WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/MIN(11)/18 
16 December 2011 
 (11-6575) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Eighth Session Geneva, 15 - 17 December 2011 Original:   English 
 
  
MINISTERIAL DECLARATION 
BRICS TRADE MINISTERS 
 
14 December 2011 
 
  The following communication, dated 14 December 2011, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS). 
 
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We, the Ministers of Brazil, China, India, Russia, and South Africa, have met on 
14 December 2011 in Geneva, before the 8
th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial 
Conference.  
Following up on our previous meeting held in Sa nya, China, on 13 April 2011, we are pleased 
with the recent establishment of a contact group entr usted with the task of proposing an institutional 
framework and concrete measures to expand eco nomic cooperation both among BRICS countries and 
between BRICS countries and all developing countri es, within a South-South perspective. We notice 
that the contact group met for the first time on 2 D ecember 2011, in Beijing, China, to further its 
work. 
We also note that India would be hosting the Fourth BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 
29 March 2012 and the first substantive meeting of the BRICS trade ministers would also take place 
on 28 March 2012. This would provide a good opportunity  to review the outcomes of the MC8 and to 
devise a common approach on the way ahead. 
We recognise the huge growth potential both in  trade flows among developing countries and 
in cooperation in investments in the coming decad es. We believe that the BRICS countries should 
play a leading role in South-South cooperation. We are accordingly committed to further expanding 
economic, trade and investment ties among our c ountries.  Deepened and enlarged economic 
cooperation of the BRICS countries may be conduciv e not only to serving our shared interests but 
also to helping promote growth in the global econom y. We agree that steps to strengthening economic 
and trade cooperation among our countries should be  taken in an incremental, proactive, and 
pragmatic manner.  
We further recall that, in Sanya, we highlight ed our commitment to the WTO trade regime 
and to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). 
In this context, the WTO BRICS countries c ongratulate Russia, the largest economy outside 
the multilateral trading system, on the successful co nclusion of the accession process to the WTO, and 
look forward to the forthcoming Ministerial Confer ence to formally endorse Russia as a new member. WT/MIN(11)/18 
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  This will be a crucial step in making the WTO even more representative and legitimate, further 
strengthening the multilateral trading system.  
We express satisfaction at the completion of the accession processes of three other new WTO 
members: Montenegro, Samoa, and Vanuatu. We also welcome the approval of a new set of 
guidelines for the accession of the Least Developed C ountries that will contribute to our shared goal 
of reaching universality in WTO membership. 
In this process of buttressing the multilateral trad e system, we underscore the pressing need to 
further develop its rules and structure to address in pa rticular the concerns and interests of developing 
countries. The WTO must maintain its central ro le in monitoring the implementation of the 
multilateral trade disciplines and commitments, includi ng in the key area of dispute settlement. It also 
serves as a forum for discussion of trade related matte rs that all members agree to be relevant and 
pertinent. The negotiating functions of the Orga nisation must also be preserved and energised. 
We attach great importance to the role of th e WTO in keeping protectionist forces at bay. 
Under the present global economic conditions, internati onal trade plays an even more critical role in 
stimulating economic growth and development. We are in full agreement that all forms of 
protectionism must be resisted. At  the same time, we underscore th e need for developing countries to 
retain and use, when necessary, any existing WTO- consistent policy space. We also underline that 
trade distorting subsidies granted by developed econom ies, particularly in agriculture, are one of the 
most harmful forms of protectionism. These subsidies generate food insecurity and deny the development potential of this key sector in count ries that already face fo rmidable challenges to 
participate in global trade flows. 
We are particularly concerned with the ex isting impasse in the Doha Development Round. 
Despite these circumstances, we will remain fully e ngaged in negotiations with  a view to concluding 
the single undertaking within the shortest possibl e timeframe. We emphasise that negotiations on any 
component of the DDA must be based on the manda tes multilaterally agreed since the launching of 
the Round in 2001 and on the delicate balance of trad e-offs achieved over the last 10 years, which are 
also reflected in the draft modalities texts of December 2008. We remain willing to conclude the 
Round on the basis of those draft modalities.  
We agree that the DDA negotiating stalemate should not discourage members from seeking 
results in specific areas where they agree that progre ss is possible. We will instruct our negotiators to 
engage effectively and constructively whenever su ch agreement exists. These efforts must not lose 
sight, however, of the centrality of developmen t in the Doha mandate. Any early outcomes must 
deliver first on elements of interest to the poorest  among the membership. Issues of interest to the 
developing and the least developing countries must be  at the forefront, without linkages to other areas. 
The full implementation of the Hong Kong Minister ial Declaration regarding the duty-free-quota-free 
initiative, as well as topics like cotton and agriculture , must be given priority and constitute an 
integral part of any early agreements. These effort s must be wholly consistent with the existing 
mandates and observe the principles of transparency and inclusiveness. In this context, we will not 
encourage or support plurilateral approaches, or any other negotiating modality that may compromise 
or weaken the multilateral nature of the negotiations. 
We welcome measures taken by our agencies of  technical cooperation in areas which are 
especially relevant to African countries. They complement initiatives undertaken by the WTO and 
other relevant international orga nizations. We underline the need to keep pursuing and enhancing aid-
for-trade initiatives that benefit our trading partne rs. The cooperation with the Cotton-4 economies is 
a landmark in this field and we commit to maintain and intensify it.  WT/MIN(11)/18 
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  The Minister of the Russian Federation recalls  that her country is expected to start 
implementing its commitments in the WTO as of mid-2012. She affirms that, with full WTO membership attained, Russia is going to participat e in a constructive and active manner in the DDA 
negotiations in view of the crucial role that a ba lanced DDA outcome would have in the strengthening 
and development of the world trade system. 
 
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