. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(09)/ST/88 
2 December 2009 
 (09-6178) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Seventh Session Geneva, 30 November - 2 December 2009 Original:   English 
 
  
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA 
 
Statement by HE Ambassador Mr Colin Murdoch
 
Ministry of Finance and Economy  
   Antigua and Barbuda joins so many other Members in extending appreciation to the 
Government and citizens of Switzerland for so gr aciously hosting the Seventh Ministerial Conference 
of the WTO, which has been characterized by warm Swiss hospitality and commendable logistical 
arrangements.   The road from Doha has been a difficult, and indeed a lengthy one, and we are still a long 
way off our intended destination.  
 The WTO promised us a multilateral trading syst em that is fair and balanced and where the 
benefits are more widely distributed .  This is the promise of Doha. 
  If we are to assess, as we must, our success in est ablishing a multilateral trading system that is 
fair and balanced, then there is cause for concern.   Antigua and Barbuda believes that there are clear 
and evident fault lines in the current interna tional trade regime to which we subscribe. 
  The Doha Round was built on the core principle of  development.  Yet this core principle is 
honoured more in the breach than in the observance.  
We now face a situation where even the largest players amongst us are questioning the gains 
to be received from this Round. 
  In the meanwhile, bilateral and regional agre ements proliferate while the grand vision of 
Doha is left to wither on the vine.  
 Surely, for the small and vulnerab le amongst us, these are worrying signs. 
  The economic viability of Antigua and Barbuda resides solely in its ability to produce services and goods competitively.  However, small and vulnerable economies face many constraints 
that impede their being able to reposition th eir economies to take advantage of new growth 
opportunities. 
  These challenges include small domestic mark ets, dependence on foreign resource flows of 
investment and remittances a nd susceptibility to external s hocks, which now abound during the 
current international recession.  WT/MIN(09)/ST/88 
Page 2  
 
   The Agreement establishing the WTO recognized that the multilateral trading system be 
conducive to raising living standards, ensuring full  employment and to steadily increase the volume of 
real income.   The stark reality is that the progressive marg inalization and widening economic gaps of small 
economies tell a different tale. 
  Small economies like that of Antigua and Barbuda, and the wider Caribbean, require 
flexibility to implement the provisions and comm itments undertaken under the WTO Agreements. 
 
 These flexibilities include effective and meaningf ul special and differential treatment;  longer 
transitional periods;  market access for products a nd services of particular export interest to our 
economies;  and significant technical and financial assistance to implement these commitments.   In recent years, Antigua and Barbuda has had to endure a long and arduous battle on the cross 
border supply of gambling and betting services with th e United States.  This process exposed the vast 
disparity in financial and technical capabilities availa ble to the largest economy in the world and one 
of the smallest.   Although the Panel and Appellate Bodies clearly ruled in our favour, the remedy available to 
the DSB highlighted the inadequaci es of the current system that called on one of the smallest and 
most open economies in the world to impose trade sanctions on the world's largest economy. 
  Despite long bilateral negotiations that conti nue with the United States, this case remains 
unresolved.  
 More innovative solutions that fit the circ umstances of the case, as well as the countries 
involved, need to be established.  There are alre ady several worthy proposals for reform of the 
WTO system, including proposals for m onetization of available sanctions. 
  This emerging agenda is critical to the preservation of the right of meaningful access to justice for small and vulnerable states.  Or more pr ecisely, the right of access to meaningful justice. 
 
 Only when this reform is implemented by th e WTO can this august body faithfully claim to 
meet the needs of all its Members.   Over the last two days we have engaged on the overarching theme of this conference as well 
as by that of the two working sessions;  we remain gu ided by the fact that the current global economic 
climate demands that the WTO delivers on its  principles for all of its 153 Members. 
  We have heard the Declarations for a 2010 c onclusion to the DDA, but we continue to assert 
that for the Doha Round to be successful, developmen t concerns must be returned to the core of the 
negotiations. 
 
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