions on agriculture seem to be evolving in new ways, 
particularly as so many Members are emphasizing the importance of understanding the 
recent trends in agriculture trade and policies.  There is no escaping this discussion if we are 
serious about progress.  
 
This effort at updating our understanding of global trade as it stands today – both in agriculture 
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  give much more attention.  A more current understanding of the overall trade situation will serve 
the Membership well in 2017 as long as all Members contribute to having a dialogue based on 
current realities.  It should be obvious that we cannot negotiate in the dark.  
 
We’re all very aware that MC11 is not so very far away.  And it is right that we should all be ready 
to start accelerating our work in preparing for Buenos Aires.   
 
The United States wi ll be participating actively as we move into a more intensive phase of 
preparation in 2017.  We should all be willing, however, to recognize that we are simply in a very 
different situation than was the case at similar stages in preparation before MC9 and M C10. There 
is not – at least not yet – a starkly obvious deliverable, as was the case with the TFA heading into 
2013, or with agricultural export competition as we moved through 2015.  This is an important 
reality, and one that we should remain conscious of  as we move forward, even as we bring our 
best creativity to ensuring a successful 11th Ministerial.  
 
Finally, let me acknowledge that many of our fellow Members are keenly interested in the 
transition of Administrations currently underway in the United St ates. Two points on this:   
 
As evidenced by our upcoming intensive weekend of work on the EGA, President Obama’s trade 
team, led by Ambassador Froman, is still deeply engaged in producing positive results for the 
WTO, and will continue to engage right up until 20th January.   
 
And as the transition process continues to unfold, the Mission of the United States will do 
everything possible to keep our fellow Members fully informed, and we will welcome bilateral 
engagement to that end.  
 
19. China  
 
I share the obse rvations that Members have done quite amount of work since Nairobi.  Particularly 
in recent months, we have seen new ideas and proposals put on the table.  However, insofar we 
see no evidence that there have emerged any possible consensus regarding these pro posals, and 
no one in this Room has changed position.  
 
Members are reflecting upon the recent international political and economic development and its 
impact on our MC11 and the multilateral trading system at large.  
 
Evidently, we are facing significant ch allenges, but I believe that we can explore new opportunities 
in this situation.  
 
Here I would like to share with you some of our observations on the specific issues.  
 
Agriculture  
 
China is a country of a population of 1.3 billion, with over 700 million sm all and poor farmers who 
only share, on average, 0.1 hectare arable land each but live on such small farming and shoulder 
the responsibility of food security for the whole country. Therefore, agriculture in China varies 
substantially from those Members wit h rich farmers and (or) rich resources.  
  
Hence, for China the top priority is to harvest the Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes 
and SSM by MC11.  This is specifically mandated by the Bali Ministerial Decision.  We are very sorry 
that no progress  has been achieved in this regard so far.  
 
We are ready to continue the negotiations on the domestic support.  But, the first things first is to 
create a level of playing field for the negotiations and world trade in agriculture.  
  
Just like export subsidy in agriculture, AMS is only held by a limited number of members.  This is 
unfair to those who are not entitled to such “favour”.  
 
Any attempt will never succeed to enlarge the injustice and rules’ deficit by capping or reducing 
the de minimis  of developing Members while maintaining AMS for developed Members which is 
most distorting. The concept of Amber box or VOP should never provide safe haven (or hiding 
place) to the AMS.  This is because the AMS is in fact different from de minimis . 
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  Trade negotiations a re about changes in the existing policy space.  Who has how much policy space 
is known to all, on domestic support for example.  Negotiation on policy space is one thing, and 
issue of compliance with existing rules is another.  We are ready to discuss the com pliance issues 
including transparency in this organization, but we should not do it in the context of Agriculture 
rules negotiation.  Negotiations on new rules and compliance with the existing rules should not be 
confused with each other.  No one should try to fish in the troubled water by mixing different things 
up. 
  
Therefore, it is more meaningful and pragmatic to eliminate AMS as a deliverable for MC11.  
Without this, any negotiation on any paper can lead us to nowhere.  We will never agree to do 
anything with our de minimis  of 8.5%, unless AMS is completely removed in the international 
trading system. Any reform aims to eliminate the injustice of policies, but should never be in the 
wrong direction.  
 
Still on agriculture, we should not forget the pillar of  market access, particularly issues of 
legitimate interests of developing members, such as tariff simplification, tariff peaks and tariff 
escalation in the developed members.  
 
NAMA  
 
It is unjustifiable to say that because there are some bilateral and Mega -regionals going on, so we 
should give up the multilateral negotiations.  On the contrary, without outcomes in NAMA, a MC11 
package will be incomplete.  These outcomes should include solutions on tariff peaks and tariff 
escalation by the developed members.  
 
Services  
 
This sector has become increasingly important as members are facing with sluggish world 
economy and daunting task of restructuring and job -creation.  But disappointingly, the rule -making 
for trade in services has been lagging far behind the urgent  call of the service business worldwide.  
The recent experiences are showing that, using the plurilateral or regional negotiation to replace 
the multilateral one simply does NOT work. The right road to take is to advance the multilateral 
service negotiation  expeditiously, pushing on the domestic regulations and market access in 
parallel.  
 
Development  
 
Any outcome should keep and reflect the core principle of development at its heart, addressing the 
concerns of LDC’s and deliver on S&D.  More work should be do ne and can be done on the basis of 
Doha mandates.    
 
Rules  
 
We understand that some Members have interests in addressing the issue of fishery subsidies.  As 
a major developing fishing country, China would like to work together with all Members to jointly 
advance multilateral negotiations for fishery subsidies, and seek to reach consensus on new 
multilateral rules on fishery subsidies, which should be acceptable to all members, development -
oriented and providing the Special and Differential Treatment to the developing Members.  
   
In the mean time, serious positions of ours and many other members regarding anti -dumping and 
countervailing measures should be equally treated.  We are expecting to achieve concrete 
outcomes in trade remedy by MC11.  For this purpose, China is going to contribute a paper to 
engage members in serious and substantive discussions.  
 
E-Commerce  
 
Recently, China tabled a proposal on e -commerce together with Pakistan, at meetings of CTG, CTD 
and CTS, which has received good responses.  We have  stated that, due to the very nature of e -
commerce, development should always remain the top priority in discussion.  The difficulties faced 
by the developing Members, such as insufficient infrastructure, lack of information and knowledge, 
lack of capacity building should be addressed effectively, which will help to abridge the digital 
divide.  
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  Meanwhile, current discussion should not lead to any new market access commitments and 
Members should avoid crossing the red lines of each other.  More importantly, be fore moving to 
make any new multilateral rules in e -commerce, we need to first have a clear mandate based on 
consensus.  
 
The year 2017 will be the Year of Ro oster in the Chinese Calendar. The pronunci ation of Rooster in 
Chinese is "JI" , which symbolizes go od fortune.  Here I would wish sincerely the coming year of 
2017, Year of Rooster, to be a year of good fortune for all of us.    
 
20. Singapore  
 
These are challenging times for globalisation and international trade.  Global trade has slowed 
significantly in rec ent years. In addition, significant segments of populations, particularly in 
developed countries which have been the key architects and beneficiaries of today’s multilateral 
constructs, feel that their lives have not improved from a more integrated, global ised and 
technologically advanced world.   
 
As the embodiment of the multilateral trading system, the WTO too has been the subject of 
criticisms from some quarters. It is therefore timely to recall that the WTO was established 
20 years ago to, inter alia , "raise standards of living ", "ensure full employment ", and " grow real 
income and effective demand ".  
 
These principles and objectives continue to be relevant today. And a lot of progress has been 
made since the WTO’s inception, in raising living standards,  especially in  developing countries and 
LDCs.  In large part this has been driven by the growth of global trade, global value chains and also 
technological innovations, and the WTO has played a central role in facilitating this.  
 
International trade, under pinned by the WTO’s rules -based system, has benefitted the world, 
regardless of whether we are small developing Members, emerging economies, or major traders.  
 
This does not mean that we should disregard the backlash against trade. We need to dul y 
recogni ze that trade, globaliz ation and technology have also caused significant disruption, and that 
there are people who have lost jobs, been displaced and left behind.  
 
However, protectionism, retaliation and building walls cannot be the right answer. To do so  will 
only put us at risk of undoing all the progress we have achieved in building a predictable, rules -
based and open multilateral trading system.  
 
Rather,  we must recogniz e that trade policy cannot work in isolation. It must be complemented by 
domestic policies to support and manage th e impact of growth and liberaliz ation. Governments 
need to actively help their people adjust and adapt to an ever -changing environment. The 
workforce needs to be retrained and reskilled to stay relevant so that they can ear n their share of 
economic growth.   
 
The WTO can, and must be part of the solution. And the best way for the WTO to play this role is 
to show that it can continue to deliver concrete outcomes that will boost economic growth and 
development.  
 
We suggest 3 concrete actions that we can take:  
 
First, implement what our Ministers have already agreed. This includes the TFA, the Nairobi 
export competition decision, the ITA2, and finding a permanent solution to public 
stockholding for food security purposes.  
 
Second, work on incremental but pragmatic outcomes which would benefit the system. This 
includes issues of interest to developing countries and LDCs, such as addressing imbalances 
in Agricultural trade, fisheries subsidies, greater transparency in areas such as Agriculture 
export restrictions, and Non -Tariff Barriers that impede market access. While some of these 
issues may not grab headlines, they are important from a practical and systemic point of 
view.  
 
Third, enable the WTO to keep pace with current trad e realities. This includes looking into 
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The WTO is a global public good.  Members have a shared responsibility to protect and uphold the 
WTO, so that it can continue to be a driver of global growth and development.  
 
