"Thank you, Chair.
Chair, this discussion comes at the end of an exceptionally
challenging year.
We still have a long way to go to defeat Covid-19, and
there remain other threats to our collective prosperity and
wellbeing.
The WTO has a crucial role to play and we must re-commit
ourselves to delivering real progress. We need to cement
the WTO’s role as a forward-looking Organization able to
deliver for 21st century enterprises and citizens, and able
to deliver collective solutions to global problems – from
the impact of the pandemic, to the enduring challenge of
climate change.
Last month, the UK was pleased to co-sponsor the call for
establishing an enhanced dialogue on trade and environment
at the WTO. As host of COP-26, the UK is proud to take a
leading role in tackling climate change. Working together,
we can find ways to mitigate climate change, to protect our
forests and oceans, and conserve biodiversity while
promoting trade and economic development.
We are therefore exceedingly disappointed that, as we reach
the end of 2020, we have not reached an agreement on
disciplining harmful fisheries subsidies. As others have
said, we have missed the deadline set by leaders under the
SDGs.
The UK remains committed to the mandate and it will be
essential that we return to our work next January with a
sense of urgency, and with a willingness to find
compromises to reach an outcome that is both meaningful and
fair.
We remain optimistic that by maintaining our ambitious
schedule of monthly clusters and with the dedicated
leadership of Ambassador Wills, we can reach an outcome
that will support a sustainable future for our oceans and
for fishing communities around the world.
Chair, on a more positive note, the UK warmly welcomes the
adoption of the MSMEs package, as a major milestone towards
better integrating small businesses into global trade. We
would like to put on record our thanks to Ambassador
Cancela of Uruguay for his effective coordination of the
group, culminating in the successful outcome last week.
This is an important file: 99.9% of all British businesses
are MSMEs. We look forward to remaining an active
participant in the work of the group going forward,
including through our TAF2 project.
Making progress on the Joint Initiative on e-Commerce
remains a priority for the UK. We have seen an acceleration
of the use of technology this year, and services, digital
and data trade continues to grow. The UK submitted its own
written text proposals in November, including on the
cross-border transfer of information, on the location of
computing facilities and on source code. The new
consolidated negotiating text marks an important milestone
in achieving our shared aim of delivering an outcome that
benefits developed, developing and least-developed members.
We also welcome progress being made by the Joint
Initiatives on Investment Facilitation for Development and
Services Domestic Regulation. Trade, and the investment it
brings, delivers jobs, better living standards, and higher
wages at home. We have been working closely with other
Members of the Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation,
with the aim of finalising the draft Reference Paper by the
end of the year.
To close Chair, I wanted to reiterate the importance of
restoring a fully functioning dispute settlement system.
Therefore, we look forward to continuing work with all
Members, as well as the next WTO Director-General, to
ensure that we do not become accustomed to the current
impasse.
Thank you, Mr Chair and good evening everyone."
