WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/31 
14 December 2005 
 (05-5974) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session 
Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:  French 
 
 
 
MOROCCO 
 
Statement by HE Mr Mustapha Mechahouri  
Minister of Foreign Trade  
 
 
 On behalf of the delegation of the Kingdom of  Morocco I should like first of all to express 
our warm thanks to the Hong Kong, China author ities for the excellent organization of this sixth 
Ministerial Conference of th e World Trade Organization. 
 
 Our thanks also go to the Director-General, Mr Pascal Lamy, and to all the Members of the 
WTO Secretariat who have spared no effort to prov ide all the conditions nece ssary for the successful 
conduct of our proceedings. 
  Since the Cancún Conference and following the Decision of 1 August 2004, despite the difficulties encountered great efforts have been  made by the Members to capitalize on the 
achievements and breath new life into the multilateral trading system. 
 
 Within its overall vision of an orderly and carefully considered lib eralization of trade, 
Morocco reiterates its commitment to the multilatera l trading system and to the principles of the 
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, which remain the framework of 
reference of Morocco's trade policy. 
  My country reaffirms its adherence to the comm itments which we entered into at the fourth 
WTO Ministerial Conference, with a view to examining the whole of the Doha Work Programme by means of a comprehensive and balanced approach, wh ich reflects the legitimate interests of all the 
Members of the Organization and incorporates the "development" dimension as a fundamental 
element. 
 
 It is from this perspective that my country is de termined today, more than ever, to ensure that 
this Ministerial Conference is a clear success and a positive step forward, that will measure up to the 
expectations, aspirations and interests of all the Members. 
 
 With goodwill and a constructive contribution from all, we should be able to make this 
meeting a major turning-point in the history of th e multilateral trading system and the spearhead for 
the formulation of negotiating modalities in confor mity with the Doha Declaration and the Decision 
of 1 August 2004. 
 
 It is up to us to seize this opportunity to spee d up liberalization and market access with regard 
to the agricultural sector – a major challenge if ever there was one – but also with regard to non-
agricultural goods, the services sector and other issues of the single undertaking.  
 In view of the potential benefits and of the growth and development that could be generated 
throughout the world, on behalf of my country I urge all the Members to converge towards common WT/MIN(05)/ST/31 
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 positions and seek out the compromises that would ensure the successful conclusion of the Doha 
Round, and to place development issues at the heart of all the subjects discussed. 
 
 Ladies and gentlemen, 
 
 Motivated by these factors, I should like, if I may, to communicate to you briefly my 
country's point of view on each of the issues under negotiation, and to share with you our view of the 
draft Ministerial Declaration and its annexes. 
 
 With regard to the agricultural negotiations, Morocco greatly appreciates the scale of the 
efforts made by the Members to reach a balance in the three pillars, by reconciling the needs of some 
with the constraints of others.  The final objectiv e is the strengthening of our agricultural trade 
through the improvement of all the market-access co nditions, the withdrawal of all forms of export 
subsidies at the end of a period not exceeding five  years and the establishment of a domestic support 
system that effectively and substantially reduces the distorting effects on trade. 
  Morocco is calling for an opera tional "development" dimension on the basis of asymmetry on 
all aspects of the negotiations, in particular with regard to tariff reductions between developed and 
developing countries.  The other features of this dimension lie in the establishment of a single special 
safeguard mechanism, the establishment of a list of  special products of strategic interest for rural 
development, food security and the contribution to  income, and in the recognition of the effects of 
tariff reduction on preference erosion.  
 With regard to the cotton issue, Morocco confirms its support for speeding up the work of the 
sub-committee and calls on the bilateral fundi ng agencies and the multilateral international 
organizations involved to show greater cohere nce and effectiveness in the preparation and 
implementation of the development pr ogrammes for the Members concerned. 
 
 As far as non-agricultural market access is concerned, Morocco favours the use of a tariff 
reduction approach based on a non-linear formula, allowing for a distinction between developed and 
developing Members and for greater predictability in the trading environment.  This reduction 
formula should not penalize the developing countries wh ich have made the effort to attain high levels 
of binding. 
 
