. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/43 
15 December 2005 
 (05-6018) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   Spanish 
 
  
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 
 
Statement by HE Mr Amilcar Romero
 
Secretary for Agriculture  
  
 On behalf of the Government of the Domi nican Republic, we thank the Government and 
people of Hong Kong, China for the excellent organi zational arrangements for this Sixth Ministerial 
Conference.  We also wish to express our sincere gratitude to the WTO Secretariat, to its 
Director-General, Mr Pascal Lamy, and to the Chairperson of the General Council, for the work they 
have done in preparation for this Conference.    The Dominican Republic has always believed in the benefits of a balanced, fair and 
rules-based multilateral trading system in which the interests of developing countries are taken into 
account.   
  However, we cannot fail to express a measure of disappointment in view of the fact that, four years after the launch of the Doha Development Round, we have been unable to produce concrete, 
positive results. 
 
 In the negotiations on agriculture, an area of vital interest to our countries, we have observed 
a lack of readiness by the developed countries to commit themselves to genuine reforms which 
eliminate trade-distorting supports, while they con tinue to make excessive demands on the developing 
countries in the area of market access.  
 In the Dominican Republic, despite the leve l of economic liberalization that has been 
implemented, we have been seriously affected by distortions in agricultural trade, since agricultural 
export earnings have declined considerably as a re sult of falling world prices for some of our export 
products, caused by subsidies and the market  distortions that they generate.   
 
 The Dominican Republic's main objective in these negotiations is the establishment of a 
clearly defined system of special and differentia l treatment.  We support the G-33 proposal that 
developing countries should have the flexibility to d esignate up to 20 per cent of all their agricultural 
tariff lines as special products, which should be exempted from tariff reduction and quota extension 
commitments.  This flexibility will be necessary as long as the developed countries maintain high 
levels of subsidies and domes tic supports, generating unfair co mpetition which jeopardizes the 
survival of our farmers.   It will also be necessary to establish a special safeguard mechanism exclusively for 
developing countries, to protect domestic production from subsidized imports and abrupt falls in 
international prices.   
 
 The Dominican Republic cannot join in any co nsensus if these elements are not properly 
defined within the agriculture negotiating modalities.  On the other hand, we consider that the tariff WT/MIN(05)/ST/43 
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reduction formula agreed for developing countries mu st be based on principles of proportionality, that 
is to say, the application of sma ller reductions and higher thresholds. 
  As regards the negotiations on market acces s for non-agricultural products, special and 
differential treatment is vital for the Dominican Re public and must form an integral part of the 
modalities to be agreed.  In this respect, we cons ider that the Doha Ministerial Mandate should be 
faithfully implemented so that account is taken of article XXVIII bis of the GATT 1994, establishing 
less than full reciprocity for developing countri es, and the terms of paragraph 50 of the Doha 
Declaration.  
 On the issue of trade facilitation, we welc ome the progress that has been made in the 
negotiations, and we hope that their results signify  a far-reaching change in our manner of conducting 
international trade.   At the same time, the Dominican Republic h as submitted negotiating proposals together with 
the Small and Vulnerable Economies Group.  For these middle-income non-LDC States, whose 
individual share of world trade in goods amounts to about 0.10 per cent, we have proposed reductions 
of 10 per cent minimum and 15 per cent maximum per ta riff line.  This is a position of principle for 
our country.   These proposals are based on the mandate under para graph 35 of the Doha Declaration, which 
states that solutions should be found to the trade -related problems of small, vulnerable economies, so 
as to achieve their fuller integration into the multilateral trading system.   With reference to the services negotiations, the opening we have made on an autonomous 
basis has led to substantial growth in this sector, a nd for this reason we attach great priority to the 
negotiations in this area. 
  Nevertheless, we are disappointed by the scope of the offers made by the developed countries 
and hope that they will be re vised and improved in terms of bot h sectoral coverage and modes of 
supply, particularly mode 4.  
 It is our delegation's understanding that the ne gotiations on trade in services are to continue 
under the guidelines and procedures approved in 2001, and reiterated in the July package, including 
the request and offer approach, which must  continue to be the core approach. 
  Regarding paragraph 6 of the Doha Declara tion on the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and Public H ealth, and the application of paragraph 11 of the 
August 2003 Decision, we welcome the Decision adopted by the General Council in Geneva on 
6 December 2005.   Finally, we wish to place on record that the Dominican Republic is prepared to continue to 
strive for a balanced multilateral system through wh ich we can achieve greater  trade liberalization, 
bearing in mind, however, that we must not look u pon liberalization as an end in itself, but as a means 
to secure enhanced development for our countries and an improved standard of living for our citizens, 
especially our agricultural producers.   For the Dominican Republic, there can be no fair  and effective negotiation if the agricultural 
aspects and those relating to small, vulnerable economies are not definitively addressed. 
 
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