UK Statement to the WTO Council for Trade in Goods – Item 7
The UK's Ambassador to the WTO and UN in Geneva, Julian Braithwaite, delivered this statement at a meeting of the WTO’s Council for Trade in Goods on 10 June 2020.
PROCEDURES TO ENHANCE TRANSPARENCY AND STRENGTHEN NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS UNDER WTO AGREEMENTS – ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, COSTA RICA, THE EUROPEAN UNION, ISRAEL, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU, AND THE UNITED STATES (JOB/GC/204/REV.3-JOB/CTG/14/REV.3)
Thank you Chair.
The United Kingdom welcomes continued discussion on this important issue. While disputes and negotiations might sometimes dominate the headlines, the role of transparency in supporting the WTO’s work is every bit as important.
Transparency brings certainty and predictability to trade. It underpins the process of members monitoring each other’s compliance with the WTO agreements and supports evidence-based negotiations.
That is why the United Kingdom supports and intends to co-sponsor this proposal to improve compliance around transparency and notifications. We see it as a pragmatic response to the challenges that the WTO is facing in this area.
Nonetheless, the United Kingdom is alive to the capacity constraints that some developing members, in particular LDC members, face. That is why we welcome the changes made with respect to LDCs in the latest version of the proposal, and we remain interested in further discussions on mechanisms to provide technical assistance, and notifications guidance, to developing countries who struggle to meet their notification requirements.
In that vein I would recall the announcement I made at the General Council on 15 May, setting out the support the UK is now providing to eligible developing country members to notify COVID-related measures to the WTO’s monitoring exercise, through our Trade and Investment Advocacy Fund.
The United Kingdom looks forward to engaging further with WTO members on this proposal.