. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(09)/ST/51 
1 December 2009 
 (09-6106) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Seventh Session Geneva, 30 November - 2 December 2009 Original:   Spanish 
 
  
COSTA RICA 
 
Statement by HE Mr Marco Vinicio Ruiz
 
Minister of Foreign Trade  
   The most serious economic crisis in seven d ecades has put the WTO to the test and has led 
many to appreciate its enormous value. 
 
 Only two years ago opinions on the results achie ved so far by the multilateral trading system 
revealed constant criticisms of the previous rounds, including the Uruguay Round.  It was a 
frequently-heard view that the Uruguay Round had no t brought benefits to the developing countries. 
  Costa Rica has always defended the view  that the Uruguay Round and the multilateral 
agreements, such as the Agreement on Information Technology, have brought enormous benefits and 
have given a decisive impetus to our economic growth and our development. 
  Yesterday and today I have been the witness of an act of justice:  a chorus of voices from Ministers who now recognize that the inheritance that we have received from 60 years of the 
multilateral trading system has been of enormous bene fit in the face of the global economic crisis, and 
who have recognized that the provisions of th e various agreements of the Uruguay Round have 
benefited us all, since trade flows have continued and since those agreements have been decisive in 
preventing the global response to the crisis from being an escalation of protectionist measures.  It has been a chorus of voices that have recognized that th e WTO, through the application of its rules, has 
indisputably played a positive role in confronting this grave economic crisis. 
 
 However, the prevention of protectionism ha s been only the first achievement and we owe 
that to generations of visionary Ministers in the past .  It is the responsibility of our generation to take 
the next step:  to enable new trade flows to stimul ate the economy in a natural and balanced fashion.  
This we shall achieve if we complete the Doha Roun d in the near future.  This is our most important 
goal and Costa Rica endorses that objective and the commitment to advance towards negotiating 
modalities in agriculture and non-agricultural market  access and to conclude the negotiations in the 
remaining areas of negotiation of the Round, including the necessary review and clarification of the Dispute Settlement Understanding in 2010.  
 What is required to complete the Round?  Many  will ask us at the end of these three days of 
work:  what was achieved at the 7
th Ministerial Conference that can make the world believe that the 
Ministers at that meeting really stated a collectiv e and credible determination to complete the Round? 
  I believe that the only really credible politi cal statement to conclude the Round will be the 
commitment of all the Members of the WTO to bri ng something extra to each negotiating table of the 
Round.  We all need to recognize that what we ha ve brought so far to the negotiating table has not WT/MIN(09)/ST/51 
Page 2  
 
  been sufficient to achieve a successful conclusion.  We all need to be ready to re-examine our own 
positions and put our hands in our own pockets an d be ready to put our own money on the table 
instead of simply asking others to do so.  Both the developed countries and the developing countries, 
in particular the emerging economies, need to show flexibility in the positions that have so far proved 
to be insufficient for their other negotiating partners .  We all need to understand that multilateral trade 
liberalization is a game in which we can all be winners. 
 
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