. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/8 
14 December 2005 
 (05-5950) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
BRAZIL 
 
Statement by HE Mr Celso Amorim
 
Minister of External Relations  
 
  I would like to thank the people and the Government of Hong Kong, China, for the warm hospitality and the arrangements for this Conference.   Trade liberalization can lead to prosperity 
provided it proceeds in a balanced way and takes into account the differentiated needs of poorer 
countries.  This has not been the case so far.   It is widely accepted that the multilateral trading system suffers from a development deficit.  The launching of the Doha Development Agenda four years ago was a recognition of this fact. 
 
 To a large extent, the development deficit resu lts from the inadequacy of the rules that apply 
to agriculture as compared to other economic activities.  The agricultural gap compounds the 
development gap.   For some time, even after Doha, developed count ries tried to camouflage these realities.  They 
attempted to sell to the rest of the world a round on the cheap. 
  In Cancun, developing countries had to raise their voice against such a move.  They stood 
firm against a meagre agreement that would not even  scratch the structure of privileges and injustices 
built into world trade, notably in agriculture.  
 Developing countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America represent the majority of the 
world's rural population and a sizeable share of inte rnational trade in agricultural products.  Many of 
them have joined forces to create the G-20, which includes large agricultural exporters, countries that 
rely on family agriculture and least developed c ountries, all with a common objective:  doing away 
with practices that distort agricultural trade. 
 
 Subsidies and barriers in developed c ountries suppress prices, displace production and 
threaten livelihoods in developing nations.  This is where reform is most needed, and most urgently.  
Rich countries cannot expect to receive payment for doing what they should have done long ago.  
After so many years – should I say decades or cent uries? – remnants of feudalism have been lingering 
on side by side with other forms of unacceptable privileges.  Poor countries cannot wait for another 
20 years to see true reform in agricultu ral trade.  The time to act is now. 
  All forms of distorting subsidies have to be eliminated or drastically reduced.  As far as 
domestic subsidies are concerned, the overall leve l of support has to be cut in real, not purely 
nominal, terms.  Such cuts must be accompanied by tight disciplines.  The time has come to define a 
precise end-date for export subsidies and other equi valent forms of distorting measures.  Ensuring 
greater market access is also essential, not only because of the direct interest to developing countries 
but also because of the virtuous cycle it can generate in relation to the other pillars of the agricultural WT/MIN(05)/ST/8 
Page 2  
 
 negotiations.  Sensitivities in developing countri es as to food security, rural development and the 
means of livelihood of their population have to  be properly addressed, lest they become an 
impediment to the forward movement we want to see in agricultural trade as a whole.   We understand that the Doha Round is not about agriculture alone.  But its mandate 
recognizes that there are differentiated needs and r esponsibilities.  This must be translated into 
proportionate commitments between agriculture and other market access negotiations, namely 
services and industrial goods.  The major economies cannot expect more concessions from developing 
countries than what they are willing to offer.  This w ould be tantamount to S&D in the reverse.  It just 
won't happen. 
 
 We must also be sensitive to the needs of tho se who face the greatest challenges.  This is the 
case of the LDCs and other small vulnerable econom ies.  This Round should result in a firm 
commitment by developed countries to provide dut y-free and quota-free market access to products 
from the LDCs on a stable and permanent basis, in  a manner that helps these countries to diversify 
their productive base and free them from the bondage  of unilateral, unreliable and unstable favours. 
  To translate our commitment into practice, Brazil, along with its
 Mercosul partners, is 
prepared to move in the direction of duty-free and quota-free access for products coming from LDCs, especially from Africa and Latin America.  
 A central tenet of the G-20's platform is our  concern with a fair and balanced process that 
reflects the interests of the whole WTO membership .  We are pleased to see that this "bottom-up" 
approach has been followed in the preparation of this Conference. 
  It is our hope that, after this Minister ial Conference, the Round will have gained new 
momentum, by means of credible and courageous moves that will enable us to achieve ambitious 
results in the short time that is left.  To that e nd, the G-20 is committed to arrive at full modalities by 
early April.   We cannot afford to see the Doha Round fail out of inaction or lack of vision.  Its 
development dimension has raised hopes and exp ectations in all developing countries, large and 
small, LDC or otherwise.  Let us not mi ss this opportunity to promote development. 
 
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