WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/MIN(11)/ST/43 
16 December 2011  
 
(11-6601) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Eighth Session 
Geneva, 15 - 17 December 2011 Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
PERU 
 
Statement by H.E. Mr José Luis Silva Martinot 
Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism 
 
  First, I should like to thank the people a nd Government of Switzerland for their warm 
hospitality.  I also wish to express my Government's  gratitude for the invaluable efforts undertaken by 
the Director-General, Pascal Lamy, as well as the Chairs of both the regular and the negotiating 
bodies and Committees of the World Trade Organiza tion, for the important work accomplished over 
the past few years in defence of a more open, fair er and more predictable multilateral trading system, 
with a view to promoting the development of its Members. 
 
 This Ministerial Conference is of great im portance in the current international economic 
context, as it will help to heighten the importa nce of preserving the WTO system's institutional 
structures for all of its Members;  to set a path and a direction for pursuing the negotiating process in 
this Round;  and to reaffirm the validity of the multi lateral trading system, as reflected by approval of 
the accession of four new Members, namely Russia, Samoa, Montenegro and Vanuatu, to whose delegations we extend our warmest welcome. 
 
 Last July saw the establishment of a new government in Peru, which is committed to 
sustainable development and the building of a more  democratic and pluralistic country with fewer 
inequalities, and whose development model aimed at economic and trade openness emphasizes social 
inclusion, which we are convinced is a lever for our  economic growth that will lead to social progress 
and opportunities for all. 
 
 As part of this objective, we appreciate what a crucial role the incorporation of trade can play 
in our development strategy, as a fundamental tool for alleviating poverty, cr eating jobs and achieving 
social well-being for all, in particular the neediest and most vulnerable segments of the population. 
 
 My country has opted for the promotion of trade liberalization, both in the framework of the 
WTO multilateral trading system and at the un ilateral and regional le vels, through free trade 
agreements signed with our main trading partners;  this has also enabled us to diversify our export 
markets and to pursue the open trade process, under which we can produce and market products with 
higher value-added and a greater level of processing and technological content. 
 
 This year marked the 60
th anniversary of Peru's accession as a GATT Contracting Party.  My 
country is more than ever firmly committed to the multilateral trading system and to achieving as 
balanced and ambitious an outcome as possible in the Doha Round, so as to foster greater security in 
the opening of markets, through the creation of  new access opportunities for our exports and the 
establishment of transparent, fair and predictable trading rules. WT/MIN(11)/ST/43 
Page 2  
 
   
 The WTO is extremely important in complex cr isis situations such as the one in which we 
find ourselves today, as a guarantee against protectionism  and to give impetus to international trade.  
Its instruments for administering the rules in force as well as the work of the regular committees, trade 
policy reviews, the transparency mechanism for re gional trade agreements, notifications, the Dispute 
Settlement Understanding and its a pproaches based on scientific and t echnical evidence are especially 
significant in the endeavour to resist all forms of protectionism, above all bearing in mind the 
economic and social impact of specific restric tive measures, which could affect the common good of 
the Membership. 
 
 At this time, it is necessary to turn to in novative mechanisms and cooperation with other 
international institutions in order to resist protec tionism.  We do not believe that protectionism is a 
solution;  rather, it will exacerbate the problem.  We  believe that dialogue, in ternational cooperation, 
including in the Doha Round negotiations, and the legitimacy of an open and predictable trading 
system will help in tackling the current crisis.  Peru  accordingly wishes to call on all other countries to 
show the utmost restraint in applying trade measu res with major protectionist effects - even where 
these might be considered consistent with the WT O provisions - and above all when such measures 
affect exports by developing countries or jeopardize a country's food security. 
 
 Likewise, it is necessary to promote the strengt hening of the WTO so that it can efficiently 
address the new challenges arising from the current situ ation.  We stand ready to take part in the 
discussions and debates aimed at reaching this objective.   We also reaffirm the crucial need to step up 
the technical assistance and capacity building that the WTO provides to the developing countries. 
 
 As regards trade and development, very im portant decisions are being approved at this 
Conference.  Nonetheless, we believe that much  still remains to be done to address the other 
substantive issues confronting the developing count ries.  High commodity and food price volatility, 
caused by speculation and other factors, contraction of the key markets and declining consumption pose major challenges for developing countries su ch as Peru, which have been seeking greater 
integration in global markets.  We therefore call upon Members to continue driving forward the trade 
reforms needed to secure a more predictable and stable trading environment. 
 
 I should like to underscore the importance of Aid for Trade (AfT) as a key instrument for 
developing countries such as Peru, as they strive to  build supply-side capacity and the physical and 
regulatory infrastructure needed to boost their trade an d derive greater benefits from trade agreements;  
this will help us achieve more competitive integrat ion in the global trading system.  We welcome the 
favourable progress recorded in last July's Third Gl obal Review of Aid for Trade, which took stock of 
the effectiveness of such aid and its impact on the de veloping countries' trade capacity.  While AfT is 
very useful, we ask that it be strengthened so as to make progress with reforms that will increase 
productivity and distribute the gains from trade more widely.  Such economic achievements will lead 
to stronger improvements in social indicators.  We al so consider that future work in the area of AfT 
should focus on maintaining funding, achieving deep er coherence and showing the results of our 
activities.  We think it would be useful to strengthen the regional approach of AfT, especially bearing 
in mind that it is at the intra-regional level that the trade flows of developing countries are the most 
intense. 
 
 With regard to the Doha Development Agenda, we  are extremely concerned that in spite of all 
efforts undertaken over the past ten years, it has not yet been possible to achieve any substantive 
outcome.  This is therefore a timely opportunity for the Ministers here in this forum to give 
appropriate political guidance so that headway can  be made towards the objectives set, by reaching 
provisional or definitive agreements, but always bearing in mind the principle of the Single Undertaking and the development mandate as central elements of the negotiations. 
   WT/MIN(11)/ST/43 
  Page 3 
 
 
   Peru cannot conceive of a balanced outcome to  the Doha Round that fails to afford greater 
protection for genetic resources and the traditiona l knowledge associated with such resources under 
the patents regime, in the context of an amendment to the TRIPS Agreement.  Nor can it conceive of a 
successful outcome that does not deliver results in other areas such as the elimination of fisheries 
subsidies that contribute to excess capacity and overfishing, including special and differential 
treatment for small-scale fishing in the developing countries;  the liberalization of tropical and 
alternative products;  the substantiv e reduction in domestic support a nd the elimination of agricultural 
export subsidies;  and deeper mode 4 commitments on market access in services, inter alia . 
 
 We know full well that much still remains to  be done.  We have reached the time for 
decisions but are in the middle of a delicate internat ional situation.  Peru is  a small country open to 
trade and investment, deeply committed to the multila teral system.  What we fail to agree in this 
forum has major implications and entails considerab le costs for the development and welfare of my 
people.  What Peru demands of the Membership is a collective sense of responsibility in order to 
deliver concrete outcomes, but primarily on the pa rt of those economies whose size and levels of 
growth and economic development imply a higher degree of leadersh ip and engagement in global 
governance.  
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