Ministerial Confernce

7/29/2019 Ministerial Confernce

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Trade, foreign, finance and agriculture Ministers from more than 120 World Trade Organization Member

governments and from those in the process of acceding to the WTO participated in a Ministerial Conference

in Singapore from 9 to 13 December 1996.

WTO first Ministerial Conference of 1996

The World Trade Organisation's Ministerial Conference of 1996 was held in Singapore on December 9 -

December 13, 1996. The inaugural meeting for the organisation since its formation. The event was hosted by

the government of Singapore at the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Suntec City.

The "Singapore issues" refers to four working groups set up during the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1996

in Singapore, namely investment protection, competition policy, transparency in government procurement

and trade facilitation. Disagreements between largely developed and developing economies prevented a

resolution in these issues, despite repeated attempts to revisit them, notably during the 2003 Ministerial

Conference in Cancn, Mexico, whereby no progress was made.

Since, some progress has been achieved in the area of trade facilitation. In July 2004, WTO Members formally

agreed to launch negotiations. Under the mandate of the so-called July package, Members are directed to

clarify and improve GATT

1. Article V (Freedom of Transit),

2. Article VIII (Fees and Formalities connected with Importation and Exportation),

3. and Article X (Publication and Administration of Trade Regulations).

The Second WTO Ministerial Conference

The Second WTO Ministerial Conference was held in Geneva, Switzerland between 18 and 20 May 1998.

The World Trade Organisation's second Ministerial Conference in Geneva in May was meant to be a big

birthday bash marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of GATT, the predecessor of the WTO. However,

the free-trade system which the WTO represents came under attack from thousands of demonstrators who

turned Geneva into a city under siege. The free-trade philosophy was also called into question by

development, social and environmental groups; and the meet was also overshadowed by the Asian crisis and

the dramatic events in Jakarta.

The 50th-year celebrations and the closed-door discussions were conducted in ironically seige-like conditions

because of street protests against the WTO, free trade and globalization. The protests reflected the growing

unease and anger of social movements, NGOs and the public worldwide over the destabilizing and often

destructive consequences of globalization and liberalization. Even in the rich countries, there is growing

social and job insecurity as well as concern over increasing environmental damage caused by the intense

competition between giant firms and between nations in the great globalization race, and this has led to

growing public resistance in the North to the WTO. The next 12 months before the next Ministerial will see

developing countries facing tremendous pressures as they will be pressed to accept further measures in the

review of existing WTO agreements, and to agree to start negotiations on new issues such as investment,

competition policy, government procurement and electronic commerce. The public must therefore pay even

greater attention to the developments in the WTO in the coming months and keep up their own campaigns

to make the WTO more accountable, to review its rules and to stop taking on more new issues.


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Gathered under the umbrella of 'Peoples' Global Action', the groups represented farmers from both the

South and the North who believe the removal of trade barriers will cause multinational companies to take

over their markets and lands.

They also represented workers angered that the race for 'efficiency' and cost-cutting is leading to massive job

losses, and consumers concerned that the profit motive has led corporations to push sales of harmful

products such as tobacco and genetically- engineered foods.

The Third WTO Ministerial Conference

The Third WTO Ministerial Conference was held in Seattle, Washington State, US between 30 November and

3 December 1999. The WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 was a meeting of the World Trade

Organization, convened in Seattle, Washington, USA over the course of three days, beginning November 30,

1999. Intended as the launch of a new millennial round of trade negotiations that would have been called

"The Seattle Round", the negotiations were overshadowed by large street protests outside the venues where

the conference was taking place. Because of the disruptions in the Seattle rounds, the negotiations were not

formally begun until the next meeting which was held at Doha, Qatar, a locale easier to control and police.Thus the current round is called "The Doha Round"

The fourth WTO Ministerial Conference

The Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference was held in Doha, Qatar from 9

At the Doha Ministerial Conference in November 2001, trade ministers launched the Doha

Development Agenda. With this Agenda, WTO members have placed development issues and the

interests of poorer members at the heart of the WTOs work.

