WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/CFMC/W/48 
14 December 2010 
 
 (10-6715) 
 Original:   French 
  
 
DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK MECHANISM 
ON COTTON 
 
Communication from Burkina Faso
 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 9 December 20 10, has been circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Burkina Faso.  
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STATEMENT BY HE MR LÉONCE KONÉ, MINISTER OF COMMERCE, 
ENTERPRISE PROMOTION AND HANDICRAFTS OF BURKINA FASO, 
AT THE FOURTEENTH ROUND OF THE CONSULTATIVE 
FRAMEWORK MECHANISM ON COTTON 
 
 Mr Deputy Director-General representing the WTO Director-General, Mr Chairman of the Negotiating Committee on Agriculture, Esteemed Ambassadors and Heads of Diplomatic Missions, 
Representatives of the regional a nd international organizations, 
Representatives of the community of development partners, Ladies and gentlemen,  1. Let me begin, on behalf of the four co-sponsors of the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton 
and of all the African cotton-producing countries,  by expressing my sincere thanks to Mr Pascal 
Lamy, Director-General of the WTO, for taking th e initiative of convening this Fourteenth Round of 
the Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton. 
2. I am happy to be in Geneva once again to discuss the cotton issue which, as you know, forms 
the backbone of the economies of several African  countries including the four co-sponsors of the 
Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton, which are classified among the poorest countries in the world. 
3. In spite of the inclusion of the cotton issue on the agenda of the WTO Ministerial Conference 
in Cancún in 2003;  in spite of the distinction ma de between the trade aspect and the development 
aspect;  in spite of the creation of a Sub-Committee on Cotton within the Negotiating Committee on Agriculture which acknowledges th at the issue must be addressed ambitiously, expeditiously and 
specifically;  and in spite of the numerous effort s of the sponsors, progress in this area remains 
unsatisfactory. 
4. As I stated at the Thirteenth Round of the Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton on 
7 June 2010, we have noted a steady increase from one  round to the next in the support provided to 
the African cotton sector by development partners , and a certain progress in the reforms undertaken 
by the African countries to make their cotton indust ry more efficient.  I would like to thank the WT/CFMC/W/48 
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  community of development partners for their c onstant and renewed suppor t to the African cotton 
sector, faced as it is with enormous difficulties. 
5. It should be pointed out that there are a number  of similarities between the different projects 
and programmes developed and financed by multila teral and bilateral dono rs, leaving room for 
rationalization of the use of resources and increased efficiency.  To remedy these situations commonly 
encountered in the field and to take better account  of the specificities of cotton-sector development 
needs in the countries co-sponsoring the Sectoral In itiative in Favour of Cotton, the C-4 intends to 
develop common and unifying programmes or projects grouped together in "a basket of projects or 
programmes" to be presented to the dono r community, assuming that we so agree. 
6. We strongly reaffirm our conviction that  our economies are capable of achieving 
development through cotton, on condition that th e underlying trade policy problems are resolved. 
7. The developed countries have often responded to our just and legitimate demand for the 
withdrawal of trade-distorting subsidies with th e argument that the cotton industry needed to be 
liberalized and our crops diversified.  Howe ver, recent World Bank studies have shown that 
liberalization was not the miracle cure to the problems of the African cotton sector. 
8. Regarding the trade-related aspects, the C-4 rea ffirms its support for all of the provisions on 
cotton in the revised draft modalities of 6 December 2008, namely: 
(a) The negotiating base must fulfil the criteria in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration 
to address the cotton issue ambitiously, expeditiously, and specifically; 
(b) the solution to the cotton issue must be based  on a systemic approach, with, of course, 
clear and precise figures to finalize the outcomes; 
(c) the outcome must be ambitious, in keeping with the Hong Kong decision, and must 
have an impact on the subsidy polici es of the countries concerned and the 
international cotton market; 
(d) failing an ambitious outcome on cotton with a real impact on the international cotton 
market, the C-4 intends to avail itself of each  and every possible recourse, for what is 
