WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/L/793 
6 May 2010 
 (10-2530) 
 Original:   English 
  
 
35TH CAIRNS GROUP MINISTERIAL MEETING 
Punta del Este, Uruguay
 
19-20 April 2010  
 
Communication from Australia 
 
  The following communiqué from the 35
th Ministerial Meeting of the Cairns Group held in 
Uruguay, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of Australia.  
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CAIRNS GROUP COMMUNIQUÉ 
 
 
 We, the Ministers of the Cairns Group
1, have met in Punta del Este, Uruguay, from 19 to 
20 April 2010.  Following the stockt ake by senior officials in Geneva last month, this has been our 
first opportunity to meet collectively to discuss the current state of the Doha Development Round and to chart a path forward.   
 Our discussions have been enriched by the attendance of special guests from Egypt, the 
European Union, Japan, Mexico and the United States.   In contrast to last year, our meeting in Punta del Este has been set against the background of a 
slowly recovering global economy.  In a recent  report, the World Trade Organization (WTO) 
forecasted that global trade will grow by 9.5 per cent in 2010, following the sharpest decline in more 
than 70 years.  Throughout the economic downturn,  the WTO’s rules based system has helped to 
contain protectionist responses and to maintain access to  markets and levels of trade finance.  Now, as 
the recovery gets underway, the WTO remains the right platform for trade to grow strongly once again.  
 These are positive signs, but we cannot be complacent. The recovery remains fragile and the 
pressure to introduce new protectionist policies still ex ists, including in agriculture through the use of 
tariffs, subsidies and restrictive non-tariff measures.   We must remember that trade plays a vital role in economic growth and development, job 
creation and poverty reduction, yet imposes only a mini mal fiscal burden on governments.  Trade is 
also fundamental in addressing food security, in s upporting environmentally sustainable agricultural 
production and in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. 
 
                                                     
 
1 Costa Rica, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa and Thailand were unable to attend due to disruptions to 
air travel following the I celandic volcano eruption. WT/L/793 
Page 2  
 
   This is why protectionism must be resisted  and why efforts to strengthen the rules-based 
multilateral trading system must continue.  Conclu ding the Doha Development Agenda must remain 
the top priority of WTO Members.  The Cairns  Group will continue to push vigorously for global 
trade reform in agriculture, which is critical to  the development deliverables of the Round.   
 
 We note the slow pace of the negotiations si nce July 2008.  While there has been some 
progress since last year’s Cairns Group Minister ial Meetings in Bali (June 2009) and Geneva 
(November 2009) – notably the proposed modality on tropical products and preference erosion – 
conclusion of the Round is still not within our grasp.  
 We must ensure that the pos itive progress we have made in the agriculture negotiations over 
the past nine years is preserved.  It is essentia l that the Round delivers on the reforms needed in 
agriculture, including the elimination of all forms of  export subsidies by 2013 , substantial reductions 
and disciplines on domestic support, an d substantial improvements in market access.  There can be no 
weakening of ambition on these issues. Development is central to this Round and the outcome should 
accurately reflect this development mandate.   
  The Cairns Group remains determined to reach  an ambitious and balanced outcome in the 
agriculture negotiations, in line with the agreed manda te.  To achieve that goal, we will continue our 
efforts, at both the technical and political level, to  resolve the outstanding issues so that the Round can 
be concluded as soon as possible. 
 
 We are pleased that our meeting in Bali last year acted as a catalyst for renewed ministerial engagement on the Round. It presented us with an important opportunity to engage with India, the US 
and other special guests, and created momentum for ongoing political discussion, including at the New Delhi meeting in September. It contributed to an awareness that, in  our search for progress, 
negotiations could usefully take place in a range of formats as we look for a final deal.  
  Our meeting here in Punta del Este has reinforced the need fo r a proactive approach to the 
negotiating process.  Maintaining the primacy of the multilateral process in Geneva is critical, and 
negotiations in other formats and conf igurations should suppor t this process.  It is also important that 
we continue our work in each of the negotiating groups, and work horizontally across the negotiating 
agenda to help make the necessary links and bala nces between all parts of the Doha Mandate.   
  We urge all WTO Members to continue enga ging at the ministerial level to provide the 
political guidance needed to bring the Doha negotia tions to a successful conclusion.  This includes 
taking advantage of all opportunities for ministeria l engagement, such as the forthcoming APEC and 
OECD meetings. 
  Japan and the United States, who have been special  guests at this meeting, have told us they 
share the views of the Cairns Group on the importa nce of  moving forward in the Doha negotiations, 
including the need to work proactively to bridge technical and political gaps and to consider links 
across all parts of the Doha agenda.  We have great ly appreciated the opportunity to engage with our 
special guests on these issues. 
  We welcome the presence a nd acknowledge the input of WT O Director-General Pascal 
Lamy.  
 We also welcome Viet Nam, who participat ed in our meeting as an observer, and look 
forward to continuing our close cooperation.    WT/L/793 
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   We have again appreciated the presence of the Cairns Group Farm Leaders.  The interests of 
our agricultural producers are paramount in the WTO agriculture negotiations, and we have continued 
to benefit from their ongoing guidance and support.   Finally, we express our deepest gratitude to  the Uruguayan Government for hosting the 35th 
Cairns Group Ministerial Meeting and welcome the o ffer by Canada to host the next Ministerial 
Meeting of the Group.   The Cairns Group comprises Argentina, Austra lia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, 
Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Z ealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, 
South Africa, Thailand and Uruguay. 
 
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