To this end, we look forward to intensive and constructive engagement with all Members as we 
work towards MC11 and beyond.   
 
21. Colombia  
 
Before I begin, I wish to express our deepest sympathy and condolences to t he representatives of 
the Governments of Brazil and Bolivia following the tragic plane crash that has cast these two 
countries and Colombia, as well as the South American and international sports community, into 
mourning.  
 
I wish to start by reiterating ou r call for Members to remain pragmatic and optimistic in the 
current context and to adhere to the principles that led to the establishment of this Organization 
and that are enshrined in the Marrakesh Agreement.  
 
These principles still apply today, and we e ncourage you to place your trust in them in order to 
address the current economic slow down, climate of volatility and anti-globalization  sentiment. We 
advocate the importance of international trade as a source of wealth and well being, and highlight 
that the WTO is a global public good that we are all responsible for protecting and promoting.  
 
The 11th Ministerial Conference is an opportunity to deliver a credible outcome that contributes to 
the strengthening of the multilateral trading system, as was the case in Bali and Nairobi.  
 
Let me now turn to the negotiations and our vision of and contribution towards the pursuit of 
outcomes at the Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires. As we have mentioned on previous 
occasions, our country believes in the importa nce of achieving an outcome in the agriculture 
negotiations, particularly with regard to domestic support. There is a need to demonstrate 
progress in the agricultural reform process and to address the substantial reductions in trade 
distorting support.  
 
We are aware of the current situation for major stakeholders, but we need to maintain channels of 
dialogue and explore a range of alternatives. In this regard, we have co-sponsored , together with 
a group of South American countries, the alternatives put forw ard by Brazil for disciplining the 
trade distorting aggregate measurement of support and the concentration of support on specific 
products, inter alia . 
 
These alternatives, based on previous ideas put forward during the negotiations but incorporating 
new a pproaches, provide opportunities for reflection to engage all Members at the table. Similarly, 
we have supported dialogue with other negotiating groups, and with the Cairns Group, to find 
areas of convergence on this priority issue, which is necessary in l ight of the forthcoming 
Ministerial Conference.  
 
As far as NAMA is concerned, we belong to the group of Members that seek outcomes, particularly 
regarding the elimination of non-tariff barriers. We consider that the negotiations of this group can 
play an i mportant role in increasing the participation of SMEs in world trade and that they should 
include the development dimension.  
 
Regarding services, we espouse the interest demonstrated by many Members and the initiatives 
developed with regard to securing an agreement on domestic regulation, and we note with 
optimism the interest shown by countries in moving towards more substantive discussions. We 
wish to state our willingness to continue facilitating this process and to back all initiatives that 
contribute t o the development of this discipline within the mandate under the General Agreement 
on Trade in Services.  
 
We also support the discussions on all forms of e commerce that Members may consider 
favourable to the institutional framework. We believe that these  are issues that bring the 
Organization and the system closer to the needs of the private sector and that also represent an 
opportunity for the developing world.  
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  As Friends of Fish and advocates of the Sustainable Development Goals, we support the initiat ives 
to discipline fisheries subsidies. Therefore, in line with our intention to secure a multilateral 
outcome, we have joined Peru, Argentina, Panama, Costa Rica and Uruguay in supporting a 
proposal based on the Trade Facilitation Agreement model, with a view to moving forward with 
agreements that accommodate the various interests of Members, with a flexible but serious 
approach to commitments.  
 
We draw attention to the revival of the dispute settlement negotiations. We support the work 
carried out by the Chairman of the Special Session of the DSB, and hope that the negotiations will 
give rise to a deliverable that is incorporated into the 11th Ministerial Conference package, which 
could allow for some adjustments to be made to a dispute settlement system t hat has worked 
well. 
 
To conclude, I reiterate our support for the work conducted by the Director General, as leader of 
this Organization, and by the negotiating group chairs, and echo his call for Members to be 
pragmatic, realistic and creative.  
 
22. Pakistan  
 
We are going through one of the most challenging times for global trade, not only in terms of 
declining trends, but also declining public support for trade liberalisation in many of the world’s 
most significant economies.  
 
We have been following your ef forts and your spirited defence of Trade and World Trade 
Organiz ation at different fora during last couple of months, we greatly appreciate your efforts, with 
rising anti -trade discourse, wherein trade is often singled out as a major cause of instability i n 
labour markets, your research based, objective articulation of views in support of trade has been 
very effective.  
 
The recent trade estimates released by WTO show that world trade has grown slower than 
expected in 2016. This year would mark the slowest p ace of trade and output growth since  the 
financial crisis of 2009. The forecast for 2017 has also been revised, with trade now expected to 
grow between 1.8% and 3.1%, down from 3.6% projected previously.  
 
We fully subscribe to what  the Director -General sa id recently that "Trade is imperfect"  but trade 
negotiations are not, we are doing our work in  a rule -based system which clearly defines our roles 
and limitations. We all, therefore, have to take advantage of this rules based multilateral system 
and try to  compensate for the imperfections in trade. We should propose a common agenda that 
can reset the trajectory of the system to respond to contemporary issues as well as the 
outstanding ones, by being pragmatic, realistic and creative at the same time.  
 
In this backdrop we will have to double our efforts at WTO, in order to build a more inclusive 
trading system that supports poorer countries to take part and benefit, as well as entrepreneurs, 
small companies, and marginalized groups in all economies.  
 
In our  view, our response to the challenges should be to intensify negotiations, in all pillars — 
particularly agriculture, with a focus on domestic support and cotton. For our constituents, this 
remains the top priority. We are deeply concerned about growing tra de distortions in agriculture 
caused by domestic support policies. Long -term reform of domestic support in agriculture is critical 
for our farmers, who are 70% of our population and 90% of them are subsistence level farmers. 
We cannot afford to put off act ion in this area of our work, and there is dire need to find ways to 
address this issue.  
 
We have outperformed in the last two Ministerials with concrete d eliverables, and in our view 
MC11 is another opportunity to move collectively in the same direction. We appreciate the efforts 
of Members who submitted different papers, which have helped in triggering discussions. Large 
number of proposals in the agriculture provide a very good basis for our work next year, domestic 
support reforms is a long standing age nda that can integrate small farmers in the trading system, 
we will continue to explore viable options for continuation of this reform process.  
 
Implementation of MC10 decisions will also add credibility to the continuation of this reform 
journey.  
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  Agriculture has the potential to generate income opportunities for a large number of poor 
developing countries, therefore outcome in this area would be important for large number of small 
farmers of countries without fiscal space to provide domestic support.  
 
Sustainable Development Goal 14 in general , and 14.6 in particular , is very significant for many 
developing countries because of fisheries sector's role in poverty eradication, employment 
generation and sustainability of natural habitat. Effective implement ation of SDG commitments will 
ensure socio -economic wellbeing of the poor coastal communities.  
 
We have to demonstrate some concrete steps to fulfil our commitment to goal 14.6 that require 
prohibiting by 2020 those fisheries subsidies that lead to overca pacity and overfishing. We also 
have to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. 
Transparency and effective review mechanisms are the basic minimum requirements to move in 
this direction. We are carefully looking at all the proposals and ready to work with the Membership 
for a balanced outcome. Pakistan welcomes the recent submissions by  EU, ACP and Argentina, 
Peru and o thers and will constructively engage in future discussions.  
 
Improvements in Market Access are i mperative for both agriculture and industrial products. Issues 
like Non -Tariff Measures (NTMs), TRQs and tariff escalations need to be addressed at priority.  
 
We are in an era where people no longer go online, they are 24/7 online. Destiny of our society is 
digital. Internet is the most important infrastructure of our time, rather it is infrastructure of 
infrastructures. Internet is a Global Good, and a Global Common. The challenge is how to mutually 
benefit from this Global Good that is I nternet, and its role in Trade. We have to accept:  digital is 
not just part of the economy — it is becoming the economy.  
 
Pakistan is acutely aware of the high growth potential of e -commerce and we are working at an 
accelerated pace to boost e -trade in goods and services. Due to significantly liberal regime in our 
services sector especially finance and telecom, major telecom service providers are operating in 
Pakistan providing cutting edge connectivity and communication solutions. During two years, after 
auction of 3G/4G s pectrum, the consumers of these services have increased from 3 to 37 million. 
Our broadband penetration rate is doubling every single year since 2013, the Global Findex report 
shows Pakistan as the leader in mobile banking transactions in South Asia, havin g 133 million 
mobile phone subscribers and 11% of them use mobile phones to carry out financial transactions. 
In a national consultation held last week in P akistan, our stakeholders said " we have missed the 
plastic phase of e -Commerce revolution, we cannot  afford to miss the mobile digital phase of e -
Commerce ". 
 
This year's Worl d Bank annual report is titled " Digital Dividends ", key message of the report is 
digital technologies have spread rap idly in much of the world, but d igital dividends —that is, the 
broader development benefits from using these technologies —have lagged behind. The digital 
development strategies need to be much broader than ICT strategies . "Connectivity for all " 
remains an important goal and a tremendous challenge. But to bring the larges t benefits, countries 
also need to create the right environment for technology.  In the business sector, this involves 
tasks such as ensuring that digital platforms do not abuse their dominant position and promoting 
fair competition between the online and o ffline services.  
 
Internet giants have too much influence and market share, and the ability to quash local 
competitors. The P 5 or superpowers o f 21st Century  are Amazon, Google, Facebook, eB ay and 
Alibaba.  
 