The meeting, which took place just two months after the World Trade Center attack, was designed to

show the world that economic growth and trade rather than terrorism was the way the world should work

together. Held under tight security in the small Gulf state of Qatar, there were few protesters and even

fewer lobbyists in attendance. The meeting established four key areas of work: liberalising agricultural

markets in rich countries, opening up non-agricultural market access (NAMA) mainly for industrial goods

in developing countries, continuing to press ahead with the services sector liberalisation under the GATS

agreements, and working with the so-called Singapore issues of investment, competition policy and

public procurement.

Agenda

Market access: supporters of a new round demanded sharp reductions in tariffs on goods.

Domestic support: demands for end of direct payments to farmers to produce their goods.

Export subsidies: EU has promised to end its subsidies that depress international prices.

However, no exact date has been provided so far.

Services: push for lifting of restrictions on services sector.

Singapore issues: demands from some rich nations for more transparent laws and better legal

protection for trading companies. They include issues in investment, competition, government

procurement, and trade facilitation.

The November 2001 Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health was adopted by

the WTO Ministerial Conference of 2001 in Doha on November 14, 2001. It reaffirmed flexibility of TRIPS

member states in circumventing patent rights for better access to essential medicines.

Government agreed that:


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The TRIPS Agreement does not and should not prevent Members from taking measures to

protect public health. Accordingly, while reiterating our commitment to the TRIPS Agreement, we

affirm that the Agreement can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive

of WTO Members' right to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines

for all.

In this connection, we reaffirm the right of WTO Members to use, to the full, the provisions in the

TRIPS Agreement, which provide flexibility for this purpose.

Accordingly and in the light of paragraph 4 above, while maintaining our commitments in theTRIPS Agreement, we recognize that these flexibilities include:

(a) In applying the customary rules of interpretation of public international law, each provision of

the TRIPS Agreement shall be read in the light of the object and purpose of the Agreement as

expressed, in particular, in its objectives and principles.

(b) Each Member has the right to grant compulsory licences and the freedom to determine the

grounds upon which such licences are granted.

(c) Each Member has the right to determine what constitutes a national emergency or other

circumstances of extreme urgency, it being understood that public health crises, including

those relating to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other epidemics, can represent a national

emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency.

(d) The effect of the provisions in the TRIPS Agreement that are relevant to the exhaustion of

intellectual property rights is to leave each Member free to establish its own regime for such

exhaustion without challenge.

We recognize that WTO Members with insufficient or no manufacturing capacities in the

pharmaceutical sector could face difficulties in making effective use of compulsory licensing under

the TRIPS Agreement. We instruct the Council for TRIPS to find an expeditious solution to this

problem and to report to the General Council before the end of 2002."

The Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference

The Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference was held in Cancn, Mexico from 10 to 14

task was to take stock of progress in negotiations and other work under the Doha Development Agenda.

The 2003 Cancn talksintended to forge concrete agreement on the Doha round objectivescollapsed

after four days during which the members could not agree on farm subsidies and access to markets.

Negotiations focused upon four key areas: agriculture, industrial goods, trade in services, and updated

customs codes. The collapse seemed like a victory for the developing countries. But unlike Seattle,

which prevented the commencement of the second round of negotiations, Cancun resulted in continued

negotiating.

The Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference

The Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference was held in Hong Kong, China, 1318 December 2005. In general,ministerial conferences are the WTOs highest decision-making body, meeting at least once every two years

and providing political direction for the organization.

The Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, also known as the WTO Hong

Kong Ministerial Conference and abbreviated as MC6, was held at the Hong Kong Convention and

Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai, Hong Kong from 13th to 18th December 2005. Representatives from 148

countries were expected to attend the event, as well as over 10,000 protestors led by the Hong Kong

Peoples Alliance on WTO and made up of largely South Korean farmers. Wan Chai Sports Ground and

Wan Chai Cargo Handling Basin in Wan Chai North have been designated as protest zones. Victoria

Park served as the starting point for the rallies. Police wielded sticks, used gas grenades and shot rubber

bullets at some of the protesters. They arrested 910 people, 14 were charged, but none were convicted.

