WTO NEWS: SPEECHES — DG ROBERTO AZEVÊDO


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> Roberto Azevêdo’s speeches

  

Thank you Mr Chairman,

Deputy Secretary-General Draganov,

Ms Greenidge,

Ms Mashayekhi,

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. I’m very pleased to be here.

I congratulate you on organising this important meeting — and would like to pay particular tribute to Ambassador Aparr for his leadership as Group Coordinator throughout 2014, and in preparing for this retreat.

During these last few months there has been some significant progress in moving forward the implementation of the Bali decisions, and in laying the groundwork for the conclusion of the DDA work programme. And, over the coming months, I think we have the opportunity to substantively address some of the core issues for LDCs.

Therefore this meeting is very welcome. And there is no time to waste.  

It is essential that you take the chance that these next two days will provide to define your priorities as clearly as possible. This will give you a strong platform from which to fight for your interests.

I think we all learned a great deal from the experience of Bali which remains valid today. That experience should inspire us to achieve even more through the DDA work programme. The LDC Group played an essential role in making Bali a success — and in delivering some very important and specific outcomes in the LDC package.

So let me start by saying a few words about the steps we are taking to implement the Bali outcomes. 

You will all recall that this work was stalled for some months during 2014. But members came together in November to overcome the impasse and recommit to the entire post-Bali agenda. And now, in my view, we are making real progress again.

As you know, the decisions which were specifically for LDCs were: DFQF market access, preferential Rules of Origin, and the operationalization of the LDC Services Waiver. Cotton was not listed as a LDC-specific decision, but of course it is of great interest to some of you here today.

Each of these Decisions contained specific processes for their implementation through the various WTO Committees.

The Bali Decision on duty-free quota-free market access called on developed members that are yet to provide DFQF access of at least 97% to LDCs to improve their existing DFQF coverage — and to do so prior to the 10th ministerial conference in December. Developing countries were also encouraged to provide DFQF access.

In 2014 we saw some solid progress. There were welcome announcements from Chile, India and China. The CTD’s annual review revealed that exceptions to DFQF treatment remain in a small number of sectors and in a very limited number of developed markets.

So ensuring that MC10 is an occasion to secure full implementation of the Hong Kong mandate will require continued focus from you on the issue. Of course, we will have to figure out how best to deal with the linkage that the Hong Kong mandate established with the DDA. And I will be here to help you in that effort.

Looking now at preferential Rules of Origin. Aside from stipulating a set of multilateral guidelines, the Bali Decision also mandated the Committee on Rules of Origin to annually review developments.

The 2014 review took note of a notification from Chile. But that was all. So clearly that is not enough — we need to do more. Here too, progress will very much depend on the ability of LDCs to drive the process in the Committee. And so again, I am at your disposal to help with this, but you have to push this issue there as well.

On the operationalization of the Services Waiver there has been significant progress — and I know that you will be discussing this in more detail during the retreat.

The high level meeting of the Services Council on the 5th of February was a big success in my assessment. I congratulate you all on that. As I said in my message to the meeting, I believe that we have a duty to support the growth of this sector in LDCs.

I had been urging members in advance to bring forward their offers at the meeting — and I know that you had been doing the same. There was an excellent level of engagement and some very good promises were made. Over 25 members indicated LDC services sectors and modes of supply to which they will give preferential treatment.

So there is real momentum here — and we can’t let it fade.

We have to ensure that the promises made are seen through. The date of 31 July 2015 was set as a deadline by which members would endeavour to notify their preferences to the Services Council. So we may wish to establish some further landmarks for delivery.

Of course the Services Council will lead this work — and I am, again, ready to help in any way I can.

In fact I met just yesterday with the outgoing Services Chair, Ambassador Choi of Korea, to discuss these issues. And I will work with the new chair to discuss these issues in a deeper way.

It is important here too to recall that preferential access was just one side of this agreement — the other is technical assistance to address supply side issues. I think we need to focus on this as well to ensure that you reap the full benefits of this decision.

Let’s look now at cotton. I understand that the C-4 countries are taking active part in the process being led by Ambassador Adank as Chairman of the Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture.

Now that the agriculture negotiations have resumed in earnest, I think it is time for the cotton proponents to reengage and see what definitive concessions you can secure as part of the overall agriculture negotiations. Conversations at the technical level will deepen, and the proponents need to be ready with proposals that are both meaningful and doable.

For my part, I will continue to attach priority to the Director-General’s Consultative Framework Mechanism. Since the Hong Kong Ministerial, this process has convened 22 rounds of such consultations and will continue to track contributions made in this sector.

Since Bali, the Chair of the Agriculture Special Session has convened dedicated discussions twice a year, which are enhancing transparency of members’ cotton-related policies and providing context for the negotiation process.  

But we are committed to moving faster and deeper on cotton and that is what we should seek to do. I think cotton will be a necessary component of any future agreement in the WTO. So let’s do the most that we can on that front.

So across these LDC-focused issues, there is good progress being made — but of course more needs to be done.

We have also been making progress in implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement since we overcame the impasse last year.

In my view this agreement is very important for LDCs. As a least-developed economy you are unlikely to be able to achieve your development goals by relying solely on your domestic markets. Therefore connecting with foreign markets will be a critical component.

This can be difficult due to the cost of trading and due to issues with capacity. The Trade Facilitation Agreement helps to deal with each of these issues. It will dramatically cut the cost of trading and will provide you with practical help to build the capacity you need to trade more efficiently. 

Members must now ratify the Agreement so that it comes into force as soon as possible. Some members have already done this and I would encourage you all to do the same.