To make businesses more productive and innovative , countries need investment in basic 
infrastructure, reduce the cost of doing business, lower digital trade barriers, an d facilitate entry of 
start-ups and competition across digital platforms.  
 
We need to undertake a collective scoping exercise with a vie w to define a mutually agreed future 
agenda on e -Commerce - covering both goods and services. We have to strive to be inclusive and 
non-discriminatory in our approach.  
 
We can only get positive results from this exercise if we collaborate, compromise and m ove 
together. Many discussion papers on e -Commerce have been tabled by Members, which generated 
views from different perspectives on the subject.  
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  We greatly welcome the latest paper tabled by China on the subject, and appreciate the efforts of 
GC Chair Am b. Harald N eple and Amb. Suescum, Friend of the Chair, in trying to chart a way 
forward.  
 
As my Minister said in the last meeting, let us not see this issue as one DDA versus another DDA —
Doha Development Agenda versus Digital Development Agenda. We have to  work on all issues 
with balance and equal degree of focus.  
 
We should be very careful, with deciding norms and governance structure, so that we do not 
devise a mechanism which prevents the arrival of new comers in this realm; presently e -
commerce has its concentration in certain regions, we have to make it truly universal through our 
work. Traditionally, when rules are being made they are generally supportive of big players, this 
should not happen in e -commerce.  
 
In our view, the future is digital, but it has to be a common future and not divided like the past. It 
has to be inclusive, organised and transparent. The gains from the digital revolution have not been 
shared widely. Digital technologies can be transformational by promoting inclusion, efficiency a nd 
innovation, but if digital economy is not accessible, affordable and open, it will result in inequality, 
control and concentration.  
 
Digital trade allows many small enterprises to par ticipate in the global market. Ec ommerce and 
MSMES are inextricably li nked.  I would be failing my duty if I do not highlight challenges faced by 
MSMES and what we have to do for them. We have to address lack of access to finance and 
regulatory trade barriers faced by MSMEs.  
 
Recent developments have shown that  it is time for  the WTO Members to regain the centrality of 
WTO as the only organization for negotiating global rules of governing cross -border trade in goods 
and services. But we have to move with a balance, and not forget our pending business.  
 
23. South Africa  
 
At the las t HoDs meeting, we reiterated our observation that the divergences amongst Members 
derive from our different views on the negotiating mandate, and that we have differing priorities 
and different areas of sensitivity. We also indicated that in our reading, recent developments in the 
wider environment – the so -called backlash against trade and globalization – suggests that the 
prospects for moving forward are not getting any easier.  
 
Our view has not been altered following the exchanges that took place among st some of our Trade 
Ministers in Oslo in October. While we do want to thank Norway for hosting the mini-ministerial 
meeting, and to acknowledge their undertaking as a good faith attempt to inject some momentum 
into our process, it has to be said that the meeting showed that Members’ positions remained, at 
their core, unchanged. Of course, this was a meeting of only some Trade Members and no 
decisions could be taken and, indeed, no decisions were taken. As has been said, the outcome was 
a Chair’s summary on his own responsibility.  
 
Over the last few months, we have seen a flurry of new submissions on various issues of our 
negotiating agenda and these have generated discussions. This could be seen as positive. The fact 
that we have in the process largely avoi ding a polarizing debate is another positive sign. However, 
it is also true that we have avoided dealing directly with the very specific issues that lie at the 
heart of problems we face. Until we confront those issues directly, whether or not we can find a  
path to move forward will remain unknown.  
 
The Chairs'  report in agriculture indicates the wide divergences that remain despite the uptick in 
engagement. On the central question of trade distorting domestic support,  we note the Chair’s 
view that " it is c lear that notwithstanding the overwhelming majority of Members in favour  of an 
outcome on domestic support, several important Members who need to be involved in any 
outcome are signalling  difficulties in this regard…."  
 
The situation i n Services can be des cribed as "tentative"  as the two proposals in domestic 
regulation have only recently been submitted and are still under consideration. We would be 
concerned about any outcome that would limit our right to regulate – in practice – or unduly 
intrude in natio nal policy making.  
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  The report on Rules with respect to the wide support for an outcome in Fisheries is more positive 
but we know that questions of "linkages"  and application of special and differential treatment will 
need to be settled to move forward po sitively.  
 
At our last meeting, we suggested that the current state of play in the negotiations offers an 
opportunity to begin to re -think our approach to trade policy so that it better serves the objectives 
of sustainable development and inclusive growth . In our view, a priority would be to reconnect 
trade policy to industrial development. We also suggested that we need to be much more sensitive 
to the distributional impact of trade and on how gains and losses are distributed amongst and 
within Member cou ntries.  
 
One place to start re -thinking our approach to trade policy may be in respect to the approach we 
take to monitoring trade measures for the G20. Currently, this is largely a mechanical exercise. 
We need to acknowledge the evidence that the decline  in international trade is overwhelmingly the 
result of depressed global economic conditions and not a result of so -called 'restrictive'  trade 
measures. We should also avoid casting legitimate and WTO -compatible trade measures in an 
entirely negative light . This has eroded the credibility of the repeated - and unheeded - calls for 
the "standstill and rollback"  of such measures.  
 
Before concluding, I want to mention that Ambassador Carim has just returned from an African 
Union Meeting of Trade Ministers in A ddis Ababa. In that meeting, African Trade Ministers re -
emphasized the need to pursue integration and industrialization to drive the processes of 
structural transformation across the African continent. A great deal of time was spent on these 
issues as they  relate to work on the Continental Free Trade Area. In respect of WTO issues, while 
the Ministers are fully apprised  of the difficulties we confront in the negotiations, they reaffirmed 
their common interest in pursuing outcomes in the areas of trade disto rting domestic support; 
cotton, public stockholding, the SSM; fisheries subsidies; special and differential treatment 
provisions and on LDC issues.  
 
I conclude by associating ourselves with the Statements that will be made by Morocco on behalf of 
the Afri ca Group and the statement that has been made by Rwanda on behalf of the ACP.  
 
24. Dominican Republic  
 
The Dominican Republic is in support of achieving major outcomes in the area of agriculture, and 
particularly domestic support, at the Ministerial Conference  in Buenos Aires. We believe that 
reforming agriculture, and domestic support in particular, should be a priority for the next 
Ministerial Conference, so that we can get rid of the distorting support that developed countries 
provide to their farmers. This has gone on long enough, and the time has now come for these 
distortions in agriculture to be eliminated. We took an important step forward at the Nairobi 
Conference when we agreed on the elimination of agricultural export subsidies, but we now need 
to fin ish off the task by eliminating the distorting domestic support that makes it extremely 
difficult for farmers in the developing countries to compete in international markets. We need to 
ensure that there is special and differential treatment, especially fo r small and vulnerable 
economies and for net food producing countries.  
 
It is important for us that favourable outcomes are achieved concerning public stockholding 
programmes for food security in developing countries and the special safeguard mechanism for  
developing countries, as stated by the G33.  
 
The Dominican Republic reaffirms its commitment to multilateralism. We believe that it is the 
channel for reaching fair and balanced trade agreements that benefit all Members, and for 
eliminating the anti -expor t bias against developing countries still present in the regulations.  
 
25. Russian Federation  
 
On many recent occasions, including G -20 and APEC Leaders Meetings, Russia reaffirmed its 
commitment to free and open trade and investment, promoting fair competitiv e markets, 
encouraging economic and technical cooperation, and facilitating favourable and sustainable 
business environment. Trade should be better employed as a powerful source in fixing economic 
and social failures.  
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  As MC11 comes closer, it is time to c onvert words into deeds. It is up to the membership to raise 
the level of cooperation and move it into a practical phase by starting working on specific new 
rules and disciplines. But success in this endeavour could only be feasible if it is driven by 
openness, flexibility and mutual recognition of critical interests of each other.  
 
We left Bali and Nairobi with substantial outcomes that we can be proud of, in hand. This forces us 
to be more a mbitious in planning for Buenos Aires. MC11 should bring its own value to be added to 
the WTO regulatory framework.  
  
We understand that we can proceed only if negotiations are focused on those issues that are felt 
really pressing and doable. From the Russian perspective, they could include domestic support in 
agricultu re, certain disciplines in domestic regulation in services, antidumping and subsidies. We 
are also favourable at adding so -called new issues to the list of deliverables. To name a few, I 
would make reference to transparency in RTAs and e -commerce.  
 
Agricul ture is one of the fundame ntal elements for Russia. We  believes that trade distorting 
support should be kept by an overall comprehensive limit. We share the recent suggestions to 
eliminate the existing provisions on Special Agricultural Safeguard (SSG). Al ready when Russia 
joined the organization and undertook significant reforms, SSG was supposed to be eliminated and 
we strongly believe that this is the path we should take.  
 
Implementation of the Nairobi Decision on export competition remains of utmost im portance. 
Further discussions on export financing may be needed in future.  
 
In our opinion, the issue of services transparency in domestic regulation is of interest to economic 
operators, as it will contribute to predictability and openness of the market. Therefore, we suggest 
starting text -based negotiations with the aim of delivering much needed results on this track.  
 
Russia reiterates that the Rules track is an important part of multilateral negotiations, where work 
should keep going despite the headwin ds. True, reaching consensus at the multilateral level has 
become more complicated. Nevertheless, multilateral arrangements are the only sound way of 
shaping the world trading system.  For these reasons, priorities of all WTO members should be 
properly cons idered in order to ensure that the negotiations are balanced and therefore 
sustainable from the systemic point of view.  
 
