. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/41 
15 December 2005 
 (05-6003) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   Spanish 
 
  
HONDURAS 
 
Statement by HE Mr Mariano Jiménez Talavera
 
Minister of Agriculture and Livestock  
  
 On behalf of the Government of Honduras, wh ich I am honoured to represent, I wish to thank 
the Government and the people of Hong Kong fo r their warm welcome and for the excellent 
organization of this Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference. 
  Some four years ago, we made an impo rtant commitment known as the Doha Development 
Agenda.  We feel we have made relative gains in some areas, but we have also come up against a 
number of difficulties.  
 Although this Hong Kong Conference does not aim to conclude the Doha Agenda, we believe 
that it is an opportunity to create the necessary c onditions for adopting relevant political decisions so 
that the negotiations can be concluded in the near future.   We therefore reaffirm our expectation that  the Work Programme for Small Economies will 
continue its work in all WTO bodies, with the aim of redressing the imbalance caused by the 
application of identical rules to different economic and trade situations.  We trust that early results 
will be achieved in the ongoing work.   For my Government, agriculture is at the h eart of these negotiations and we are concerned 
about the current deadlock in this area, in partic ular the lack of substantive progress on special and 
differential treatment. 
  We hope that during the course of these ne gotiations, balanced progress will be made in 
respect of the three pillars of the Agreement on Ag riculture, as provided for in the Doha Declaration 
and the July 2004 Framework Agreement, with a view  to achieving real commitments on substantial 
reductions in domestic support and the elimination of export subsidies, as well as full liberalization in 
developed countries for tropical products of interest to developing countries. 
  Honduras will join forces with other developing c ountries in a bid to make effective progress 
on special and differential treatment in all areas of th e negotiations, particularly with regard to market 
access.  Adequate special treatment provisions must be  reflected both in the structure and the level of 
ambition of the tariff reduction formula.  Honduras,  as a small economy, stands ready to make 
contributions not exceeding 15 per cent per tariff line.   Honduras, as a member of the G-33, reiterates its  view that an appropriate percentage of 
special products without tariff reductions and the new Special Safeguard Mechanism are vital tools 
which should be included in the package of develo pment measures that it is hoped will be adopted at 
this Ministerial Conference.  WT/MIN(05)/ST/41 
Page 2  
 
  Honduras welcomes with satisfaction the work carried out in the Negotiating Group on Non-
Agricultural Market Access.  We reiterate our read iness to make contributions in this sector, provided 
that they can be made in a way that is compatib le with our specific needs and concerns.  In this 
connection, we hope that the agreement we reach at this Ministerial Conference will specifically 
reflect the proposals put forward by the Small a nd Vulnerable Economies Group, as only with tariff 
reductions commensurate with our capacity will enable us to honour our trade liberalization 
commitment and thus fulfil the Doha mandate.   In services negotiations, Honduras has shown its  commitment to contributing to the gradual 
liberalization of trade in services with a view to ensuring that economic development objectives are 
met, having submitted both an initial and a revised offer in which it undertakes new commitments in 
infrastructure sectors such as telecommunications and financial services.   My country welcomes the draft amendment proposed in the Ministerial Text for the implementation of paragraph 11 of  the General Council Decision of 30 August 2003 on the Doha 
Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.  This proposed amendment to the TRIPS 
Agreement addresses one of our country's top priorities:  human health.   Honduras believes that the simplification a nd harmonization of trade procedures have a 
positive effect on trade facilitation; we therefor e support the current negotiations, which should 
include extensive commitments in the area of techni cal assistance and capacity-building;  special and 
differential treatment should also be re flected in any commitments undertaken. 
  The results of the negotiations on dispute se ttlement, rules and the environment should also 
include specific measures on special and differential tr eatment, so as to ensure that the interests of 
developing countries are taken into account. 
 
 Honduras, as a Member which fully respects the mu ltilateral rules of this Organization, trusts 
that the European Communities will follow suit and fulfil the commitment set forth in the Annex to 
the 2001 Decision on the banana waiver, since th at very Annex contains a negotiated solution 
reflecting the 1997 findings of the Panel and th e Appellate Body.  Accordingly, the European 
Communities is obliged to introduce a tariff that guarantees, at the very least, the maintenance of 
MFN access. 
  We take this opportunity to thank the Adviso ry Centre on WTO Law for the support it has  
given our country and we also extend our thanks to the donor countries.  At the same time, we invite 
other countries to join the Centre. 
 
 I would like to conclude by emphasizing that  the aim of this Round is to improve living 
conditions in all developing countries;   in this connection, we are willing to continue working in a 
positive manner in order to ensure that the guide lines adopted include greater flexibilities in future 
modalities for the small economies group, of which Honduras is a member.  
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