World Trade Organization General Council May 2023 UK statements
The UK spoke on a number of agenda items at the WTO General Council on 8- 9 May 2023.
Ecommerce
“Thank you very much Madame Chair. Like others have said, it’s delightful to see you there in your new role, Chairing so effectively. Let me also bid welcome to those who are arriving and bid farewell to those who are leaving. I’d like to thank those who presented on this issue and I think we should be celebrating our extraordinary good fortune in having a facilitator who is as effective at reinvigorating and revitalising the Work Programme as our facilitator is doing, and I think that the tributes around this room show how well this process is going. I am delighted to hear this morning her plans for bringing in again voices of other international organisations, of the private sector, who are so interested in and worried by the potential effects of our work here, so I would really like to pay tribute to everything she is doing. We have tried to play our very modest part in this by, as you know, producing a paper to which she referred which looks at trade digitalisation and the benefits it can bring both to MSMEs, but also to women-led business across the world, and in the same way that our colleague from Singapore has just reminded us. Let me just say briefly on the substance, because we are going round and round this buoy. I may be misquoting him slightly, but if so it’s in a good cause; I think our colleague from Antigua on behalf of the OECS put it better that I could, about the moratorium not being a panacea, but it is a key part of the role of this organisation in enabling the development of a more digital global economy. One which, in my humble opinion, is in the interests of Members both developed and developing. Thank you.”
TRIPS
“Thank you very much Chair. Right now, it is clear that consensus does not exist and further discussion, particularly in the TRIPS Council, is required. We welcome the update provided by the US today. We are also looking forward to having more substantive engagement with proponents on the other submissions that have been put forward in the discussion. There are a number of unresolved questions and issues, particularly on the scope of the products covered by a potential extension. So, we would welcome a clarification from the proponents, on the questions and issues that have been raised. We want to make sure we work towards a decision that is underpinned by evidence policy making. On that basis, the recent submission by Chinese Taipei could be a starting point for discussions. Thank you.”
Small Economies
“Thank you Madame Chair. Let me start off with thanks to the Secretariat for the paper and to our distinguished colleagues from Mauritius and the Dominican Republic as past and present Chairs, very much welcome the way they are taking forward the work on this. We welcome the very good, productive conversation that took place in the CTD dedicated session on small economies. It is clearly important, as so many others have said in this room, that we understand, recognise and act upon the unique vulnerabilities that are faced by specific Members of this organisation, especially the SIDS. We are delighted to be engaging with Members of the SVE Group on the next steps that they would like to see taken on the back of this secretariat report and we very much support the idea of thematic discussions and experience sharing, including how we bring into those discussions the insights of external organisations as the OECS proposed a little while ago. We very much look forward to continuing these discussions and to the fruits of those discussions in due course. Thank you.”
LDC Graduation
“Thank you Madame Chair. First of all, as George (AUS) said, graduating is, as ever, a matter for celebration but it is also understandable that people want a scheme here that smooths the path. And we would have been delighted if we could have agreed that back at MC12, and like others, we think it would be great if we can agree it at or indeed before MC13. It is an important issue and we’ve heard what LDCs and others have said. I’d like to thank Zambia for presenting this morning but for all the work that Djibouti and Kenya and Bangladesh and others have done on this file. We welcome the fact that there are bilateral discussions going on, on Annex 1, and we do recognise the need now to move to technical discussions on Annex 2. We would be delighted to participate wherever and whenever we chose to do so. And we very much hear the preference from the LDCs that their preference would be through the LDC sub-committee and we would very much support that and welcome it”.