Russia has co -sponsored a proposal on how to implement the Nairobi decision on RTAs, as outlined 
in para . 28 of the MC10 Declaration. W e will support the practical work on it. From our 
perspective, it will allow the membership to accumulate best practices from RTAs functioning. RTAs 
could serve as a source of ideas on how we could enhance the global trade rules. It will also be 
helpful fo r better understanding of how to ensure synergies between multilateral trade system and 
RTAs.  
  
We anticipate clear gu idance from ministers in Buenos Aires on where and how to proceed with e -
commerce discussions, as well as concrete results, that we need t o reach or are aiming at. Having 
said that, we also believe that future negotiating agenda should include decisions that will bring 
the level of commitments of original Members to the level of those that acceded under Article XII 
of the WTO Agreement.  
 
26. Costa Rica  
 
Back in September, based on data from the WTO's Statistics Division, it was estimated that world 
trade in 2016 would grow at a much slower pace than had previously been forecast. According to 
these figures, growth in trade would be at its slowest since the 2009  financial crisis. The Director -
General quite rightly stated that this dramatic slowing of trade growth should serve as a wakeup  
call, given growing anti -globalization sentiment. It is therefore important to rebuild trust in this 
Organization  and what it can achieve, and do everything we can to ensure that this situation does 
not lead to protectionist policies that could further weaken trade and make it difficult to meet job 
creation, growth and economic development objectives. Today more than  ever, we need to keep 
delivering outcomes within the WTO in order to demonstrate just how important this Organization 
is as a barrier to protectionism, especially in view of the current challenges facing global trade.  
 
The WTO's founding principles and ob jectives have now taken on particular importance, given the 
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  in the Preamble to the WTO Agreement, which include raising standards of living, ensuring f ull 
employment, securing optimal use of the world's resources in accordance with the objective of 
sustainable development, and protecting and preserving the environment. We may still have a 
long way to go before the benefits of trade liberalization promote d by the WTO are felt equally by 
everyone, but we must nevertheless recognize that a predictable global trade system and greater 
economic integration have contributed to ensuring growth, creating jobs and raising living 
standards on a global scale. The WTO  is a public asset that we must all take care of and work to 
strengthen. Our first task is to renew confidence among ourselves, and yet we must also renew 
confidence among our populations, the business community and workers in what the WTO can do 
to improv e their conditions, as we did in Bali and Nairobi.  
 
One of the major challenges that the multilateral trading system currently faces is achieving 
greater inclusiveness. Some ways in which the WTO can help to better integrate developing 
countries into the g lobal economy include: looking at how to broaden the opportunities available to 
small and medium sized enterprises within the global economy; considering the role of electronic 
commerce as an instrument for development; increasing understanding of the rela tionship 
between the WTO and climate change commitments; raising awareness of the problems of 
overfishing caused by certain subsidies; helping to make the necessary progress in agricultural 
trade reforms, both in terms of trade distorting domestic support and market access; and 
examining the issue of domestic regulation in services. Costa Rica hopes that we will be able to 
continue to hold frank and pragmatic discussions on these and other relevant and important topics 
as part of the preparations for the El eventh Ministerial Conference, in order to deliver outcomes 
and build confidence in the WTO.  
 
Before I finish, I would like to remind everyone that they are invited to the seminar organized by 
the "Friends of e Commerce for Development" group on the opport unities and challenges of 
electronic commerce for development, which will take place at 10 a.m. on Friday 9 December in 
Room CR1.  
 
27. Hong Kong, China  
 
I was reading the DG’s annual report " Overview of Development in the In ternational Trading 
Environment" , and noted with concern that the trade forecast for 2016 and 20 17 had been revised 
downwards. If that forecast materialises, trade growth will be at its lowest since the financial crisis 
of 2009.  
 
At the same time, the stockpile of trade restrictive measures introduced by WTO Members keeps 
increasing, because new restrictive measures have been added, while existing ones are not rolled 
back quickly enough.  
 
People looking fro m outside of the WTO will say, " Well, this is not news. " True, but that doe s not 
make i t less worrying. In fact, we have all the more reason to worry, precisely because this is no 
longer something new; because somehow the proliferation of trade r estrictive measures has 
become " normal ". 
 
This should not have been the case.  We could have done better.  
 
We could have done better because, as WTO Members, we should have known better the harmful 
effects of protectionism and the benefits of free trade.  
 
As an economy which depends on, and has thrived on, trade, Hong Kong China (HKC) has no 
doubt that  trade is the engine of economic growth. The question is how to make that growth 
inclusive and sustainable, so that all of us and our future generations can share the benefits.  
 
HKC believes that the WTO can play an important role in this, first by strengt hening the 
multilateral trading system – including all its rule -making, trade monitoring and enforcement 
functions; and second, by making sure that what we do here remains relevant to modern -day 
economic realities, such as the profound changes that global value chains and e -commerce have 
brought to international trade.  
 
At the WTO, we have proven that we can do this.  
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  Insofar as trade negotiations are concerned, we have had conc rete deliverables at the last 
2 Ministerial Conferences (MCs). And we are begin ning to see the positive effects of their 
implementation.  
 
The Trade Facilitation Agreement, for instance, is very close to coming into fo rce. And in 
preparation for that, many Members have already started aligning their policy measur es with their 
TFA comm itments. At the same time, tariff reductions have begun, on an MFN basis, under the 
expanded Information Technology Agreement.  
 
These are the results of our negotiations in recent years, and the benefits are real and significant.  
 
If we could do it in MC9 and MC10, there is no reason why we can’t aim at doing more at MC11.  
The improvements may be incremental, but they can still be of considerable commercial and 
systemic value.  
 
Between now and MC11, we still have one year.  For outstanding Doha issues, we ha ve already 
done a lot of ground work, and I was pleased to hear from the Negotiating Group Chairs that there 
were renewed interests and new ideas in some important areas such as Domestic Regulations and 
Trade Facilitation for Services.  For other issues, no tably e -commerce, we have also seen an 
encouraging number of proposals and enthusiastic responses.  
 
If we are willing to step up engagement and adopt an open mind, we should be able to break new 
grounds in time for some meaningful outcomes.  
 
I welcome the DG’s initiative to proactively facilitate conversations among interested Members.  
Hong Kong China is fully committed to this process.  
 
We hope that in the coming months, all of us will work together in a constructive spirit, for a 
successful MC in Buenos A ires. 
 
28. Kingdo m of Saudi Arabia (Arab Group)  
 
The Arab Group would like to congratulate the two n ew chairpersons of the Negotiating G roup on 
Market Access (NGMA) and of the Council for Trade in Services in Special Session  and wish them 
every success in thei r work.  
 
We are encouraged by the momentum and the positive signs that are emerging in moving the 
negotiations from reflection to action. We should continue in the same spirit to move the 
negotiations ahead.  
 
This should give us impetus to continue our wo rk in a cooperative manner, and to have frank 
discussions to reach at a common understanding of the issues where we can have deliverables at 
MC11. We should capitalize on the positive momentum and build on the success of the Bali and 
Nairobi Ministerial Co nferences.    
   
As we move towards MC11, we should make sure that we use time wisely and with a sense of 
urgency to make tangible progress for the interest of all WTO members. We also should work in a 
positive spirit and show the necessary political will in order to deliver a successful outcome at the 
conference. Moreover, our future work should be guided by the Decisions adopted in the previous 
Ministerial Conferences in spirit and letter.  
 
In this regard, we have to continue our work on the outstanding i ssues, and maintain development 
and S&D provisions at the heart of our negotiations.  
 
Finally, the Arab Group reiterates its commitment to the Multilateral Trading System and remains 
ready to engage constructively in the work ahead.  
 
29. Switzerland  
 
The Direc tor-General's report and those by negotiating group chairs presented last Thursday 
provide an overview of where we are standing at half -time between Nairobi and Buenos Aires.  
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  In a general climate marked by uncertainties and sluggish trade growth, let me start by noting 
some positive developments.  
 
As mentioned by the DG, we have seen constructive engagement by a broad spectrum of 
Members, including major ones, in the course of this year. This had not been the case in this 
house for quite some time.   
 
We would also like to welcome the election of two new members of the Appellate Body a fortnight 
ago; the pragmatic and focused cooperation among Members over the last few months in the 
appraisal of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism; and the mark of 100 ratifi cations of the Trade 
Facilitation Agreement reached last week.  
 
These advances all concern key parts of WTO and show a continued commitment by the 
Membership to a credible and well -functioning multilateral trading system.  
 
At the same time, criticism of gl obalization and trade has been spreading in the public debate 
during this year, particularly in developed countries.  
 
While this may partly be addressed by more and better information, it should also be 
acknowledged that developments in technology and tra de have not benefitted all in even ways. In 
this respect, policies aimed at making globalization more inclusive are needed, within a nd across 
nations.  
 
At MC11, WTO has the opportunity to do just that – i.e. to deliver fresh outcomes that contribute 
to mor e inclusive trade and to strengthening the multilateral trading system.  
 
Several potential issues for outcomes at MC11 have emerged and been identified in negotiating 
groups and by Ministers at the informal gathering in Oslo in October.  
 
These discussions  are building both on tasks mandated a year ago in Nairobi and on new ideas put 
forward since then. I am not going to repeat them.  
 
We share the view that the coming months will need to be utilized intensely to further frame and 
concretize these issues.   
 
Switzerland is willing to engage and contribute constructively in this process, including in areas 
where we have defensive interests, a s in agriculture.  
 
Let me, however, emphasize that major sensitivities of Members will have to be respected and 
balance d outcomes worked out if we are to collectively reach our objective of meaningful outcomes 
in Buenos Aires.  
 
