The UK delivered the following statement to the WTO
Trade Negotiations Committee on 20 July.
Thank you, Chair.
Chair, this Organization has been facing a number of difficult
challenges for a number of years. The pandemic has hit us hard,
as individuals, and as a group. The United Kingdom commends you
and the Secretariat for the early steps you took to keep staff
and delegates safe, and then to build platforms which have
allowed our work to continue in an inclusive way, in virtual then
in hybrid format. This has moved us a long way from the
standstill we experienced in the spring.
The United Kingdom would like to reiterate the importance of
forging ahead with ongoing work at the WTO, reinstating a fully
functioning dispute resolution system, and aiming for ambitious
outcomes in ongoing negotiations.
The fisheries subsidies negotiations, as well as the initiatives
on e-commerce, domestic regulation on services, investment
facilitation for development and MSMEs offer the WTO a dynamic,
new and constructive framework for addressing the key trade
issues of our time.
On fisheries subsidies, we welcome the draft consolidated text
circulated by Ambassador Wills, the Chair of the Rules
Negotiating Group, as an important step toward meeting our
collective commitment to agree on disciplines to harmful
fisheries subsidies this year.
The United Kingdom has long advocated for ambitious outcomes on
e-commerce, and this remains a top priority for our industry
stakeholders. The pandemic has shown how dependent the global
economy is, and will continue to be, on digital trade. We are
pleased, therefore, that the joint initiative on e-commerce has
continued its work, in small groups and in plenary, to streamline
text around specific issues. We commend the co-convenors and the
facilitators for their efforts to maintain the pace of
negotiations, and we urge all Members to work together to ensure
as broad a participation as possible, so the outcomes benefit
developed, developing and least-developed Members.
The United Kingdom is also committed to the success of the Joint
Initiatives on Services Domestic Regulation and Investment
Facilitation for Development. The goals of liberalising global
services trade, and ensuring transparency and predictability for
services suppliers and investors, have become all the more
important in the context of the current crisis. We welcome the
good progress made on outstanding issues in the domestic
regulation reference paper in informal consultations and hybrid
meetings, thanks to the dedicated efforts of members and of the
Chair, and we are keen to continue working with others to reach a
finalised text well before a rescheduled MC12. We are pleased to
support language on non-discrimination between men and women,
which will increase women’s ability to access the benefits of
trade, and support a sustainable and equitable recovery from the
current economic crisis.
Thank you, Chair.
