WT/MIN( 22)/ST/65  
12 June 2022  
(22-4502) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 12-15 June  2022 Original: Spanish  
 
 
STATEMENT BY H.E. MS REYES MAROTO  
MINISTER OF INDUSTRY, TRADE AND TOURISM  
SPAIN 
I would like to begin by thanking the Swiss Government and the city of Geneva for their hospitality 
and their excellent organization of this Ministerial Conference. My thanks also to Word Trade 
Organization officials , and Kazakhstan, as Chair of the Confer ence. 
The recovery of international trade is key to ensuring economic recovery  and overcoming , 
once and for all , the economic impact of the pandemic. We still believe that the WTO and 
multilateralism play a fundamental role in this task, and firmly believe  that global challenges require 
global solutions . 
The fact is that international trade made a recovery i n 2021, with 9.4%  real growth in global 
exports . In 2022, the war in Ukraine, new COVID -19 containment measures in China and ongoing 
tensions in global supply chains have created a new de-globalization scenario that directly impacts 
trade flow growth prospects, while indirectly affecting economic growth and inflation control .  
Of course , I cannot fail to mention Russia's unprovoked and unjustified militar y aggression against 
Ukraine, and how it is affecting people all over the world. I would like to voice my solidarity with the 
people of Ukraine , who are the victims of a devastating humanitarian crisis. I would also like to 
express  my deep concern regarding the Russian invasion's impact on international commodity 
markets, which has led to  a sharp increase in the prices of food products, fertilizers and energy . 
Countries that have been fighting to recover from the COVID -19 pandemic no w face new challenges 
regarding food and nutritional security, energy, commodity prices and public finances . The invasion's 
impact on trade will be felt  in low -income countries  especially, where food accounts for a large part 
of household spending . 
Spain, together with its European Union partners and NATO allies, is working to stop this war and 
restore peace. This is, with out a doubt, an issue of the utmost concern at the international level , 
because of its economic implications and the tensions it generate s in the energy and raw materials 
markets . 
In this context, we must not let trade recovery be affected by protectionist rhetoric and the 
temptation to adopt restrictive measures, which would compromise not only the steps taken to 
combat  hunger and the pand emic, but also economic recovery and the central role of the WTO . 
Instead, we must use this Ministerial Conference to give the WTO the necessary impetus .  
More trade is needed to ensure that our citizens have stable  and equitable access to necessities . 
Spain is therefore committed to del ivering an outcome that will help guarantee food availability and 
accessibility; keep agri -food markets open; and prevent the use of unjustified restrictive trade 
measures, particularly i n relation to the United Nations World Food Programme and the procurement 
of food purchased for non -commercial humanitarian  purposes . WT/MIN(22)/ST/65  
 
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  I would like to highlight the progress that has been made in various areas of the Organization's work 
in the four years si nce the Buenos Aires Conference . In the multilateral sphere, headway has been 
made in the negotiations on fisheries subsidies,  with a view to ensur ing the sustainability of global 
fisheries resources ; and in the plurilateral initiatives, we have seen progr ess on issues such as 
services domestic regulation, e-commerce, investment facilitation for development, and the 
environment .  
In recent years, however, we have realized that considerable differences continue to stand in 
the way  of new agreements , in parti cular in respect of the key issue of the reform  of the WTO and 
its three main functions : apply ing existing Agreements, negotiat ing new rules and settl ing trade 
disputes . We must not stop seeking points of convergence that would help us deliver 
concrete outcomes on this issue at this Conference .  
Spain , as a member of the European Union, is firmly committed to trade openness and international 
investment as drivers of hunger a lleviation, pandemic recovery efforts , economic recovery and fair 
and sustainable growth . We are therefore open to ensuring that the interests and sensibilities of al l 
Members are reflected in the outcomes  achieved . 
In conclusion, it is time to make a coll ective effort to ensure the success of this Twelfth  Ministerial 
Conference and the delivery of concrete outcomes that will benefit everyone . 
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