Doha Development Agenda Nairobi, 14 December 2015

The 10th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC10) marks the 20th anniversary of the organisation and is the first to be held in Africa. It is a decisive crossroads for the multilateral rules-based trading system – the Conference is expected to set the direction for future WTO work and negotiations.

The work this week will concentrate on:

Selected issues of the Doha Development agenda

Preparations for MC10 have focused on a selected number of issues that are part of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), the multilateral round of negotiations launched in 2001. In particular, they have concentrated on export competition in trade in agricultural products and a number of other issues important to least-developed countries (LDCs).

On export competition, the EU – together with Argentina, Brazil, , Moldova, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay – have tabled a proposal that could constitute a valid basis for an agreement in Nairobi.

Other DDA issues on which the negotiators will focus this week include:

• further streamlining of preferential rules of origin for least-developed countries (LDCs),
• further action to make it easier for cotton exports from LDCs to be sold on global markets,
• duty-free, quota-free access to other markets for LDCs’ exports.

Future WTO work

In parallel, WTO Members are working on a Ministerial Declaration. It could include elements to set the direction of the WTO’s work once the Conference is over. The EU remains committed to keeping the multilateral trading system at the centre of international trade policy. In order to maintain and strengthen the relevance of the WTO as a trade negotiating forum, it will be necessary to rethink the way in which the WTO takes decisions and possibly discuss fresh approaches and new topics in the near future.

Accessions to the WTO

MC10 will also be the occasion to formalise the accessions of two least-developed countries – Liberia and Afghanistan – to the WTO. This will bring the total number of WTO members to 164, and reconfirm the relevance of the WTO.

Enhanced Integrated Framework

At the margins of MC10, the EU and some EU Member States will also announce their pledges for the phase II of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), the multi-stakeholder partnership aimed at supporting LDCs to mainstream trade into their national development plans and implement priority trade projects.

Implementing new and existing WTO rules

The EU will present its commitments on technical-assistance for implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement agreed two years ago at the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali. The EU ratified the Agreement in October 2015 and is encouraging other WTO Members to do so as swiftly as possible so that the Agreement can become operational without delay.

WTO members will take decisions on:

More information

Official website of the MC10 conference EU Trade Commissioner’s Cecilia Malmström blog post Joint declaration by Commissioners Malmström and Hogan ahead of the conference