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agreement on key Bali issues
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WTO: 2014 NEWS ITEMS
16 November 2014
DIRECTOR‐GENERAL
DG Azevedo urges rapid action on Bali Issues
Director‐General Roberto Azevêdo today welcomed the strong commitment from G‐20 Leaders to
implement all elements of the Bali Package including preparing as quickly as possible a WTO work
programme on the remaining issues of the Doha Development Agenda.
> G20 Leaders’ Communiqué Brisbane Summit
The Director‐General also took advantage of the G‐20 Summit to thank
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama for
their leadership in reaching an understanding on two of the Bali Decisions:
Trade Facilitation and Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes. This
understanding, which now needs to be discussed with all WTO members,
was welcomed by G‐20 Leaders as an important step in efforts to resolve 16.11.2014
the impasse which has paralyzed all multilateral negotiations in the WTO G20 Leaders’ Summit, session one,
Brisbane © Photo: G20 Australia
since July.
The Director‐General said: G‐20
DG Azevêdo's press conference, G‐20
“We must now hold consultations in Geneva to ensure that this bilateral International Media Centre, Brisbane,
breakthrough helps to build consensus among all WTO members. This will 14 November
help us get back on track so we can immediately start implementing all
Bali Decisions and resume our talks on the post‐Bali Work Programme. I — Video
urged the G‐20 leaders in Brisbane, as I will urge all other WTO members in — Transcript
Geneva, to act with a sense of urgency and in strong support for the swift
and full implementation of all elements of the Bali package. — G‐20 photos
“I also spoke to G‐20 Leaders about another critical bilateral breakthrough
in recent days between China and the US on the expansion of the WTO
Information Technology Agreement. Once finalized by all participants, the
agreement will cover up to $1.4 trillion in trade in information technology RSS news feeds
products that were not covered in the initial ITA deal implemented in 1997.
Expansion of the ITA would be the first tariff reducing WTO agreement in
17 years — and it would benefit all WTO members.” > Problems viewing this page?
Please contact webmaster@wto.org
“If we can formalize both breakthroughs in Geneva in the next few weeks, giving details of the operating system and
web browser you are using.
then 2014 will have been a very good year indeed for the WTO and for
multilateralism. It would provide a glimpse of what the WTO can do to
support jobs, growth and development in the global economy.”
The Director‐General is cutting short his current overseas travel so that he
can return to Geneva in the coming days to begin immediate consultations
with WTO Members aimed at translating this important new momentum into
outcomes that can get the Bali package back on track.
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