Antigua and Barbuda Sends Delegation to the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference

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 Antigua and Barbuda Sends Delegation to the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference

Under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation and the United Arab Emirates, the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) convened on 26th February 2024 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Antigua and Barbuda’s Delegation headed by the Honourable Foreign Minister, E.P Chet Greene and consisting of the nation’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisation H.E Colin Murdoch and Director of International Trade, Miss Joy-Marie King were locked in intense negotiations.  During the engagement, a plethora of international trade issues within the multilateral sphere were negotiated at the political level in accordance with the MC12 mandate.

Minster Greene in his address to the Ministerial Body on the matter of dispute settlement on behalf of the Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACP), asserted to members “the need to accelerate the formalization of discussions as soon as practicable within a reasonable period after the conference and must be conducted based on the longstanding WTO principles of transparency, inclusiveness, openness, member-driven and consensus”.

Initially scheduled for 26-29 February, the Conference was extended in a final push to reach outcomes on the various issues at stake. These outcomes are detailed in the adopted Abu Dhabi Ministerial Declaration, where members amongst others committed to preserving and strengthening the ability of the multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core, to respond to current international trade challenges.

Outcomes in the following areas were achieved to include:

  • Development- the role that the multilateral trading system can play in contributing towards the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals was recognized in addition to the contribution of women’s economic empowerment and women’s participation in trade to economic growth and sustainable development;

 

  • The role and importance of services to the global economy as they generate more than two-thirds of global economic output and accounts for over half of all jobs were acknowledged and the relevant WTO bodies were encouraged to continue their work to review and build on all the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and to build effective solutions in case of future pandemics in an expeditious manner;

 

  • Dispute settlement reform, members recognised the progress made with the view to having a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system accessible to all members by 2024. Officials were instructed to accelerate discussions, build on the progress already made, and work on unresolved issues;
  • The review of special and differential treatment (S&DT) provisions for developing and least developed countries (LDCs) with a view to making them more precise, effective and operational;
  • The reaffirming of the Work Programme on Small Economies;
  • Electronic commerce, the General Council was instructed to hold periodic reviews on the E-commerce Work Programme with a view to presenting recommendations for action to the Ministerial Conference. Members also agreed to maintain the current practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions until the 14th Session of the Ministerial Conference (MC14) or 31 March 2026, whichever is earlier; and
  • The adoption of a Ministerial Decisionto extend the moratorium on non-violation and situation complaints regarding the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) until MC14.

Ministers also engaged in a discourse on how international trade relates to two pressing issues that go to the heart of current political, economic and environmental challenges, namely sustainable development and socioeconomic inclusion.

The conference also formally approved the WTO membership terms of Comoros and Timor-Leste, the first new members in almost eight years. Members also agreed on a Ministerial Decision on concrete measures to ease the path to graduation from the category of least-developed countries.

 

 

Additionally, Minister Greene within the margins of the conference engaged in several bilateral meetings including with the Minister of Foreign, European Affairs and Trade of Malta His Excellency Ian Borg where brief discussions on matters related to climate change and vulnerability, Second phase of MoU on water cooperation, support of Antigua and Barbuda’s leadership regarding SIDS 4, an upcoming Ministerial visit to Malta and Antigua and Barbuda’s aspirations for increased engagement with the European Union.

Minister Greene also met with Dr. Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade for the United Arab Emirates. The discourse focused on trade and investment opportunities between both countries including but not limited to the hospitality industry, aviation and the fisheries sector. Both Ministers agreed to follow up at the technical level.

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