. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/150 
17 December 2005 
 (05-6153) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   Spanish 
 
  
URUGUAY 
 
Statement by HE Mr Reinaldo Gargano
 
Minister for Foreign Affairs  
   At the outset I would like to thank the Hong Kong, China authorities for the efforts they have so generously made to ensure the success of  this Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference.   
 
 Uruguay has come to this meeting with the sa me motive as on previous occasions, namely to 
make a contribution to strengtheni ng the multilateral trading system.  To reinforce the principle of 
multilateralism in international relations, forge con sensuses that allow international law to prevail 
over the arbitrariness of unilateralism, and once and fo r all to achieve fairer and more equitable trade 
that will allow the most needy countries to sell the fruits of their labours without the unwarranted 
restrictions imposed on them by the protectionist policies of the most powerful countries. 
  Who could doubt that freer and fairer trade is the best contribution the international 
community can make to the fight against poverty, hunger and social inequities? 
 
 Who could possibly doubt that the elimination of the trade restrictions that now burden the 
least advantaged countries could be one of the most meaningful ways of contributing to the 
achievement of the goals we set for ourselves in  the Millennium Declaration?  A Millennium 
Declaration whose objectives are still very far from being fulfilled.  Who c ould reasonably believe 
that in a world of so many inequalities, the two b illion people who lack drinking water and the three 
billion – half the world population – who live below th e poverty line can be lifted out of this state 
while wealth equal to the population of 40 countries  is concentrated in the hands of a few hundred 
people?   
 
 Can anyone believe that this is unrelated to th e fact that free trade is still theoretical, when the 
developed countries devote 300 billion dollars  annually to protecting their economies with 
astronomical tariffs, quotas and subsidies that hamper the free trade of others while asking the others 
to open their economies, eliminate ta riffs and pay royalties and patents? 
  This is not a complaint, but a description of a state of affairs that accentuates inequalities, 
conspires against solidarity and ultimately feeds frustration and jeopardizes international peace and 
security.  For decades patience prevailed, particular ly after the establishment of the WTO, which set 
stages for the liberalization of world trade.  It h as to be said, however, that as far as agriculture is 
concerned, little or no progress has been achieved,  and the countries that are most competitive in 
agriculture are experiencing increased pove rty, indebtedness and underdevelopment. 
  Almost six decades have passed since the establis hment of the GATT, the cornerstone of this 
entire system, and even today we are still asking why agriculture continues to be a "special case" in 
international trade.  It is a sector in which the ru les of free trade that prevail for manufactures, high 
technology products or financial trade do not apply.   WT/MIN(05)/ST/150 
Page 2  
 
  This is one of the great paradoxes of today.  Nothing can explain it, since protectionism in 
agriculture protects a very small group of persons in the world's richest countries, and at the same 
time penalizes the vast majority of agricultural pr oducers, who live in de veloping countries and are 
dependent on agriculture for their income, their daily bread and their means of subsistence.   
 
 It is clear to Uruguay that the Doha mandate should be fulfilled in its entirety.  Substantive 
access to markets through an ambitious formula fo r tariff reduction must be guaranteed.  Agreed 
flexibilities should certainly be respected, but they mu st be very limited and, even so, must ensure a 
minimum level of access.    
 This Round is a major opportunity to banish once and for all one of the most unjust forms of 
trade discrimination:  export subsidies.  We must  therefore eliminate all such subsidies and export 
measures with equivalent effect.  This must be done  through the adoption of a timetable of five years 
at most, in which the major effort should be focu sed in the first years and elimination must be 
completed by 2010 
 
 Moreover, trade-distorting domestic support must  be substantially reduced by means of a 
formula that reduces both total aggregate support, an d each component.  It is imperative to introduce 
stricter disciplines as suggested by the G20, to ensure that Green Box pa yments have no negative 
effects on trade, or that any such effects are kept  to a minimum.  Without these disciplines it will be 
impossible to prevent the reforms from being made inoperative by mere box shifting.  Furthermore, 
the Blue Box should not remain an excuse for maintaining highly-distorting support and for 
circumventing support reduction commitments.     But as in other areas of negotiation, it is al so crucial in agriculture to grant developing 
countries special and differential treatment which, while not impeding the contributions these 
countries will certainly make in the Round, addresses their development needs and maintains the right 
proportionality vis-à-vis  the more substantive commitments that  the developed countries must make.  
Failure to produce concrete results in this area would be unworthy of the collective commitment that 
we all undertook when we named this the Development Round.   Uruguay reiterates its commitment to a successful conclusion to these negotiations.  A Round 
in which the outcome in agriculture will surely provi de the key to obtaining a balanced package also 
in market access for non-agricultural products, services,  trade facilitation and development issues, and 
we are ready to make a positive contribution.  It is therefore important to produce a work programme 
to guide the efforts that must be made after this  Conference in order to achieve full modalities in the 
main negotiating sectors and finalize the work early in 2006. 
 
 Uruguay, the country where the round of negotia tions that culminated in the establishment of 
WTO began, will defend the Organization and the international rules that guarantee free trade.  
Consequently it cannot ignore the fact that so fa r, the Agreements concluded in Marrakesch have 
primarily served the interests of the most power ful countries while the agriculture issue goes 
unresolved and many developing countries are sinking deeper into poverty and marginalization. 
 
 To end this Hong Kong meeting with an outco me that merely "window dresses" the status 
quo in agriculture and masks responsibilities would signa l the beginning of a loss of faith and a loss of 
trust in the multilateral trading system and this Organization, which would be very serious.   
  
 Our country is aware that trade is not an end in itself but just another tool with which to 
achieve the basic objectives our countries pursue, name ly to ensure well-being and social justice in 
our respective societies, and to make a worthwhile  contribution to international peace and security. 
  
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