WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/L/611 
7 June 2005 
 (05-2322) 
 Original:   English 
  
 
MEETING OF APEC MINIS TERS RESPONSIBLE FOR TRADE 
 
Jeju, Republic of Korea, 2-3 June 2005  
 
Communication from Korea 
 
  The following communication, dated 6 June 2005, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Korea. 
 
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MEETING OF APEC MINIS TERS RESPONSIBLE FOR TRADE 
JEJU, REPUBLIC OF KOREA, 2-3 JUNE 2005 
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT 
ON DOHA DEVELOPMENT AG ENDA (DDA) NEGOTIATIONS 
 
 
1. We, the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade1, reaffirm APEC Economies' strong support 
for the multilateral trading system and the WT O Doha Development Agenda (DDA).  The DDA 
negotiations offer a unique opportunity to signi ficantly expand trade, promote global economic 
growth and foster development.  We reiterate our commitment to conclude the DDA negotiations in 
2006 in such a way that fulfils the high ambition set out in the Doha Ministerial Declaration. 
2. This goal poses a formidable challenge; time is short, and a huge amount of work remains to 
be done, to which all WTO Members must contribut e.  We are thus gravely concerned that the 
progress of the negotiations since July 2004 has not matched our expectations, putting the 
negotiations seriously behind schedule.  We, theref ore, commit ourselves to working with a sense of 
utmost urgency to move the negotia tions fast forward and invite all WTO Members to join us in this 
endeavour. 
3. We stress the particular importance of the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference, to be held in 
Hong Kong, China on 13-18 December 2005, pavi ng the way for the conclusion of the DDA 
negotiations.  We commit ourselves to producing an ambitious and balanced outcome at the 
Hong Kong Ministerial, including ambitious modaliti es for agriculture and non-agricultural market 
access (NAMA), an ambitious outcome in services, significant and substantial progress in rules and 
trade facilitation, and integration of the development dimension in to all areas of the negotiations. 
                                                      
1 APEC economies that are not WTO members, Russi a and Viet Nam, are negotiating to become WTO 
members and their support to this stand-alone Statement on the WTO DDA negotiations should be without 
prejudice to the terms and position of their accession negotiations to the WTO. WT/L/611 
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 4. No efforts should be spared to establish a solid basis for a successful outcome of the 
Hong Kong Ministerial.  We commit and direct our officials to make every effort to achieve by 
July 2005 substantive progress that includes:  
• a common understanding on the shape and core elements of the modalities for NAMA
, 
commensurate with  agriculture, that can deliver substantial improvements in market 
access opportunities, including a Swiss formula with coefficients to be negotiated for 
tariff reduction applied on a line-by-line basis, the principle of binding all tariff lines and making them subject to the tariff reduction formula while recognizing the need to address APEC Members' concerns regarding the tr eatment of low unbound lines and instructing 
our officials to find a pragmatic solution, a critical mass approach to developing sectoral initiatives on a voluntary basis, a pragmatic approach to addressing non-tariff barriers, 
and special and differential treatment for developing Members including less than full 
reciprocity in reduction commitments; 
• a common understanding on the shape and core elements of the modalities for agriculture
, 
including the tiered formula for tariff reducti on and treatment of sensitive products with 
necessary flexibility that w ill lead to substantial improvements in market access 
opportunities for all products, the tiered formula for achieving substantial and 
harmonizing reductions in trade-distorting dom estic support, the process for eliminating 
all forms of export subsidies by a credible da te to be agreed, and special and differential 
treatment for developing Members including  special products and special safeguard 
mechanism; 
• a critical mass of initial and revised offers in services , for which the APEC economies 
will lead by example, a framework for a co llective assessment thereof with a level of 
ambition that will lead the way to crea ting commercially meaningful new business 
opportunities in sectors and modes of supply of export interest to all Members, particularly developing Members, as well as progress in rule-making aspects of the negotiations;  
• the development of a focused process to defi ne the scope and direction of clarification 
and improvements of rules
 in preparation for text-based negotiations, as well as a solid 
roadmap up to and beyond the Hong Kong Ministerial, with a view to ensuring clearer 
and more predictable trade disciplines; 
• the intensification of the works on trade facilitation  by identifying the possible elements 
of a final outcome, based on proposals and co mments, that will enable all Members to 
further expedite the movement, release and clearance of goods;  and  
• the reflection of the development dimension  in all negotiating areas, recognizing that the 
most effective way to promote development is through the removal of market distorting 
measures and the improvements in real market access by all WTO Members, especially in 
the areas of interests to developing and l east-developed countries, as well as progress in 
the works on making existing special and differential treatment more precise, effective and operational. 
5. We note that high-level engagement, including informal and regional Ministerial Meetings, 
has played an important role in providing the necessary leadership and guidance for the Geneva 
process.  We agree to provide continued politic al direction and support for multilateral trade 
liberalization to further facilitate the negotiations in Geneva.  In this light, we welcome China's 
initiative to host an informal Ministerial M eeting in Dalian, China on 12-13 July 2005.   WT/L/611 
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 6. We support the work undertaken by the APEC Ge neva Caucus to advance the negotiations, in 
particular in the area of trade facilitation, and instru ct it to continue its work with a view to sharing 
APEC's experience with the WTO Members, c ontributing to the success of the Hong Kong 
Ministerial and promoting an ambitious conclusion of the DDA negotiations.  We also welcome the 
forthcoming visit of members of the APEC Bu siness Advisory Council (ABAC) to Geneva on 
13-14 June 2005 in an effort to prov ide business input to the DDA negotiations. 
7. We extend our sincere appreciation fo r the important contribution that 
Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi has made to the multila teral trading system and the DDA negotiations as 
Director-General of the WTO over the past three years.  Bringing the negotiations to a successful 
conclusion will require a continued strong leader ship in the period ahead.  We welcome the 
appointment of Mr. Pascal Lamy as Director-General from 1 September 2005 and offer him our full 
support. 
 
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