The focus will have to be on realistic, incremental steps allowing the WTO to move forward at 
MC11 and beyond.  
 
Finally , let me mention that Switze rland will, as usual, host an informal ministerial gathering in 
Davos in the margins of the WEF on 20 January, and we will provide a debrief about the 
discussions held in due course.  
 
30. Senegal  
 
Senegal endorses the statements made by the ACP Group and the L DC Group, and any statement 
that the African Group may make.  
 
As the Eleventh Ministerial Conference approaches, my delegation would like to call on Members to 
redouble their efforts to reach an outcome in the negotiations on agriculture, particularly 
concerning market access, domestic support, the special safeguard mechanism, and public 
stockholding for food security purposes. My delegation welcomes the submissions that have been 
made and reiterates the need to preserve the flexibilities set out in the fou rth revision of the draft 
modalities on agriculture, particularly the LDCs' exemption from tariff reduction and domestic 
support commitments, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the General Council Decision 
adopted on 1 August 2004 and the Hong K ong Ministerial Declaration.  
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  Regarding cotton, my delegation calls for the effective imple mentation of the decision of 
19 December 2015 and for the elimination of domestic support that distorts cotton markets.  
 
Concerning the services negotiations, and in  particular domestic regulation, Senegal would like to 
reiterate the need to take the political sphere and development into account in all outcomes, with 
a particular focus on the flexibilities needed for developing countries and the technical assistance 
they require in order to implement future disciplines. Furthermore, in accordance with the 
Chairman's 2009 draft text, the LDCs should not have commitments imposed upon them regarding 
disciplines in the area of domestic regulation.  
 
The negotiations on fish eries subsidies are another priority area for my delegation. Senegal 
remains committed not only to achieving a multilateral outcome on disciplines for certain forms of 
fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, but to eliminating subsidies 
related to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.  
 
Given the alarming state of global fish stocks, it is important for the WTO to go beyond trade 
related aspects and play an important role in preserving marine resources, which are crucial f or 
the economic development of many developing countries. A large portion of Senegal's population, 
for instance, relies on this sector for their social integration and livelihood.  
 
My delegation therefore welcomes the proposals aimed at advancing the negot iations in this area, 
irrespective of any progress made in the other rules pillars. We wish to restate how essential the 
development dimension is to these negotiations, in which particular attention is being paid to the 
needs of developing and least develo ped countries and their technical and institutional capacities.  
 
I would like to end with electronic commerce, which undoubtedly provides an opportunity for small 
and medium sized enterprises in developing countries to access the international market at a low 
cost. 
 
LDCs still need to overcome a number of challenges – particularly in terms of infrastructure, 
connectivity, and regulatory and institutional frameworks – if they are to effectively participate in 
electronic commerce and reap the benefits.  
 
I wou ld like to remind you of the instructions we received from our ministers in Nairobi. They told 
us to prioritize work where results have not yet been achieved, and stated that any decision to 
launch negotiations multilaterally on other matters should be rea ched by consensus.  
 
Given that there is no mandate for negotiations on electronic commerce, we believe that 
discussions on this matter should continue to be conducted by the bodies in charge of monitoring 
and implementing the Work Programme on Electronic C ommerce of 1998, with a focus on 
development. Any cross cutting issues can be brought before the dedicated session under the 
auspices of the General Council.  
 
31. Mexico  
 
Mexico stands by other delegations that have expressed their concern about certain countr ies' 
negative reaction to trade.  
 
International trade is the most tangible aspect of globalization and is therefore often accused of 
"stealing" jobs – jobs which are above all being replaced by automated and robotized production 
processes. It is also often  blamed for the widening gap between rich and poor, when in reality this  
is caused by inadequate or non -existent social policies at national level and/or the neglect of 
certain declining sectors in some economies.  
 
International trade, which is supported b y a transparent multilateral system and built on standards 
that the WTO embodies, has helped to generate wealth worldwide, and all of the WTO's Members 
have benefited from this, particularly the countries that are most active in world trade.  
 
We all have a  shared responsibility to preserve and strengthen the multilateral system that has 
given us so much. But those who have benefited the most also have a duty to speak out about 
how important trade still is and to defend the principles and objectives on which  the system is 
based.  
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  They also have to provide the necessary leadership to ensure that today's complex global 
economic climate represents an opportunity and not a threat to the international community.  
 
It is therefore extremely encouraging to see that t he Leaders of APEC have reaffirmed their 
commitment to free trade and investment and undertaken to continue implementing the Bali and 
Nairobi outcomes and to advance the negotiations on outstanding Doha Development Agenda 
issues and a range of other topics  that are of common interest and importance.  
 
We welcome this declaration here at the WTO and call on all Members to work with a sense of 
urgency and solidarity, as stressed by the APEC Leaders, so that together we can work towards 
achieving positive and m eaningful outcomes at the Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires.  
 
As indicated in today's reports, multiple efforts are under way in various shapes and forms. Recent 
work in Geneva and the outcomes of the mini ministerial gathering in Oslo are an indicati on that 
Members have moved from reflection to action.  
 
It is encouraging that the vast majority of Ministers at the Oslo meeting agreed to work towards 
securing an outcome for the Eleventh Ministerial Conference. To move forward, we now need to 
identify po ssible deliverables and set an outline for each one as soon as possible.  
 
The areas in which progress is most likely to be made between now and Buenos Aires and which, 
given the current climate, we should make every effort to ensure are at least part of an y package 
are: 
 
­ domestic support in agriculture;  
­ fisheries subsidies;  
­ regulatory and facilitation issues, concerning both goods and services; and  
­ electronic commerce.  
 
We are well aware that early next year we will face numerous uncertainties, but that is no reason 
to sit back and do nothing. We need to press ahead with the technical work so that it will be easier 
to make decisions when the time comes and so that we don't get caught up in the rush leading up 
to and at the conference in Buenos Aires.  
 
Mexico  is now well positioned to continue bringing new ideas to the table and examining with an 
open mind the proposals of other Members, both on outstanding Doha issues and other topics, 
without ruling out or limiting ourselves to certain options at this point.  
 
The aim is to find common ground that will help us secure a balanced and incremental package of 
deliverables for the Eleventh Ministerial Conference. We hope that this will help to create new 
opportunities and sources of growth and prosperity, which are sorely needed in the current 
climate.  
 
32. Chines e Taipei (Article XII Members)  
 
The Article XII Members joined the WTO in the belief that we would benefit from participating in 
the multilateral trading system, therefore we made exceptionally deep and extensiv e commitments 
in the course of our accession processes; much more extensive, in fact, than those made by 
Members that joined in previous rounds. There is no doubt that our Group would be among the 
worst -affected Members out of the whole WTO family, if we f ail to deliver meaningful and balanced 
outcomes in MC11. So we urge Members to have a sense of urgency and speed up our progress in 
all areas.  
 
33. Plurinational State of Bolivia  
 
Broadly speaking, we have seen that these are complex times for the economy and for global 
trade, and if the Organization is to maintain is global relevance, appropriate responses are needed, 
particularly for the developing world.  
 
Bolivia is one of the Member s that believes that international trade can always "play a major role 
in the promotion of economic development and the alleviation of poverty"  if it is fair and balanced, 
recognizes the asymmetries between countries, promotes policies that support development and, 
as a result, puts the development dimension at its core.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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Regardin g specific topics, Bolivia notes that paragraphs 30, 31 and 32 of the Nairobi Ministerial 
Declaration state that priority must be given to the outstanding Doha Development Agenda issues 
and that development must be at the centre of the WTO's work. We belie ve that these paragraphs 
should serve as the guidelines for the work of the negotiating groups, as should the decisions 
specific to other areas such as agriculture and electronic commerce.  
 
Bolivia supports the elimination of agricultural subsidies in the form of domestic support, as per 
revision 4 of the modalities for agriculture. Revision 4 must also be used as the basis for 
discussions on market access and to reaffirm the developing country flexibilities included therein.  
 
We believe that it is of the u tmost importance to comply with ministerial decisions on the special 
safeguard mechanism for developing countries and on public stockholding for food security.  
 
We also support ambitious and concrete outcomes for the elimination of cotton subsidies, a much  
awaited outcome.  
 
Bolivia is not seeking the liberalization of services, particularly those relating to human rights. 
Work in this area must fully take account of the appropriate flexibilities for developing countries, 
pursuant to paragraph 32 of the Nair obi Ministerial Declaration.  
 
We wish to reiterate that the services outcomes planned for Buenos Aires must be balanced, both 
domestically and externally. They must be acceptable for all Members and not just cover issues of 
interest to one group of Members . 
 
For NAMA, we think that work must be based on revision 3 of the NAMA modalities, with full 
application of the principle of less than full reciprocity and with the developing country flexibilities 
included therein. We do not support plurilateral initiati ves relating to NAMA or to any other matter. 
Plurilateral initiatives should not be addressed through this Organization, which is essentially a 
multilateral organization. Such initiatives undermine multilateralism and are essentially 
unbalanced, since they  do not include the contributions of the majority of developing countries 
which favour the multilateral trading system.  
 
Regarding intellectual property, Bolivia would be very interested in seeking a mandate to revive 
talks on the protection of genetic res ources and traditional knowledge. Bolivia is prepared to work 
constructively on this matter, and any resulting outcome would indeed be pro -development.  
 
For systemic reasons, we also support an ambitious outcome for fisheries subsidies.  
 
