MC14 Concludes with Adopted Decisions, Progress on Key Outstanding Issues

Yaoundé: The WTO's 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) concluded on 30 March in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, with ministers adopting a number of decisions as well as making a commitment to continue work in Geneva on key outstanding issues. According to Emirates News Agency, Cameroon's Minister of Trade Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, who served as the Chair of MC14, noted that ministers endeavored to conclude as many issues as possible across various negotiation areas during the four-day meeting. He expressed gratitude towards the ministers facilitating the discussions and all the attending ministers and delegations for their diligent efforts. "You have shown constructive participation through very long days and short nights," he stated, emphasizing their determination to make MC14 a landmark conference. However, he acknowledged that they "ran out of time" regarding several outstanding issues, such as the WTO's work programme on electronic commerce and the continuation of existing moratoriums on customs d uties for electronic transmissions and non-violation complaints under the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala commended the progress made in discussions concerning a work programme for advancing ongoing talks on WTO reform, the decision on advancing work on further disciplines on harmful fisheries subsidies, among other issues. "A lot was accomplished," she noted, highlighting a new approach to conducting business within the WTO to enhance responsiveness and agility. She proposed that members utilize the draft texts developed during the ministerial discussions to finalize agreements on outstanding issues at the next General Council meeting in Geneva. Ministers also agreed to continue engaging in negotiations on fisheries subsidies, aiming to present recommendations at the 15th Ministerial Conference to achieve comprehensive disciplines on fisheries subsidies as outlined in Article 12 of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. Addit ionally, two MC14 decisions were adopted, previously endorsed by members in Geneva: one on improving the integration of small economies into the multilateral trading system, and another on enhancing the precise, effective, and operational implementation of special and differential treatment provisions in the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). The Ministerial Conference, typically held every two years, is the WTO's highest decision-making body. Nearly 2,000 trade officials, including over 90 ministers, attended the four-day MC14 in Yaoundé, marking the second occasion a Ministerial Conference has been held in Africa.