at stake is defending the interests and ensu ring the survival of millions of African 
cotton producers. 
9. On 26 November 2010, the Ministers of Trade of the West African Economic and Monetary 
Union (WAEMU) and Chad met in Cotonou, Benin, for broad consultations on the cotton issue. 
10. On that occasion, a declaration on the Sectoral Initiative in Favour of Cotton was adopted and 
transmitted to the WTO Director-General, who was aske d to have it circulated as an official document 
of our Organization. 
11. Another broader ministerial declaration addressed the main issues relating to our participation 
in the negotiation of an economic partnership ag reement between West Africa and the European 
Union, and in the Doha Round negotiations , the slow pace of which we deplored.  WT/CFMC/W/48 
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  12. In this declaration we also encouraged WT O Members to agree as quickly as possible on 
balanced solutions: 
(a) Under the agriculture pillar :  to issues relating to special products, to tropical products 
and preference erosion, to sensitive produc ts, to tariff simplification and to quota 
expansion; 
(b) under the non-agricultural market access pillar :  to the Swiss formula, the sectoral 
negotiations and long-standing preference erosion; 
(c) under trade in services :  sectoral initiatives. 
13. As we know, the development-related aspects of the cotton issue are an integral part of the 
Doha Ministerial Declaration.  This is why we welcome, once again, the WTO Director-General's 
Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton, which is  now in its fourteenth round.  This exercise 
in stimulating aid and transparency is proving its worth in showing not only the flows of development 
assistance for Africa's cotton industry but also the difficulties in mobilizing resources.  We express 
renewed gratitude to all of the donors at bilateral, s ubregional, regional and mu ltilateral level for their 
invaluable and numerous forms of support. 
14. Having said this, we stress the need for a link w ith the development aspect of the cotton issue, 
inter alia , through the WTO Director-General's Cons ultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton and 
the Aid-for-Trade initiative.  In this connection, in the next few days we intend to submit a joint 
multidimensional and integrated project to do nors in the framework of Aid for Trade. 
15. As regards reforms within the cotton sector and related reforms in African countries, I think I 
can say that the need for such reforms is widely recognized on the continent.  All of the countries 
concerned, each according to its own domestic cont ext, are committed to and engaged in the process, 
with varying degrees of success. 
16.  Let me nevertheless mention in passing that the swiftness with which these often costly and 
painful reforms are implemented is not always  matched by comparable gains, owing to the 
sluggishness or indeed the absence of refo rm in international market rules. 
17. The C-4 would like to see the negotiations speed up at the beginning of next year with a view 
to concluding the Doha Round in 2011.  In fact, the leaders of the G-20, at their meeting in Seoul in 
early November 2010, directed their trade negotiators  to step up the pace of the negotiations with a 
view to promptly bringing the Doha Developm ent Round to a successful, ambitious, comprehensive, 
and balanced conclusion in 2011. 
18. The best possible test in this respect will be fo r cotton to be addressed in the framework of an 
early harvest and as a priority in 2011, rather than  relegated to last place in the discussions, which 
would pose an enormous risk not only for the cotton issue but for the ongoing negotiations as a whole. 
19. At this point I would like to express my sincer e congratulations and gratitude to Mr Pascal 
Lamy, Director-General of the WTO, to his colleagu es, and to the entire staff of the WTO Secretariat 
for their availability and commitment in working towards a fair settlement of the cotton issue. 
20. I encourage the Chairman of the Negotiating Co mmittee on Agriculture in his tireless efforts 
to come up with modalities acceptable to all duri ng the quadrilateral meetings and other negotiating 
formats, and thank him for his contribution. WT/CFMC/W/48 
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  21. Finally, I congratulate Mr Harsha Vardha na Singh, Deputy Director-General, for the 
competence he has shown in handling the cott on issue and managing the Director-General's 
Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton. 
22. Finally, on behalf of the C-4 I would ask that this statement be circulated to Members as an 
official document of the World Trade Organization. 
 
 
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