We wish to thank t he Chairman of the General Council for the consultations he conducted on 
electronic commerce. We sent the questions that were raised to our capital, and our position is as 
follows:  Bolivia believes that work on electronic commerce should not be carried out  in haste. Most 
developing countries face serious problems with Internet access, infrastructure and resources, 
among other things. Figures show that around two thirds of the world's population do not have 
access to the Internet, and it is primarily develop ing countries that are affected. Furthermore, 
50% of developing countries have no legislation in this area, and this is just one of many figures 
that illustrate the unfavourable situation in which most developing countries find themselves. If 
the WTO's wor k is to be inclusive and meet the needs of developing countries, these problems 
need to be dealt with first.  
 
Bolivia believes that work must continue within the relevant bodies, as set out in the work plan 
adopted by the General Council Decision of 30 Sep tember 1998 and  the Ministerial Decision of 
19 December 2015.  
 
Finally, we believe that any outcome of the eleventh Ministerial Conference must be balanced and 
fair and clearly put the development dimension at its centre, taking into account the flexibilit ies 
needed for developing countries and with outcomes in areas of interest to the developing 
countries, which make up the majority of Members.  
 
34. Tunisia  
 
I would like to commend you, on your efforts to create the necessary conditions for moving 
forward the Members' agenda in preparation for the next Ministerial Conference.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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As you mentioned in your briefing, my country recently hosted a very successful international 
conference in support of the Tunisian economy and investment promotion. The event, which took  
place on 29 and 30 November 2016, was attended by various Heads of Government and economic 
actors.  
 
The conference focused on what is an extremely timely subject, including for our future work here 
at the WTO. What could be more relevant than the need to promote investment in all our 
countries, particularly the developing ones, with a view to reviving growth, creating employment 
and improving living standards?  
 
As a development factor, foreign direct investment (FDI) is highly sought after by all countries , 
whether developed or developing.  
 
However, a country's ability to attract international investment and take full advantage of the 
presence of FDI in its territory depends on its capacity to offer the necessary determinants, most 
notably socio political s tability, competitive production costs, domestic and export markets, basic 
infrastructure and ICT infrastructure, skilled human resources, a regulatory framework, and 
incentives.  
 
All of which leads to me ask what I believe is a fairly important question: how are we at the WTO 
to ensure that developing countries benefit from trade and are able to use trade as leverage for 
sustainable development?  
 
With this priority in mind, Tunisia has always evaluated the results of multilateral trade 
negotiations in term s of the real opportunities they provide for developing countries to benefit 
from the possibilities and gains generated by the multilateral trading system.  
 
In this light, we would like to join others in calling for renewed impetus in the trade negotiation s. 
 
Meaningful results could be achieved at the next Ministerial Conference in several areas where 
conditions might be favourable, such as domestic support in agriculture and fisheries subsidies.  
 
We call upon Members to be realistic and constructive as th ey move in that direction.  
 
This must, however, be done without prejudice to the multilateral nature of the WTO and the 
development objective.  
 
Like many of my colleagues who have spoken before me, we too are concerned that some of the 
most critical issues  for many developing countries will be marginalized as the negotiations 
proceed.  
 
The issue of special and differential treatment, for instance, should be resolved at the same time 
as other so called "core" issues.  
 
In my opinion, we are giving these issue s low priority status. We are giving less attention to issues 
that are of great concern to many developing countries, such as commodities and the special 
situation of net food importing developing countries like my own.  
 
With regard to the revival of the a griculture negotiations, and domestic support, we believe that 
net food importing developing countries should be exempted from all commitments to reducing 
their AMS and de minimis  support.  
 
We would also like to see more attention paid to the issue of net food importing countries, so that 
it is properly addressed with a view to the formulation of specific modalities in this area.  
 
In this light, I draw Members' attention to paragraph 25 of the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration, in 
which Members reaffirm their  commitment to fully implement the Decision on Measures 
Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least Developed and Net 
Food Importing Developing Countries, including differential treatment in line with the Marrakesh 
Decision in  the context of the agriculture negotiations, in recognition of the challenges that these 
Members continue to face.  
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  As regards non-agricultural  market access (NAMA), we believe that it is essential to maintain 
adequate flexibilities for the developing cou ntries. To this end, less than full reciprocity and the 
thorny issue of tariff preference erosion should be dealt with properly during our future work and 
consultations.  
 
My delegation believes it is vital that nothing should affect the policy space that a  number of 
developing countries have when formulating and implementing their economic and social 
development policies, particularly in the case of infant industries.  
 
On the matter of preference erosion, an issue relevant to both agriculture and NAMA, we b elieve 
that a satisfactory and fair trade solution should be found to offset, at least in part, the loss of long 
standing preferences for all products of interest to the developing countries.  
 
Regarding services, we are in favour of progressive liberalizat ion in accordance with the relevant 
provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade in Services, as well as the granting of appropriate 
flexibilities to developing countries, taking into account the sectors of export interest to those 
countries.  
 
Finally, on the subject of issues relating to WTO rules, I would like to stress that we support the 
acceleration of negotiations aimed at prohibiting certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute 
to overcapacity and overfishing. At the same time, it is crucial to g rant appropriate special and 
differential treatment that takes account of the major importance of the fisheries sector for the 
developing countries in terms of job creation and food security.  
 
In light of the ever increasing challenges faced by multilatera lism, we reiterate the critical 
importance of the multilateral trading system, with the WTO as its linchpin.  
 
For trade to be an engine for growth, the multilateral system must remain inclusive and based on 
rules that are constantly being consolidated and improved.  
 
As world economic growth begins to show signs of recovery, the certainty that the WTO can offer 
is vital to ensuring that trade realizes its full potential.  
 
This is even more true as we begin to prepare for the next Ministerial Conference, whic h is to be 
held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2017.  
 
35. Brazil  
 
At the outset, let me thank all those who expressed sympathy to Brazil for the tragic loss of life in 
the flight accident last week, near Medellín. A special thank you goes to the people and the  
Government of Colombia, for their tireless rescue efforts and all the solidarity displayed towards 
our suffering. We will not forget.  
 
Allow me  first to briefly refer to the process for the appointment of the Director -General, which 
was the object of a le tter circulated by the Chair of the General Council on the 3rd of November, in 
which ambassador Neple informed us that the incumbent DG stands ready to serve a second term.  
 
Considering that today we have our first general meeting since document JOB/GC/10 9 was 
circulated, my delegation would like to express Brazil's appreciation for the DG's confirmation of 
his readiness to serve this Organization for a second term. I take this opportunity to reaffirm 
Brazil's strong support, at the very highest level, to the DG's continued leadership in this 
Organization. His achievements so far and his many contributions to the WTO's agenda speak for 
themselves and are his best platform.  
 
Under difficult and challenging circumstances for trade negotiations, the case f or a successful 
MC11 has become even stronger. A positive outcome in Buenos Aires is crucial. We all share a 
responsibility to reaffirm the relevance of the WTO.  
 
Since the General Council in May, the DG called on us to move from reflection to action. While n ot 
ignoring the complexities of this task, Brazil believes that the membership is starting to respond to 
the DG's call.  
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  We sense that there is growing support for tangible results in Buenos Aires. Brazil will continue to 
support the DDA and its mandates a s a reference for our work. At the same time, in light of 
present circumstances, we are willing and open to discuss all topics on the table, including the so -
called new issues, on their own merits. Later, possibly by mid -2017, we could make an overall 
evaluation on a possible package of balanced, tangible results.  
 
Agricultural domestic support, including cotton, remains the core issue for Brazil. We are 
encouraged that there seems to be a very broad support to achieve progress in this area. In the 
last CoA -SS, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay submitted additional 
comments on possible approaches for addressing this urgent challenge. We would like to thank 
Members for their positive engagement and reactions to our paper. Also, we  welcome the elements 
submitted by the ACP group paper. Brazil will continue to explore possible options with all 
countries and regions, with a pragmatic and flexible spirit.  
 
Brazil has also highlighted its interest in SPS matters. We are working on a dis cussion paper on 
this topic. Moreover, in the understanding that some regulatory issues are cross -cutting, we are 
also participating in discussions aimed at an overall improvement of regulatory practices.  
 
As regards fisheries subsidies, Brazil is conside ring with interest the proposals on the table, which 
seem to offer positive elements. Multilateral negotiations remain the best option. However, given 
that this is a matter of environmental urgency, we will also participate in less than multilateral 
exerci ses, as a stepping stone towards a multilateral outcome.  
 
Domestic regulation and trade facilitation in services are also possible candid ates for deliverables 
at the MC 11. Brazil welcomes the revised proposal by India to negotiate an agreement on Trade 
Facilitation for Trade in Services. This proposal is an important contribution t owards meaningful 
results at MC 11.  
 
On e-commerce, Brazil welcomes the various contributions presented by Members, including the 
latest one by China and Pakistan, which help shap e and focus our discussions. Possible outcomes 
for Buenos Aires will require meaningful results for developing countries. As such, addressing the 
digital divide should be part of this agenda. At this point, it is important to engage in a substantive 
dialog ue in Geneva, without prejudging results. More technical clarity on this topic will help 
Members to make informed decisions. Our national perspective has been outlined in the paper 
presented by Brazil last July. Priority issues for us include consumer prot ection, copyrights in the 
digital environment, privacy and personal data, network neutrality and e -certification/digital 
signature.  
 
Last but not least, Brazil shares the aspiration to increase the participation of SMEs in international 
trade. We look forw ard to concrete proposals on how to address this topic under the framework 
and mandates of this Organization.  
 
As always, you can count on Brazil to help move forward t his preparatory work towards MC 11. 
 
