. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/MIN(11)/ST/6 
15 December 2011 
 (11-6545) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Eighth Session Geneva, 15 - 17 December 2011 Original:   English 
 
  
EUROPEAN UNION 
 
Statement by Mr Karel De Gucht 
European Commissioner for Trade 
   The situation at this Organization is serious.  Progress with the core issues on our agenda is disappointingly limited.  We can welcome new member s to our organization and take certain specific 
measures to the benefit of Least Developed Countries,  but that is basically all that we as Members 
have been able to achieve at this Ministerial Conference.   Protectionism continues to be a significant threat for the world economy.  The WTO as an organization has contributed to keeping markets br oadly open through its valuable transparency and 
monitoring functions.  But we are now witnessing a se cond wave of protectionism, which entails more 
sophisticated but not less damaging measures.  WTO Members therefore need to do more.  We all 
must keep our markets open and resist trade-restri ctive measures, whether they are WTO compatible 
or not, both through domestic policy choices and the tasks and instruments we give to the WTO to exercise its legitimate oversight role.  The EU has made proposals for reinforcing the monitoring 
function of the Trade Policy Review Body, and for ensuring that Members respect their transparency 
and notification obligations.  Transparency is not an area where Special and Differential Treatment for 
developing countries can be justified.  It is also  imperative to roll back trade-restrictive measures 
taken since the crisis broke out.   Clearly the biggest challenge for us is  to unblock the Doha Development Agenda 
negotiations.  On substance even the most fundament al stalemates could be solved, as exemplified by 
the NAMA proposal put forward this spring by the EU .  But we can only observe that at present there 
is no political preparedness to compromise on a full DDA package.   After ten years of negotiations, there is a real risk of the DDA quietly withering away.  We need to be mindful of the value of what is at stake.  Concluding the DDA would deliver major gains 
on both market access and rules, including for devel oping countries.  It would reduce distortions in 
farm trade, including as regards trade-distorting su bsidies.  It would address specific concerns of 
LDCs, and boost South-South trade, where barriers remain high. 
 
 The fact that we have consen sus about reaffirming the Doha mandate and about advancing the 
negotiations is welcome.  A pragmatic approach ai ming at agreements for the sake of their own merit 
is a good way forward.  With the waiver in servi ces trade for the benefit of the Least Developed 
Countries we have made a first step.  But we must  be clear about which specific topics negotiators 
should be working on as of January.   The EU has pointed to areas of interest to both developed and de veloping Members where 
concrete results could be reached despite the impasse  in market access.  We invite others to come 
forward as well so we can provide together cl ear and operational guidance for advancing the WT/MIN(11)/ST/6 
Page 2  
 
  WTO negotiating agenda next year.  Through pragmati sm and determination we must achieve further 
"early harvests" on the economically more signifi cant LDC-specific issues of duty-free quota-free 
access and cotton.  But Members also need to stop blocking progress in evident win-win, low-conflict areas of benefit to both developed and developing Members, and advance them to agreements.  Trade 
facilitation and non-tariff barriers are definitely t opics we should be looking at, but we are open to 
consider also other topics without  taboos.  And let us also pragmatically examine market access 
initiatives on sectoral basis, following the mode l of the Information Technology Agreement. 
  As the Director-General has highlighted, at so me point Members must come to terms with the 
core question of a fair distribution of rights and obligations in the system.  For the EU, this is clearly 
one that delivers more reciprocity of commitmen ts between developed and emerging countries - but 
not full harmonization.   Beyond the DDA, the EU's commitment to trade and development objectives of the WTO is visible also in our Aid for Trade levels, which we have maintained and even increased despite 
extraordinarily difficult economic circumstances.  In 2009 the EU spent a total of 10.5 billion euros 
on Aid for Trade.  This includes 3 billi on euros for Trade-Related Assistance. 
  Going forward, there is a real risk that w ithout genuine progress in its core business the WTO 
will be side-lined in the future.  However, what the WTO needs is not to be saved from the DDA, but 
to sort out the issues on its current agenda so that  it can move on.  To preserve the centrality of the 
multilateral system, we must ensure that the WTO c ontinues to open markets, to produce trade rules 
and to address emerging challenges to world trade.  The membership must recognise that the current 
WTO rulebook is insufficiently equipped to deal with issues like energy, food security, climate 
change, competition and investment.  For the EU th e sequencing is clear:  Doha must be concluded 
first, and only then can new rules be put on the bo ok on other issues.  But we are convinced that the 
health of the system requires the WTO to start already now a thorough examination of these issues. 
 
We also need to ensure that the WTO is able to  oversee regional trade agreements so that they 
are constructed in a way that supports rather than  undermines the multilateral system.  Members really 
should have been in a position to agree at this  Ministerial Conference on a work programme to 
properly analyse this core systemic challenge, w ith a clear understanding that no one is questioning 
the legitimacy of the Enabling Clause or trying to  constrain the rights of developing countries. 
  The future of the organization lies in our hands.  Let us therefore come up with the political leadership and the compromises it requires.  
__________