. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/MIN(11)/ST/115 
15 December 2011 
 (11-6866) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Eighth Session Geneva, 15 - 17 December 2011 Original:   English 
 
  
BRAZIL 
 
Statement by Mr. Antonio Patriota 
Minister of External Relations 
 
 
Let me start by congratulating you, Minister Aganga, Minister for Trade and Investment of 
Nigeria, for assuming the chair of this Ministerial Conference.  And let me start also by welcoming 
four new members to WTO. Brazil looks forward to working very closely with Montenegro, the 
Russian Federation, Samoa and Vanuatu in the years to come.  
We also hope that the new guidelines for the acce ssion of least developed countries, that we 
are approving today, will play a useful role in expanding the membership of WTO and render it truly 
universal. 
 
This ministerial conference is taking place against the backdrop of an extremely difficult 
outlook for the world economy.  
The degree of uncertainty is arguably higher t oday than it was in 2009, when trade ministers 
last met in Geneva.  Sovereign de bt crises and vulnerabilities in financ ial institutions in key developed 
countries have led to slow economic growth and weak  employment figures.  The crisis has its origin 
in the North but it is hitting hard the entir e world economy and the South is not immune.  
 
World trade flows are going currently at a much more moderate rate than it was forecast at the 
beginning of the year.  Exchange rate misalignm ents are an additional element that interferes 
negatively, with serious trade distorting consequences.  
 
It is worth underlining that countries in the South are contributing to mitigating the effects of 
the financial crisis on trade.  And Braz ilian imports grew by 80% since 2009 alone. 
 
This ministerial conference should be center ed on the strengthening of this organization. 
 
And for that to happen, our task is twofold: fi rst, we must continue supporting and reinforcing 
the multilateral trading system, as embodied in the WTO rules.  Second, as many have pointed out today, we must find ways for moving the Doha Development Agenda forward. 
 
With respect to the DDA process, it is time to  recognize that politically difficult decisions 
have become even more difficult, in lig ht of a challenging economic environment. 
 
But despite these circumstances, no effort has been spared by our  negotiators to engage and 
reach agreements.  
 WT/MIN(11)/ST/115 
Page 2  
 
  We must continue to strive to find comm on ground, starting with a frank and detailed 
examination, to be undertaken as early as possible ne xt year, of the reasons for the current state of 
play.  
Brazil remains, as ever, fully committed to fina lizing the Doha round.  There is, however, no 
way around the need for mainstreaming developmen t and for making real progress on market-oriented 
agricultural trade reform at the WTO.  And in th is context, a focused dialogue on a LDC package 
should be seriously considered. For Br azil, as well as for the G20, agri culture is still the engine of the 
DDA.  Brazil also believes that no results or a pproaches should conflict with the essentially 
multilateral nature of our organization. 
 
But beyond the DDA, there is always room for improving the functioning of the WTO.  
 
The current impasse in the Doha Round in no way should overshadow the importance of 
regular work.  The proper operation of existing multilate ral disciplines is in fact the best antidote to 
counter protectionism and to address any viol ations of the multilateral trading system. 
 
We also hold a view that the WTO must be open for the discussion of new trade-related 
matters brought to it by Member States, as long as  there is consensus for that at the appropriate 
standing WTO body.   
This is precisely what happened earlier this y ear, when the Working Group on Trade, Debt 
and Finance agreed to examine the relationship betw een exchange rates and international trade, based 
on submissions tabled by Brazil.  
We look forward to the seminar that is planned to be held here at the WTO in March 2012, 
and it is our expectation that it will throw much-n eeded light on an issue of growing importance on 
the international economic agenda.  
Finally, I would like to call attention of fellow ministers and heads of delegation to the 
Ministerial declarations issued yesterday by the BRICS countries, in anticipation of full Russian 
Federation membership, and by the G20 Ministers.  An additional declaration was issued earlier this 
morning by the BICS (Brazil, India, China and So uth Africa) and the G90 – the so-called friends of 
development – more than a hundred members.  Th ese texts cover the key issues under discussion at 
this Ministerial conference.  It is our expectati on that they will be reflect ed in the Chair Summary. 
  
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