The earlier you ratify the Agreement, the stronger the message you send to the international community about your desire to integrate into the trading system — and your openness to trade and investment.  

The Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility is now up and running to help you get the practical support and assistance you need. Other donors and international organisations are also stepping forward to make support available. The Facility is designed to help you secure assistance from donors and other institutions such as the World Bank and regional development banks. So please come and talk to the Secretariat about this so that we can help to ensure that your needs are being met.

All of the Bali outcomes are important. Beyond those I’ve mentioned in detail, we also need to advance work in other areas, such as public stockholding. We must maintain the momentum we have now on implementation across the board — and we must keep our progress constantly under review.

While of course it is not a Bali decision, we also need to take steps to fulfil the mandate of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.

The aim of this declaration was to resolve the difficulties that some members — particularly LDCs — can face in making effective use of compulsory licensing to gain access to medicines.

This is something that was done mostly for LDCs and other developing countries.

As with trade facilitation, two-thirds of the membership has to confirm acceptance before the amendment comes into force. Around half of our members have already taken this step — including some LDCs. But we are not there yet — we need to do more.

I have written to ministers of all relevant countries who have not yet taken this step to urge them to formally accept the TRIPS amendment, and I hope you will follow this up.

It’s time that we completed this process and that the amendment is brought into force.

When we fight to secure outcomes at the WTO we need to follow up by ratifying what we agree.

So these are things which have already been agreed. Let’s turn now to our work in negotiating new outcomes — and specifically our efforts to elaborate a work programme on the remaining issues of the DDA.

We have already seen some good progress under the intensified process which I launched in January. Through my consultations, and those of the chairs — these processes run in parallel and complement each other — and the various meetings in Room W, I think we have made a good start.

I will give a full update on all of this at the General Council on Friday, but I think it is clear that members are engaging on the substantive issues.   

This has been very positive in that members have made their positions and red lines clear. Of course it has exposed significant gaps between positions — but this is an essential first step in any negotiation.

We should be encouraged: that members are engaged, they’re at the table, and they’re talking; that there is a desire to overcome the gaps that have been exposed; and, moreover, that there is clear political will behind our work.

In addition, I think there is a recognition that in those areas where we are stuck, we are going to need new ideas. We will need to be creative to find solutions which are doable for all — because doability means it has to be doable for everyone. Members have signaled that they are prepared to be open-minded. So we need to start putting forward some new ideas and testing whether they will work.

As I have said before, it is clear that agriculture, NAMA and services are going to be core elements of the work programme — but everything is on the table.

In my conversation with members, there is a clear sense that your flexibilities, as LDCs, will remain intact. I haven’t heard anything which would suggest that this is not the case. But, of course, this doesn’t mean you should just sit back, relax and not engage.

The most crucial thing, in my view, is that you define your position as clearly as possible — and as early as possible.

The more specific you are in defining your demands, the more likely you are to achieve real outcomes.

And we have to be realistic.

The major economies are going to be focused on their big issues — such as domestic support, for example, or some aspects of market access. So the most effective approach could be to put forward issues which are not currently on the radar — the things that really matter for your economies.

If you wait until the big items are settled before you engage it could prove difficult to catch up on the LDC issues. You need to put your issues on the table early enough.

For example, it is important that you identify your priorities in the other areas of the work programme, such as on S&D. If there is anything there that you want members to focus on then please put it forward soon.

I know that some ideas are being circulated on proposals which you might wish to bring forward in the coming months. I encourage you to complete this work as soon as possible.

I think you can be sure that the LDCs will continue to receive special focus in the WTO. Some concrete outcomes have already been delivered for you. Members have always been sensitive to the cause of the LDCs — and I’m sure that they will be again.

So it is now for you to define what you want. Don’t just repeat the old positions. Think about what you really want and need — think about what would make the biggest difference to your interests. Be specific.

If you can do that I am very confident that members will respond positively.

And we want to help you in this effort as much as possible. I asked Ambassador Smidt to stay on in his role as LDC facilitator for this precise reason — so please do not hesitate to seek my help, or his help. And of course the Secretariat is also at your disposal.

Outside of the negotiations, we need to keep making progress in supporting LDCs to improve their trade capacity and better integrate into the trading system. This is very important.

We will continue to work with partners to deliver this support: through the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility; through the EIF, which we are supporting as it moves into a new phase; and through the broader Aid for Trade initiative

As you know, the fifth Global Review of Aid for Trade is taking place at the WTO from 30 June to 2 July.

I stress the importance of this event, and of being represented there. I would like to see LDCs represented at the highest level — as well as donors, partners, regional banks, the World Bank and others.

It will be an opportunity to review Aid for Trade resources being allocated to LDCs in the past few years — and therefore to help the international community appreciate how much more needs to be done.

And there are some other milestones ahead of us this year.

There is the UN’s Summit on the Post-2015 Development Agenda in September — where it is important that the potential contribution of trade is recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals. 

In October, as it is the WTO’s 20th anniversary, we are planning to hold an event which looks specifically at how the WTO has served the LDCs over the last 20 years, and what more we might do in the future.

And of course in December we will hold the WTO’s 10th Ministerial Conference in Nairobi — the first time this event has been held in Africa.

These are important milestones and we must ensure that they work in your favour.

There is an opportunity here for the LDCs — and we need to seize it now.

LDCs are a very important part of the WTO. You constitute around a fifth of the total membership. So let’s keep things moving forward. I wish you success at this retreat. And I hope we will see renewed momentum on LDC issues in the weeks and months ahead.

Thank you.

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