WTO NEWS: SPEECHES — DG ROBERTO AZEVÊDO


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Roberto Azevêdo’s speeches

  

Good morning everyone.

Welcome to the WTO, and to the 33rd Geneva Week.

It is great to have you here in Geneva — especially those participants that are joining us for the first time. 

This is a very important week for us — and I hope it is for you as well.

I hope that this occasion will provide you with a useful update on all aspects of our work since we last met in June.

And I hope it will help you, and your delegations, to prepare for the year ahead, as we look towards our Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires, in December 2017.

I know that you have a packed agenda. So let me thank all involved in putting the programme together, in particular the Development Division.

We are meeting at a testing time for the global economy.

Economic, trade and investment growth are sluggish.

In September the WTO revised its forecast for trade growth in 2016 from 2.8 per cent to 1.7 per cent. If realized, this would mark the slowest pace of trade growth since the financial crisis.

Of course, recent political developments will also have an effect on the trading landscape — from the Brexit referendum in the UK to elections in many major economies. It’s too early to say what all of this will mean, but of course we will be watching the developments very closely.

In addition, this is taking place amid a rise in anti-globalisation discourse in many countries and communities. Some are reviewing their trade policies.

We are entering a period of change, and it's clear that we need to work harder to make the case for trade and for the WTO.  

After all, this is the only organization dealing with trade rules on a global level, and it is the only place which gives an equal say on these issues to developed, developing and least developed countries alike.

Faced with this challenging scenario, we need to keep working hard to help facilitate trade. We need to ensure trade continues to open up new opportunities, for more people, and that trade is a factor for growth and development in smaller economies.

In the space of three years members have delivered a range of important breakthroughs in our negotiating work here at the WTO.

This includes the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which was the WTO's first multilateral deal.

Members also agreed the biggest reform of global agriculture trade for 20 years, by eliminating agricultural export subsidies. This delivered on a key target of the 'Zero Hunger' Sustainable Development Goal.

In addition, members agreed a range of steps to facilitate LDCs' exports of goods and services, and to support cotton producers in vulnerable economies.

And, finally, a group of WTO members agreed to expand the Information Technology Agreement.

This is very encouraging, and work is ongoing to help implement these decisions.

For example, we are getting close to bringing the Trade Facilitation Agreement into force.

This agreement can deliver important gains to developing and least-developed countries through reduced trade costs. And it provides for practical support and assistance to undertake these reforms

101 members have now ratified the Agreement, and only 9 more ratifications are needed to reach the necessary threshold to bring it into force.

So I urge you to work with your colleagues in capital and urge them to take this important step, if you haven't ratified it already. Once this agreement comes into force, the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility will also become operational.

On a similar point, we are getting even closer to bringing the TRIPS amendment into force.

This amendment allows essential medicines to be exported at affordable prices into countries that cannot produce the medicines themselves. And accepting the amendment requires no changes to domestic regulations whatsoever.

Only a handful of ratifications are needed here, so your action on this matter is very important. It will help deliver the benefits that this measure will provide. And of course, the Secretariat stands ready to assist you with this should you have any queries on all these issues.

Overall, I think that these achievements have helped to create a more dynamic atmosphere in the WTO.

I have attended a number of high-level meetings in the past couple of months, including:

  • an informal ministerial meeting in Oslo convened and hosted by Norway,
  • a Cotton-4 ministerial meeting in Bamako,
  • and the APEC ministerial in Lima. 

From these encounters — and from my other consultations this year — I think it is clear that there is a desire to deliver more.

In fact, a number of common points have emerged from my recent discussions and consultations:

  • First, there seems to be a shared desire among members to deliver concrete results at MC11.
  • Second, members see the importance of sustained ministerial engagement throughout the preparatory process for MC11.
  • Third, outcomes are more likely to be achieved through incremental progress rather than major leaps.
  • And fourth, everyone agrees on the importance of advancing the development and LDC components of any of the issues that are being discussed.

I think that these elements — and others — can provide useful guidance for our work here.
 
Of course, how we take any of this forward is up to members. This is an ongoing conversation.

Members are now discussing how we can make progress in a wide range of areas — including on the longstanding Doha issues.

Yesterday you heard about the current discussions in the areas of agriculture, services, development, and others.

I would like to highlight just a few points here.

In agriculture, members have made a number of submissions, including on domestic support.

Work on Public Stockholding and on a Special Safeguard Mechanism is ongoing as mandated in the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration. Progress, however, has been slow and meetings are scheduled to allow for further discussion.

In services, there have been some interesting developments. Submissions on trade facilitation in services and on domestic regulation have been submitted, and sparked constructive debates.

Members have also been discussing what could be done in the area of fisheries subsidies. Progress here could make another important contribution to the SDGs.

The Chairs are facilitating these exchanges — and I hope you will get engaged.

Active discussions are also happening in areas like:

  • how to help smaller companies to trade, and
  • how to harness the power of e-commerce to support inclusiveness.

These discussions are at early stages, with many delegations taking part — developing and developed — while others prefer to engage in other areas. What is important is that you are given a chance to participate, always with the option not to do so.

In many countries, SMEs account for the majority of employment. These firms play an important role in economic and social development. Yet their direct participation in trade is low. Helping these companies to trade can help them leverage more opportunities in the global economy.

Electronic commerce, for example, can facilitate and broaden participation in trade flows, including those smaller firms. The internet has the potential to bring many new entrants into the market, and cut the trade costs related to physical distance.

However, many are still offline. In Africa, only one in four people use the internet — and, in LDCs, it is only one in seven people.

This means two things.

One, there is huge unexplored potential here.

And two, if that potential is to be realised, any moves on e-commerce would need to be accompanied by significant support to improve connectivity, capacity and infrastructure in those countries that need it the most. I have been talking to partners such as the IMF, World Bank, regional development banks and UNCTAD about how the necessary resources can be mobilised. 

Next July, we will be holding the 6th Global Review of Aid for Trade at the WTO, and members will be putting a particular focus on connectivity. I encourage you all to take part in this conversation and ensure that your views and priorities are reflected.

The questionnaires sent out as part of this exercise are vital to ensure that our work here in Geneva responds to your needs on the ground. Even though the deadline has passed, I would encourage those that haven't submitted their responses to send them in. We will make sure that your inputs are taken on board.

To conclude, I think we can look back on a very constructive year of discussion and debate at the WTO.

Longstanding issues are being discussed in new ways. Other issues are also being debated. We can be pleased with the progress made and be positive about the way forward.

But, in order to make further progress, and with the 11th Ministerial Conference in mind, we will clearly need to intensify our work in the New Year.

I will do everything I can to help members and to facilitate this work. It's important to stress, however, that any progress will need to be driven by the members themselves.

I am confident that we can find ways of making progress in many of the areas already mentioned. The secretariat and I will be there to assist you in any way we can.

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