. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/30 
17 December 2005 
 (05-6135) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
AGRICULTURE – INFORMAL MEETING OF 14 DECEMBER 2005 
 
Statement by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
 
 The following communication, dated 17 December 2005, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. 
 
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1. In the opinion of our delegation, Annex A re mains a situational document.  Prepared under 
the responsibility of the Chairman of the Committ ee on Agriculture, it should not be regarded as 
prejudging or prejudicing the positions of Members and emphasis is placed on the fact that it does not constitute a negotiating document.  It is particularly important to note its failure to include, or to come 
to a satisfactory conclusion with regard to, the el ements of special and differential treatment for 
developing and least devel oped countries, which should be an inte gral part of any document touching 
on the issue, even if it is not put into effect.  The doc ument also fails to deal with all three pillars as an 
interconnected whole to be approached in a ba lanced and equitable manner, as reflected in 
paragraph 3 of the July Package. 
2. As far as Venezuela is concerned, consider ation needs to be given to our specific 
development needs, in terms of food security, livelihood security and rural development, when 
promoting and framing agricultural trade policies.  Negotiations on the three pillars must take into 
account the existing asymmetries between the econom ies of the most developed countries and those 
of developing and least developed countries, asymmetries which have been exacerbated by the 
liberalization process, which has failed to deliver on the development pledges.  We therefore propose 
that all negotiating terms and the respective sche dules for dismantling all domestic support and export 
subsidies be defined before we pr oceed with negotiations on the othe r pillars, thereby showing respect 
for the principles of special and differential treatment. 
3. The autonomy of the agricultural sector and self-sufficiency in basic food production are 
essential conditions for a new development dimension wh ich enables us to confront the challenges of 
food security, poverty eradication and the viability of rural employment.  Experience of WTO agricultural negotiations shows, however, that while we developing countries have fully respected the 
commitments undertaken, there is no evidence of reciprocity by developed countries. 
4. Pursuant to the Doha Mandate and the July  Package modalities and as a consequence of 
special and differential treatment, developing a nd least developed countries will have the necessary 
flexibility to designate an appropriate number of sp ecial products.  Venezuela considers that special 
products should be exempt from all tariff reducti on commitments and should conform to the three 
above-mentioned criteria, namely, food security, live lihood security and rural development, but that 
such criteria should not be considered as concurre nt requirements for a product to qualify as "special". WT/MIN(05)/30 
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5. In compliance with special and differential tr eatment provisions and in response to specific 
development needs, only developing and least devel oped countries will be exempt from reductions in 
de minimis  levels. 
6. The establishment of a special safeguard m echanism for developing and least developed 
countries is a key aspect of the special and differentia l treatment process.  In this regard, we reiterate 
the need to agree upon and implement a special agricultural safeguard for developing and least 
developed countries with volume-based and price-based triggers. 
7. We wish to place particular emphasis on the fact that reductions in domestic support and 
export subsidies will not suffice to ensure the bala nce and equity envisaged by the Doha Mandate 
with regard to development unless they are complemented by full access for developing and least 
developed countries to information,  know-how and state-of-the-art technology in order to overcome 
the huge existing asymmetries. 
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