Principles of the negotiations

Single undertaking: Every item of the negotiation is part of a whole and indivisible package and


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cannot be agreed separately. In other words, Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.

Participation: The negotiations are open to all WTO members and to observer governments

negotiating or intending to negotiate membership. But decisions on the outcomes are only taken by

members.

Transparency: The negotiations have to be transparent.

Special and differential treatment: The negotiations have to take fully into account the principle

of special and differential treatment for developing and least-developed countries.

Sustainable development: The Trade and Development and Trade Environment identify and

debate developmental and environmental aspects of the negotiations to ensure that sustainable

development is appropriately reflected.

Subjects not negotiated: Elements of the work programme which do not involve negotiations are also

accorded a high priority. The General Council reported on their progress to the Fifth Ministerial.

The potential benefits of the success of the MC6

The WTO attempted to facilitate dialogue between developing and developed countries. It is a platform

that member states from all over the world can gather to discuss issues that influence global trade and

economic development such as General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs, agricultural subsidies and

equal access to technology.

The WTO has stated that it seeks to assist developing countries enhance their rural-based economies.

It has been suggested that advanced technology could be provided by other countries. Developing

countries are seeking easier access to foreign markets, especially those in the EU and North America.

Moreover, they are seeking a larger quota of export and free tax for their products. In order to protect

the interests of developing countries and recognise their needs, the term 'consider positively' may be

extended to seven years as to eliminate any measures that are inconsistent with the overall goals of the

WTO. Should these efforts have succeeded, the MC6 would have made substantial progress towards

fulfilling its mandate.

The barriers faced by the MC6

Many groups of people are not happy with the WTO as they believe it symbolizes the exploitation of

poor countries by the developed countries. Thus, there are many protests and demonstrations organised

during each WTO conference. Casualties and damages are often severe. Besides, as the number of

member countries in WTO is large, it is not easy to reach an agreement which gets the consensus of

the participating countries. Therefore, the last two Ministerial Conferences which included the Ministerial

meetings at Seattle and Cancn failed. It was not easy to tell if the MC6 could reach any final agreement.

The seventh ministerial conference

The Seventh Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, took place from 30

November to 2 December 2009. The general theme for discussion was The WTO, the Multilateral TradingSystem and the Current Global Economic Environment.

The Conference opened at 15h00 on Monday 30 November. Following addresses by the Chair, the Director-

General, the Chair of the General Council and heads of other intergovernmental organizations, the Chair

proposed the adoption of the Agenda. He then opened the floor for the first speakers in the Plenary Session.

The Plenary provided an opportunity for Ministers to make prepared statements in accordance with the List

of Speakers.

In parallel to the Plenary Session, there were two Working Sessions on 1 December and 2 December,

respectively. The Working Sessions were aimed at providing an interactive forum for Ministers for discussion

under two broad sub-themes: Review ofWTO activities, including the Doha Work Programme for the first

day; and The WTO's contribution to recovery, growth anddevelopment for the second day.

Scope of the confernce


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In his report to the General Council on 17 November 2009, Pascal Lamy said that while the upcoming WTO

Ministerial Conference would not be a negotiating session, it would be a platform for ministers to review

the functioning of this house, including the Doha Round, and an occasion to send a number of strong

signals to the world with respect to the entire WTO waterfront of issues from monitoring and surveillance

to disputes, accessions, Aid for Trade, technical assistance and international governance.

Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference

The Eighth Ministerial Conference was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 15 to 17 December 2011. In

parallel to the Plenary Session, where Ministers made prepared statements, three Working Sessions tookplace with the following themes: Importance of the Multilateral Trading System and the WTO, Trade

and Development and Doha Development Agenda. The Conference approved the accessions of Russia,

Samoa and Montenegro. In the final session, Ministers adopted a number of decisions and the Chair made a

concluding statement.

Ministerial Confernce

Documents

Transcript of Ministerial Confernce