36. Zimbabwe  
 
We associate ourselves with the statements  made by the Africa, ACP and C4 Groups and the G33. 
My Delegation fully acknowledges the pre -eminence of the Multilateral Trading System and 
underscores that the WTO should remain the Global trade rule setting organisation that is 
complim ented by Regional Trade and Plur ilateral Arrangements.  
 
We are of the of the firm view that members should implement the Ministers Decisions adopted at 
the Tenth Ministerial Conference (MC10), previous Ministerial mandates and most importantly, the 
DDA mandate.  
 
In spite of  deeper engagement on technical issues on the domestic support pillar of agriculture, we 
note that there are still  diverging views and we therefore need to intensify our work and have a 
strong sense of pragmatism at the same time keeping in line with the g iven mandates. The 
remaining DDA issues should be prioritised in line with paragraph 31 and 34 of the Nairobi 
Ministerial Declaration.  
 
We wish to reiterate our priorities regarding our work as follows:  
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  1. In line with paragraph 32 of the Nairobi Ministerial  Declaration, Development should 
remain central to all elements of the negotiations.  
 
2. We would like to have an outcome on Substantial reduction of all forms of Trade Distorting 
Domestic Supports including cotton, in line with the revised version 4 modaliti es text of 
2008 which levels the playing field and provides for a balanced outcome. Special and 
Differential Treatment and developing countries’ flexibilities should be integral to the MC11 
outcome on domestic support.  
 
3. Over 70% of the Zimbabwean populatio n is in the rural areas and relies on agriculture. 
Agriculture contributes about 20 % to GDP and provides an incom e for 60 to 70 % of the 
population (FAO statistics). In this regard, we should have an effective and easy to use 
trade remedy in the form of a S pecial Safeguard Mechanism, as mandated by our Ministers 
at the Hong Kong and Nairobi Ministerial Conferences. This is necessary to protect our 
farmers against import surges and price declines and thus improve food security, 
livelihoods security and rural development.  
 
4. In line with the Bali Ministerial Decision of 2013, the subsequent General Council Decision 
of November 2014 and the Nairobi Ministerial Conference Decision, a permanent solution 
on the Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes is a prio rity element of the 
negotiations which should have a concrete outcome by its deadline of the 11th Ministerial 
Conference. The outcome should be viewed in light of the food security and livelihoods 
security objectives.  
 
5. We call upon members to engage into a  solution finding mode in order to have meaningful 
outcomes for both SSM and PSH.  
 
6. Regarding SDT proposals, we are keen to have an outcome on Development for developing 
countries and LDCs (SDT), in line with paragraph 44 of the Doha Declaration. The outcom e 
should promote our country’s industriali zation efforts as well as compliment Africa‘s 
Structural Transforma tion Agenda. To this end, we call upon members to engage 
constructively.  
 
7. Our Delegation supports the work in the other pillars of the negotiations  where we have 
defensive interests, namely Services, Market Access for Agriculture and NAMA. Any 
outcomes on this should have SDT, Less Than Full Reciprocity principles and other 
flexibilities for developing countries, in line with the Doha mandate and GAT S provisions. 
The outcome on NAMA should promote our country’s industrialisation efforts as well as 
compliment the AU‘s Structural Transformation agenda.  
 
Regarding e -commerce, my Delegation acknowledges the increasing importance of e -commerce 
and the need  to build the capacity of those developing countries that have limited opportunity to 
integrate into the internet of things. Our views on e -commerce are in line with paragraph 34 of the 
Nairobi Declaration which states that no new issues should be negotiat ed without member’s 
consensus. E -commerce negotiations are a new issue and there is no consensus to negotiate this. 
There is therefore no negotiating mandate on e -commerce; however, some members have already 
tabled proposals on e -commerce rules.  
 
We howeve r wish to emphasise that we have a clear mandate on the work program on e -
commerce and we should continue our work in line with this mandate which provides for 
substantive discussions in the subsidiary bodies.  
 
We are deeply concerned about  the development  towards e -commerce negotiations which in the 
recent past has taken precedence in the WTO over the DDA issues that our Ministers in Nairobi 
mandated us to prioritise. My Delegation deems it important t hat proponents for e -commerce rules 
provide clarity on what they want to achieve.  
 
I would like to reiterate that we are not e -commerce ready due to the digital divide resulting from 
the knowledge and infrastructure gaps, lack of appropriate legislation, electricity and connectivity 
amongst others. I call upo n members to be pragmatic and constructive by taking into account the 
level of development and the concerns of smaller economies such as ours, and thus focus debate 
on the development aspect of e -commerce in order to bridge the digital divide before any ru les are 
set. We cannot at this stage benefit from rules on e -commerce when the playing field is not level.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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37. Nepal  
 
With one year gone on reflection, and no clear proposal on the table, it is now mandatory for 
members to redouble the efforts for convergence  on issues important for all of us. We need 
satisfactory and meaningful outcomes at MC11.  
 
Delegation of Nepal associates itself with the statement delivered by Chad on 1 December  on 
behalf of coordinator of the LDC Group.  
  
LDCs want to overcome the struc tural constraints and marginalization of their economies, and get 
integrated into the multilateral trading system. Concerted efforts are necessary to make trade an 
effective vehicle for sustained economic growth, poverty reduction and sustainable developme nt 
for the LDCs in line with various globally agreed goals and commitments.  
  
Development dimension, particularly those included in the DDA, must remain prime negotiating 
agenda to ensure an inclusive, fair and equitable global trading regime. New issues s hould enter 
based on understanding and consensus of the members. Delegation of Nepal calls for striking a 
balance between the old and new issues by addressing typical concerns of less privileged members 
in an objective manner, while undertaking new issues.  
 
Nairobi made some substantive decisions on some key areas, including the LDC specific issues. In 
this respect, we expect full implementation of all agreements and decisions, including Bali and 
Nairobi Ministerial decisions, and specifically the pledges c ontained in para 24, 31 and 32 of the 
Nairobi declaration, in true spirit. The question before us is can we keep up this momentum 
through Buenos Aires? We reiterate that strengthening of the Special and Differential Treatment 
(S&DT) provisions for effectiv e implementation and results on the ground should be an integral 
part of the agenda and outcome document for MC11. This agenda can be best served keeping the 
interests and concerns of LDCs at the centre, and building things in a bottom -up manner.  
 
We empha size keeping strategic balance between the new and remaining Doha agenda to 
revitalize the rule -based multilateral trading system. The concerns, needs and potentialities of the 
LDCs should be given central place in all negotiations and agreements not only in rhetoric, but also 
in real action.  
 
38. Paraguay  
 
Paraguay welcomes the Director -General's initial report and agree with him and other delegations 
that it is crucial to continue this year's constructive dialogue so as to obtain tangible results in 
Buenos Ai res that uphold and consolidate the success of previous Ministerial Conferences.  
 
We note the increase in the number of meetings and discussions being held on a variety of issues, 
and, in particular, the contributions and concrete proposals that seek to la y the foundations for 
more focused discussions.  
 
Our delegation is participating actively in areas of interest for our economy, as well as in other 
areas that may generate results, keeping in mind the goal of directing reform towards market 
oriented rules.  
 
This year could be described as an exploratory phase in which we made various contributions, 
especially in the pillars of domestic support and market access in agriculture. We have provided 
information on tariff peaks, tariff escalation, the complexities  of bound tariffs and the differences 
between these and applied tariffs. We have also put forward a proposal on agricultural safeguards.  
 
In addition, we supported initiatives in electronic commerce, since this is something that facilitates 
business and is  therefore valuable to Paraguay as a landlocked country.  
 
Other issues that could potentially be on the agenda in Buenos Aires are trade in services, non -
tariff barriers, fishery subsidies, and transparency, which will lend greater predictability to trade.  
 
Making information available in a timely manner could improve the work of our producers and help 
us to explore alternative options with a view to advancing the disciplines of the multilateral 
system.  WT/GC/M/165  
 
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39. Bangladesh  
 
My delegation associates with statement o f Chad made on behalf of LDCs. As we move towards to 
MC11 we need to concentrate our efforts to achieve outcome on remaining DDA issues as Ministers 
agreed during MC10.  In this regard, my delegation appreciates the initiatives taken by you and the 
chairs. We also appreciate the initiative taken by the Government of Norway and the report by 
delegation of Norway on the meeting they had in Oslo.  
 
We from LDCs submitted our post - Nairobi priorities to you for the consideration of the 
membership. We are looking forward to proper reflection and implementation of paragraph 24 of 
Nairobi Ministerial Declaration while considering our submission. In this context, it is noteworthy 
that we are yet to achieve fruitful results on our four key issues namely DFQF market acc ess, rules 
of origin, LDC service waiver and cotton.  These are our issues that are either lacking consensus or 
deprived of full implementation. We hope members will consider those in coming days.  
 
SDG set a goal to increase the share of LDCs in global expo rt to 2% by 2021 from 1% in 2010. 
However, we are worried that the LDCs share in glo bal export has declined to 0.97% in 2015. You 
are aware that LDCs have been going through various structural challenges. So reaching the target 
will be challenging task and  we are confident the WTO can play its role in this regard as reflected 
in Para 8 of Nairobi Declaration.  In this context, we urge members to consider issues related to 
NTMs and Special and Differential treatment along with four issues we have mentioned ab ove. We, 
with our limited resources, have been trying to participate in all discussions of the negotiating 
groups. We do expect our concerns expressed in those meetings will be taken into consideration.  
 
Regarding e -commerce, we understand that e -commerce is reality. However, as you know we 
have many constraints including in the area of infrastructure, capacity and knowledge.  We are 
looking forward to have fruitful discussions on e -commerce so that we can have better 
understanding on technical aspects, scop e and other issues of e -commerce and formulate our 
position on the future deliberation on e -commerce.  
 
