Statement by Hon. Arnaldo Brown

ACP Ministerial Coordinator and Minister of State in

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade

Jamaica

I am pleased to join in welcoming new members who have acceded since MC9 and look forward to welcoming the Republic of Yemen who will become the 160^th WTO member during the course of this Ministerial Conference.

I am also privileged to deliver these remarks as Coordinator of the ACP Group.

In our Ministerial Declaration and Communique on MC9 issued in October 2013, Ministers of Trade of the ACP declared their commitment to the pursuit of a successful outcome here in Bali. We consider a successful outcome in Bali to be of vital importance to ACP Member States and the WTO as a whole. We see a successful outcome in Bali as a catalyst towards a post-Bali work programme that reinvigorates the multilateral trading system and takes fully into account the development dimension.

The road to Bali was paved by a collective decision to pursue outcomes in Agriculture, Trade Facilitation, Development and LDC issues. We have come to Bali with significant convergence on texts across all areas but with gaps that have delayed the consensus necessary to finalize them. Progress in key aspects of the texts before us has been achieved due in part to the work done by the ACP Group working with other developing country and LDC partners, indeed with all members, to bridge gaps and forge consensus, particularly in Section 2 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement. We remain committed to constructive and solution-seeking engagement in all areas of our work here in Bali as we seek to close remaining gaps and make this Ministerial truly a success for all.

With respect to the Post-Bali Agenda our position is clear – we must reaffirm our commitment to completing the DDA and to work on the issues of Special and Differential Treatment and Development that we did not seek to address in the context of our Bali outcomes. We insist that these be given priority together with built-in agendas in agriculture and LDC issues.

It is true that we have consistently allowed success to elude us since the establishment of the WTO but we need not repeat history here at MC9. While there are differing views on the consequences of not securing a package here in Bali, everyone recognizes that the consequences for the negotiating function of the WTO will be significant. As developing countries committed to multilateralism and a rules-based trading system we stand to be most seriously affected by any setback to the system.

Bali is a watershed for the WTO. We have within our grasp an agreement on a package that could provide significant impetus for concluding the Round and strengthening and enhancing the credibility of the WTO and the multilateral trading system. In keeping with our declared commitment as Ministers of the ACP States we will therefore spare no effort to achieve a balanced and successful outcome here in Bali. I request that the ACP Declaration be entered into the record of this Ministerial Conference.

I will now deliver remarks in my National Capacity.

Jamaica remains committed to the efforts to deliver a successful Bali package. We have engaged constructively with the rest of the Membership and have managed to reach agreement on Section 2 of the Draft Consolidated Negotiating Text on Trade Facilitation, the Monitoring Mechanism and elements of the LDC Package. Other outstanding areas remain for resolution in Section I and on Agriculture.  However, we are convinced that these issues are not insurmountable and can be addressed if there is political will to do so.

Work at the technical level in Geneva has been exhausted and clear political input is now required to address the outstanding issues. I fully intend to work closely with colleague Ministers here in Bali to find compromises and achieve solutions that will be directly beneficial to the Membership, particularly the developing countries and LDCs.

Let me also emphasize that we must finish the task here in Bali. Jamaica will not support any call for the negotiating process to revert to Geneva. We concur with the DG that there are serious risks associated with such an approach. Potential solutions are within our grasp and we must accept full responsibility if we do not explore and embrace them here and now.

Jamaica has always maintained that any outcome agreed at Bali must be meaningful and balanced with special focus and priority on the development dimension.  This has been a key feature of the elements that have already been agreed. We have secured an outcome in Section II that is substantially stabilized around the principles established in Annex D and the Hong Kong mandate. It contains the necessary flexibilities and elaborates a process that seeks to address the issue of the acquisition of capacity and the ability to implement Category C commitments. The provision of technical and financial assistance and capacity building to developing countries and LDCs will be crucial in assisting these countries in implementing their commitments under the TF Agreement.

Like other developing countries, Jamaica recognizes that there are benefits to concluding an agreement on TF. This includes improvements, not only to border management procedures but also provisions that will have a strong bearing on increased productivity and competitiveness at both the national and international levels through investment in physical infrastructure, technology and innovation.

We must acknowledge that the outcome under the Development pillar is a very modest one both in terms of scope and substance. The agreement reached on the Monitoring Mechanism represents a first step in the negotiations under this pillar.  We expect the Mechanism to function complementary to the Committee on Trade and Development and the Mandate on Special and Differential Treatment set forth in the Doha Declaration. It should bring into sharp focus the concerns of developing countries and LDCs relating to the special and differential treatment provisions under the relevant agreements.  It will act as a focal point in the WTO system in reviewing and assessing these provisions.

There has also been agreement on certain elements of the LDC Package.  Jamaica fully supports the results of the work in this area and looks forward to their incorporation in the collective decisions we will adopt at this meeting.

We are encouraged by the progress made in reaching agreements or understandings on the proposals tabled by the G20 and the G33.  It is our view that temporary solutions that have been negotiated will lead to more permanent ones as part of a post-Bali work programme.

It will be important to preserve and build on any outcome achieved in Bali, as well as on the progress achieved so far in the Doha Round, particularly the negotiated flexibilities including for SVEs as contained in the revised draft modalities on Agriculture and Non-agricultural Market Access.

The importance of the work in the non-DDA issues is also important. In this regard, Jamaica reaffirms the importance it places on the Work Programme on Small Economies and the need to find solutions to the trade-related issues and concerns raised by the Group in the WTO. Jamaica also wishes to emphasize the importance of the work relating to the Aid for Trade Initiative which was established to address, inter alia, the enhancement of supply-side capacity in developing countries and LDCs thereby contributing to their integration into the multilateral trading system.

Finally, Jamaica wishes to express deep appreciation to the Government and People of Indonesia for their warmth and hospitality. The arrangements for this Ministerial Conference have been outstanding and we trust that we will be in a position to honour the quality of the support that has been provided by adopting the decisions that will ensure a successful outcome.

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