 We are acutely aware of the effect of preference erosion that these tariff reductions would 
produce.  However, participation in sectoral initia tives seeking the harmonization or elimination of 
customs duties should be on a voluntary basis. 
 
 With regard to the trade in services, Morocco attaches great importance  to the improvement in 
market access for the sectors and modes of the provision of services that are of interest to the 
developing countries, in particular the movement of natural persons in the service sectors of 
engineering, construction and tourism. 
 
 With a view to allowing the increasing participation of the developing countries in the world 
trade in services, the principle of special and differential treatment must be taken into consideration, 
the more so as the General Agreement on Trade in Se rvices advocates a process of liberalization that 
takes account of the levels of development of the various Members and of their national policy 
objectives, both in overall terms and in the different sectors.   With regard to intellectual property, Morocc o welcomes the recent proposal of the TRIPS 
Council with regard to Public Health and urges all the Members to approve it, since this is, above all, 
a humanitarian issue. 
  WT/MIN(05)/ST/31 
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  My country also wishes to see a rapid solution to the issues relating to the establishment of a 
multilateral register for the protection of geographical  indications and the extension of the additional 
protection conferred on geographical indications  for wines and spirits to other products. 
 
 As regards the negotiations on tariff and non-ta riff barriers directed at environmental goods, 
Morocco supports any approach reflecting the prin ciple of less than full reciprocity in favour of 
developing countries.  Our participation in these negotiations seeks to improve our access to 
environment-friendly, low-cost technologies.  
 
 With regard to the negotiations on anti-dumping measures and countervailing measures, Morocco reiterates its position on the need to preserve the effectiveness of these rules as a means of 
combating harmful trading practices.  The work carried out at the WTO on the clarification and 
improvement of the relevant rules of transparency should contribute towards greater predictability in 
the process of the implementation of corrective trade measures. 
 
 As regards the negotiations on fisheries subsidie s, we should strive to establish disciplines 
prohibiting over-fishing, while supporting responsib le practices, with a view to the sustainable 
exploitation of fish resources.  Th ere should be flexibility for artisana l fishing on the basis of special 
and differential treatment, bearing in mind its co ntribution to development, to the alleviation of 
poverty and food security, as well as its socioeconomi c impact on the regions dependent on fishing. 
 
 Morocco also reaffirms the role that regional trade agreements can play in the process of trade 
liberalization and economic openness.  In the context of the current negotiations, we advocate greater 
flexibility for the benefit of the developing countries so as to enable them to manage more effectively 
the transition for sensitive sectors. 
 
 We welcome the progress achieved by th e negotiating group on trade facilitation  in view of 
the high degree of convergence resulting from the consultations carried out in this field.  Morocco 
urges the Members to reaffirm the positive adva nce in the negotiations, while attaching great 
importance to technical assistance and capacity-buildin g, as well as to the practical application of 
special and differential treatment in this important area for world trade. 
 
 After this survey of my country's views on the various areas of negotiation of the Doha 
Round, I should like to emphasize, in the current context, the need to agree on a timetable for the 
implementation of the results of our Conference. 
 
 Such a timetable is required so as to provide gr eater clarity on next year's work and to provide 
a temporal framework for the expected objectives so as to conclude the Doha Work Programme by 
the end of 2006. 
 
 At the conclusion of the work of this Ministerial Conference, our Organization has a duty to 
achieve concrete results that reflect the expectations placed in it, so as to clear the way forward for an 
open multilateral trading system bringing growth a nd development and that will help to trace the 
outlines of a bright future for the welfare of our peoples. 
 
 I should like to reiterate my wishes for the success of our Conference and I wish to place on record the total readiness of my delegation for any clarification and any action that might contribute to 
a consensus that would be beneficial for all the Members. 
 
 Finally, Morocco welcomes the recent accession of Saudi Arabia to the WTO.  My country 
has always supported the process for this Member to join our Organization.  With regard to the 
accession of Tonga, Morocco strongly encourages th e adoption by our Ministerial Conference of all 
the necessary texts so that this country may become a full Member of the WTO. 
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