. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/128 
17 December 2005 
 (05-6138) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS 
 
Statement by Ms Theresa Nisbett
 
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade  
  
 On behalf of the Government and people of th e Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, I wish to 
express my most sincere gratitude to the author ities of the Special Administrative Region of 
Hong Kong, China for their warm hospitality and graci ous welcome as hosts of this Sixth Ministerial 
Conference of the World Trade Organization.   I further wish to congratulate Tonga and Saudi Arabia on their successful accession to membership of the WTO.  
 St. Kitts and Nevis is one of the smallest ec onomies of the world, and one of the smallest 
Members of the World Trade Organization.  Our sh are of world trade in goods is miniscule, but we 
are nevertheless committed to the multilateral trading system.   As a small and vulnerable economy we welcom e the acknowledgement given to the realities 
and characteristics of such economies by the Doha Development Agenda.  These economies are 
characterized as having a high degree of openness, su sceptibility to external s hocks and vulnerability 
to natural disasters.  They face peculiar challenges and constraints which must be addressed in order 
to improve the ability of these economies to fully integrate into the multilateral trading system.   We therefore urge that the initial work progr amme on small economies continue and that the 
flexibilities due to such economies be reflected in  the outcome of the discussions in Hong Kong and 
the future negotiations of the present Development Round.   We believe that the discussions on reduction of in dustrial tariffs must consider the function of 
tariffs as a revenue tool for a small economy such as  St. Kitts and Nevis.  NAMA discussions have to 
take into account the impact that a one-size-fits-a ll tariff reduction strategy will have on our national 
budget, our social and economic policies and on our fragile industrial sector.  We wish to emphasize 
the multifunction nature of tariffs and wish to ma intain the ability to reserve our policy space to 
achieve development objectives.  
 We have a keen interest in seeing progress being achieved in the area of services.  The 
flexibilities guaranteed within the architecture of the GATS must be respected by all.  We support the 
liberalization of services but for us this must be pursued at a pace that is commensurate with our 
capacity and in keeping with our level of development.   The services industry provides us with the opportunity to further promote socio economic 
development and therefore it is of critical importance for the very survival of our economy. 
 WT/MIN(05)/ST/128 
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  The erosion of long-standing preferences is a threat to the development of our economy.  The 
loss of our only commodity export – sugar has l ead to social and economic dislocation and will 
require dernanding adjustments and transformati on.  For us and for other small and vulnerable 
economies, there must be a solution found in this Development Round for compensatory and 
mitigating measures to enhance capacity building an d promote economic divers ification to balance 
the disadvantages caused by the trade reforms demand ed by this very multilateral trading system. 
  The time has come for the provisions on special and differential treatment in the Doha Declaration to be actualized to make them more pr ecise, effective and operational.  In a round which 
should focus on development, surely the completion of the work on special and differential treatment 
ought to be a priority.  It is becoming increasingly urgent for special and differential treatment to 
become a reality and for it to be seen as another development tool.   We urge that Members ensure that this Mi nisterial Conference advances the principles of 
development promised in the Doha Development Agenda.  We wish that Members would remind 
themselves of the goals of this Round.  With co ncerted efforts by all we can achieve the intended 
development objectives.  
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