Plenary Statement by Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore 9th WTO Ministerial Conference

​PLENARY STATEMENT BY MINISTER FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY, SINGAPORE 9TH WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE, 4 DECEMBER 2013

Mr Chairman, Excellencies, Colleagues,

1.         We have before us today potential deliverables from intense negotiations.  This was the result of hard fought compromise, from the entire WTO Membership. We are now at the final stretch. We, as Members, have the responsibility to work with the DG to deliver results here.

2.         We must not let this slip in Bali.  As the DG and others have been saying, it is not about time, but about political will. The overwhelming majority of us are ready for the deal. If we cannot achieve this, it would hurt the developing countries, including the LDCs.  We trust the DG to find landing zones, which strikes a balance for the overall interest of the Membership.

3.   To finalise the deal, we must be disciplined in abiding by the principle of locking-in what we have already agreed on and not re-open the existing package. Any backsliding will jeopardise the delicately balanced compromises achieved.

4.   Beyond these immediate priorities, there are other areas of the WTO’s work which we must not neglect after Bali.

 i.        First, we must improve market access commitments and update existing rules. Trade Facilitation, Development, and Agriculture are a fraction of what we need to do. We must also work on other areas such as non-agricultural goods, including finishing our work on ITA; services; and rules.

ii.        Second, the multilateral trading system must remain current and relevant. It will be remiss of us to ignore contemporary issues relating to trade. For instance, trade and environment, investment, non-tariff barriers, and e-commerce. Our economies are not standing still and neither should the WTO.

iii.        Last but not least, we must upkeep the regular functions of the multilateral trading system. We cannot take for granted the WTO’s role in guarding against protectionism and ensuring a rules-based, stable, and predictable global trading environment. The WTO’s valuable monitoring, surveillance, and dispute resolution functions must continue to work well.

5.   Thank you.