40. Montenegro  
 
We associate ourselves with the statement of the EU.  
 
Monteneg ro would like to thank Director -General and Chairs of negotiating groups for th eir 
comprehensive reports o n the state of play in the current negotiation s and the way ahead to the 
MC11 . We would particularly like to express our appreciation and support for DG’s efforts in 
working wit h members to implement the MC9 and MC10  outcomes. Mo ntenegro also commends all 
the delegations for the renewed dynamism and engagement at the WTO throughout 2016.  
 
Our record in recent years shows that we can deliver, and that rules -based international trade ha s 
been advanced significantly. However, accordi ng to the Director -General yearly report the 
international trading environment, rise in protectionism and the global reality we face are far from 
being favo urable for ambitious agenda in WTO. At this point Montenegro shares the view of those 
delegations th at future outcomes at the WTO are more likely to be achieved t hrough the 
incremental progress rather than major leaps and that the membership needs to remain pragmatic 
and op en-minded to make our next MC11  successful. This approach we believe wi ll spare us  of the 
last minute " recalibration " of the possible outcomes and facilitate timely decisio n making on the 
package for MC11 .  
 
Regarding some new emerging issues, that have been already highlighted by many of my 
colleagues, Montenegro had participated in th e consultation on the Work Program on e -commerce, 
and we recently joined the non -paper submi ssion led by European Union on " Trade policy, WTO 
and digital economy " with the focus on e -commerce. We also follow with interest the recent 
proposal submitted by t he friends of e -commerce and initiatives of the MIKTA countries to provide 
for direct discussion of private and public sec tor stakeholders in this area. As a small country, 
Montenegro recognizes the vital role and potential of the e -commerce. By further re ducing the 
trade cost associated with physical distance, e -commerce allows business to access the global 
marketplace. However, like many other members, we need to better understand the legal aspec ts 
and possible effects on the "rule book"  of the WTO and th e implications of the new market access 
(in inclusive and non -discriminatory manner ) in the area of e -commerce. Having in mind the 
importance of education and better understanding of possibilities and challenges of e -commerce, WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  my Delegation together with t he Secretariat, has recently facilitated the first national seminar on 
e-commerce in Montenegro. We want to thank the ITTC for its continuous support in capacity 
building and we are looking forward to further technical assistance provided by the WTO and it s 
partner institutions in this area.  
 
As we discuss the pos sible deliverables for the MC11 , I would like to draw attention of the 
membership to the process that has been one of the biggest successes of the WTO and its 
centrality as the multilateral tradin g institution – namely, enlargement of the WTO. Mo ntenegro 
recalls that both MC9 and MC10  have been marked by accessions of new members. Acceding to 
the WTO has proved to be powerful tool in transforming national economies and elevating 
domestic legislatio ns to international standards for all of the acceding countries. WTO and its rules 
are the most important guaranties to ensure everyone’s benefits from trade. In addition, the 
results of recent analytical contributions show that the WTO membership leads to  increased trade.  
 
This is the time for the members to redouble the efforts to provide for intensive negotiations with 
countries currently in advanced phase of the accession process (Comoros, Bosnia and 
Herzegovina, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Sudan and Belorussi a). We need to see progress in bilateral 
negotiations beginning next year and to move the accession of these countries forward by 
maintaining bilateral contacts and the engagement of their capitals in a proactive manner. 
Montenegro believes that one of the strong deliverables for MC11  must remain our commitment to 
having new members in the family of the WTO. In this context, Montenegro would like to express 
appreciation to the Secretariat for all the support and technical assistance given particularly to th e 
LDS acceding governments.  
 
Finally, Montenegro reiterates its readiness to continue constructive participation in the work of the 
WTO and full cooperation with the memb ers in preparation for the MC11 . 
 
41. Tanzania  
 
We associate with the statement of ACP. My  delegation would like to thank you for your brief 
report. In the report, you have charted out the state of play which reflects the situation where we 
are and that gives us a clear direction of where we should be headed for successful MC11.  
  
We understan d the challenges of charting out the outcomes of MC11 because various pillars are at 
different levels of consultations. However, there are some indications of possible areas of 
convergence.  Some areas such as e -commerce we understand are still at brainstor ming level and 
various proposals are being tabled for discussions in line with the mandate. You may wish to 
encourage countries to continue these efforts.  
 
At this point and on the account of the ongoing efforts, we call on all members to be constructive 
in generating ideas and contributions that will ensure a productive outcome for MC11.  
 
Tanzania stands supportive of your efforts and will remain engaged in the discussions aimed at 
attaining meaningful outcomes that support LDCs to integrate into the multi lateral trading system.  
 
42. Nigeria  
 
At the outset, we associates ourselves with the Statements delivered by Rwanda, on behalf of the 
ACP Group, an d Indonesia, on behalf of the G33. Our Delegation would like to thank the DG, for 
the comprehensive report and t he progress highlighted, arising from the outreach and series of 
consultations, in different configurations. We are also grateful to the Chairs of the negotiating 
groups for the hard work and the reports, which are insightful, and helpful in our individual  and 
collective assessment, particularl y, in our respective capitals. As the discussions evolves, and in 
the light of the ongoing consultations in our capital, I wish to briefly highlight the following:    
 
First, we note the intensification of work as rep orted by the DG and the Chairs of the 
Negotiating Groups, and would like to underscore the importance of securing a balanced and 
meaningful outcome in all the areas under the DDA negotiations.  
 
Second , outcomes in agriculture, as the centre piece of the Do ha Round, across the three 
pillars are essential, especially to correct the existing imbalances, including tr ade distorting 
domestic support . We are also mindful of the objectives of the agriculture negotiations, WT/GC/M/165  
 
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  which should be reflected in any outcomes.  Therefore, 2008 Rev.4 Draft modalities should 
be the basis of our engagement.  
 
Third, development, cotton and LDCs issues must remain central in our work. Special and 
Differential treatment must be integral part of the various pillars under negotiations a nd 
should not be seen as concession or measures against overall balance.  
 
Fourth , the process of liberalization in services and future discipline on domestic regulations, 
should recognize and accord due respect for national aspiration, level of developmen t and 
the size of economies of individual members.   
 
Fifth, the Rules negotiation on fisheries subsidies constitutes a central element of the 
development component of the Doha Round, given the critical importance of the sector to 
poverty reduction, liveli hood and food concerns of developing countries.  
 
Sixth, as regards MC11, we expect full commitment to delivering on Bali and Nairobi 
mandates.  We also expect and urge Members to show required flexibilities to achieve 
consensus in the areas of Development,  LDCs, Agriculture, including cotton, Services, 
including Domestic Regulations, fisheries subsidies, including entry into force of the TFA with 
the expectation of meeting the two thirds ratification threshold as soon as possible.  A 
permanent solution on Pu blic Stockholding for food security purposes and Special safeguard 
Mechanism (SSM) must also be addressed as a matter of priority as mandated, without 
forgetting Special Products as soon as discussions resumes in the market access pillar.  
 
Seventh , in ord er to achieve these incremental outcomes, we should adopt an approach that 
is reasonable and pragmatic, with full engagement across the board. Our approach should 
be consistent with the principle of overcoming the most critical and fundamental stumbling 
blocks that have challenged us. It is also important that we preserve and build on the 
progress achieved so far in the DDA negotiations and negotiated flexibilities, particularly in 
Agriculture (Rev.4,  2008 modalities texts) and NAMA (Rev.3, 2008 modalities texts).  
 
Eighth, the process must be transparent, inclusive and bottom -up. Development must be 
central, including necessary flexibilities and sensitivities to the concerns of the LDCs, SVEs 
and Developing Countries, including Nigeria, given our current ex ceptional situation, even as 
we remain an open economy. Such outcomes should reflect our national economic and 
policy priorities and circumstance. We also request for an intensive and sustained capacity 
building for developing countries, and in particular,  LDCs, in the conduct and management 
of trade policies and the complex and difficult negotiations. Specifically on Trade Facilitation, 
the importance of targeted technical assista nce and capacity building progra mme to support 
the implementation cannot be o ver-emphasized for confidence building.  
 
Let me conclude by highlighting our priority areas in the objective to achieve diversification, 
inclusiveness and growth: these are creating an enabling environment for business; agriculture; 
infrastructure develop ment; industrialization; attraction of investment; building a platform for the 
digital economy; support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and expanded market 
access for Nigerian manuf actures and service providers. " A smart Nigeria Digital Eco nomy " is on 
drawing board. Therefore, Nigeria supports a WTO agenda for digital economy or e -commerce, 
which will create a platform to leverage SMEs to trade, thereby making the trading system more 
inclusive and pro -development. It is therefore, not a surp rise and coinc idence that we are part of 
the "Friends of E -commerce for Development " initiative. Nigeria shall participate actively in the 
forthcoming seminar, including sharing of our country experience.   
 
The D irector -General  in his inaugural s peech in September, 2013, said " we must work together to 
fix and strengthen the system, and to ensure that it is responsive to the needs of the entire 
membership and of an evolving global economy ". We think this statement is relevant given the 
circumstances we find  ourselves today. Nigeria remains willing and committed to working closely 
with all Members towards advancing the negotiating agenda, particularly for the successful and 
meaningful MC11. We believe the WTO under the dynamic and purposeful leadership of the  
Director -General, is firmly on track of delivery, although there is much work ahead. Nigeria wishes 
to reconfirm the strong and unambiguous support of the Federal Republic of Nigeria  for 
Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo' s candidacy for a second term as Director -General of the World 
Trade Organization.  
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