DG Okonjo-Iweala: MC14 must deliver outcomes on WTO reform

Reporting to the meeting in her capacity as Chair of the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC), the Director-General said that in recent meetings she had with leaders and ministers in Japan and the Republic of Korea, the issue of WTO reform "was front and centre" of the discussions.

"Prime Minister Ishiba (of Japan) and his ministers of trade, foreign affairs and finance, along with virtually every APEC minister that I met in Jeju, have bought into the idea that we must not waste a crisis, and that we need deep and thorough reform of the WTO if it is to remain relevant," DG Okonjo-Iweala said.

"For a successful MC14, we must act here in Geneva to deliver a package of reform proposals for ministers to consider and bless at MC14," she added. "Nothing short of this can reposition this organization in the way and form needed."

The Director-General met with Prime Minister Ishiba and other senior Japanese government officials in Tokyo on 13 May and then attended a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Jeju, Republic of Korea, on 15-16 May.

At their 12th Ministerial Conference in 2022, WTO members for the first time agreed to undertake a comprehensive review of the WTO's functions in order to ensure the organization is capable of responding more effectively to both the challenges facing the multilateral trading system and the opportunities provided by contemporary developments in global trade.

The Director-General said that while the ministers she met "made clear they value the system, they also admitted it cannot continue the way it is."

"Members keep sweeping things under the carpet and not solving problems," she said. "I think what has brought us here is the inability to solve problems when they occur, and this has led to unilateral actions, instead of a cooperative approach to solve these problems."

"It has taken time for members to admit that things are not working as well as they should, and that they want solutions," she continued.

The Director-General said she was pleased work is continuing on possible deliverables for MC14, including further work on fisheries subsidies, agriculture, the Investment Facilitation for Development initiative, electronic commerce, and issues pertaining to least developed countries (LDCs).  Members will have a chance to assess progress on these issues at the next TNC meeting in July and decide later which packages are ready to take forward to MC14 for decision. 

She welcomed the recent progress made on member acceptances of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, noting that 99 members have now accepted the Agreement with only 12 more needed to bring it into force.

Twenty-six delegations took the floor after the Director-General's intervention, some of them speaking on behalf of groups of members.  Many members commented on a suggested road map for MC14 prepared by the WTO Secretariat and highlighted issues of interest, including WTO reform, new disciplines on fisheries subsidies, progress on agriculture, the e-commerce moratorium, and industrial policy, among others.

General Council Chair to initiate MC14 consultations

Under a separate agenda item, the General Council Chair, Ambassador Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), noted that discussions he had with delegations over the past weeks revealed various calls to proceed with work in three key areas, namely: WTO reform; dispute settlement reform; and the process towards preparing a possible MC14 outcome document.

With MC14 taking place in 10 months, "time is not on our side," he told members.  "Accordingly, immediately after this General Council meeting, I intend to consult interested delegations on how to take forward work in each of these areas." 

Investment facilitation for development

On the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) initiative, members were once again unable to reach consensus on the request supported by 126 members to incorporate the IFD Agreement under Annex 4 of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO. This marked the eighth time the proposal has been submitted to members for adoption.

Speaking on behalf of the 126 co-sponsors, the Republic of Korea underlined the urgent need for incorporating the Agreement into the WTO framework in order to help members attract investment, in particular developing and least developed country members. IFD Agreement participants are also actively engaging with non-participating members to build understanding and highlight the Agreement’s benefit, the Republic of Korea said.

Three members reiterated their objections to incorporating the IFD Agreement into the WTO multilateral framework.

Current trade tensions

On behalf of 47 members, Singapore and Switzerland introduced a statement in support of the rules-based multilateral trading system. The statement cites the value and achievements of the WTO since it was established in 1995, underlining how the organization has contributed to the economic development of both developed and developing members by promoting trade liberalization and facilitating economic integration, fostering stability, predictability and consumers' trust while preserving incentives for innovation. The WTO's support for developing economies, including LDCs, has lifted millions out of poverty, the co-sponsors said.

China introduced its communication regarding heightened trade turbulence and responses from the WTO.  Faced with the current situation of heightened trade turbulence, China said, members should safeguard the rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core. China proposed a "Stability, Development and Reform" (SDR) approach for the WTO and said it stands ready to work with all parties to safeguard the WTO rules system and inject more certainty and predictability into the global economy.

The European Union introduced an item on fragmentation of global trade through tariffs and the global costs. The EU said the item was submitted in response to the economic and trade uncertainty created by recent tariff actions. The EU underlined its support for a rules-based multilateral trading system and highlighted the importance of ongoing dialogue on tariffs to assess impacts, monitor trade patterns, and consider systemic effects.

WTO retreat on sustainable agriculture

Brazil expressed its appreciation for the recent WTO retreat on sustainable agriculture and the broad engagement across regions and constituencies. It highlighted trends in agriculture production globally, including towards increased productivity and the search for greater resilience and sustainability.  Brazil said it saw value in further discussing this topic in a forward-looking manner as a conversational WTO exercise.

Thirty-six delegations took the floor to comment.

Electronic commerce

Japan, on behalf of the co-sponsors of the Agreement on Electronic Commerce, informed members of the co-sponsors' recent efforts to gather members' support for incorporation of the Agreement into the WTO multilateral framework. Japan also reported that the co-sponsors are undertaking work to advance implementation of the Agreement, including a needs assessment survey to better understand priorities for implementation support.

Several members reiterated their concerns about the Agreement and their objections to its incorporation into the WTO multilateral framework.

Next meeting

The next meeting of the General Council is tentatively scheduled for 22-23 July.

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