Name : S.

Sujitha

Register No. : HA19137

Course: IV Year, B.A.LLB (Hons.) – “C” Section

Subject: International Trade Law

SUMMITS OF WTO

Introduction

The topmost decision-making body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is the Ministerial
Conference, which usually meets every two years. It brings together all members of the WTO,
all of which are countries or customs unions. The Ministerial Conference can take decisions on
all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements. There have been various summits
held in this regard. The important summits among these are discussed below.

Singapore conference

The first ministerial conference was held at Singapore between 9 and 13 December 1996.
Trade, foreign, finance and agriculture Ministers from more than 120 World Trade Organization
Member governments and from those in the process of acceding to the WTO participated in a
Ministerial Conference in Singapore. The Conference was the first since the WTO entered into
force on 1 January 1995. It included plenary meetings and various multilateral, plurilateral and
bilateral business sessions. These examined issues related to the work of the WTO's first two
years of activity and the implementation of the Uruguay Round Agreements. The Singaporean
Government was the official host of the Ministerial.

Second Ministerial Conference

This Second Session of the Ministerial Conference was held in Geneva, Switzerland between
18 and 20 May 1998. It took place at a particularly significant time for the multilateral trading
system, when the fiftieth anniversary of its establishment was being commemorated. On this
occasion, it paid tribute to the system's important contribution over the past half-century to
growth, employment and stability by promoting the liberalization and expansion of trade and
providing a framework for the conduct of international trade relations, in accordance with the
objectives embodied in the Preambles to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the
World Trade Organization Agreement.

Seattle Conference

Third Ministerial Conference of World Trade Organization comprising of 137 members was
held in America on November 30 to December 3, 1999 at Seattle. From the very beginning this
conference was held amidst controversies.

Thousands protested in opposition of failure of WTO. The main objections raised by the
protestors were the issues of Human Rights and preservation of ecology. The protestors raised
the voice against the violation of the above issues by the WTO. Medaline Albright, the State
Secretary of U.S.A could not come out for inauguration of the conference due to large scale
protests outside. The inauguration was cancelled and the proceeding of the conference started
late by 5 hours. General Secretary Miche Moore inaugurated the Conference.

Developing countries including India strongly opposed the inclusion of labour standards in the
list. The member countries could not reach on consensus regarding market access, agreements
about the trade of agricultural services etc. The Indian side was represented by Murasoli Maran,
the commerce minister. He represented his stand forcefully and successfully in the conference.

Doha Conference
The fourth Ministerial Conference of WTO was held at Doha (Qatar) from 9-14 November
2001 to decide upon the future work programme of the WTO. While there were strong
pressures to launch a comprehensive round of negotiations including multilateral regimes on
investment, competition policy, trade facilitation, government procurement and environment,
India was opposed to over burdening of the multilateral trading system with non-trade or new
issues on the agenda.

In this conference, India underlined the need for resolving the implementation issues arising
from the current agreements in a time bound manner before addressing new issues for
negotiations. The substantial outcome of the Doha ministerial is the work programme aimed at
reduction in customs tariffs and opening up of agriculture and services. Exporters of farm goods
can expect to benefit from the reduction of domestic support and export subsidies in Europe
and the United States.
In this conference India made significant gains on public health concerns in the TRIPs
agreement. The agreement over amendment to TRIPs, which would allow countries access to
low price patented drugs in case of a public health emergency, was a victory for India.

Cancun Conference

The fifth ministerial conference of WTO was held at the Mexican beach resort of Cancun on
September 10-14, 2003. Anti-globalization activists raised slogans against WTO in its
inauguration itself. Activists wanted to evolve a trade policy which should not aggravate
poverty. The Cancun Ministerial Conference was meant mainly to be a forum to review the
progress of negotiations under the Doha Work Programme mandated at Doha and give
guidance directions wherever necessary with a decision expected only on one outstanding
issue, namely the status of the Singapore issues.

Cancun conference aimed at revival of talks, which already started at Doha in 2001 and to be
concluded by the end of 2004, on opening up of trade to spur growth in the world economy.

The important features of disagreement raised in Cancun conference are as follows:

• Practical disagreement on agenda items – regarding imbalance in agriculture trade,
market access improvements of industrial goods.

• Disagreement on Draft Ministerial Text proposed on September 14, 2003 which ignores
concerns of developing countries like India, on agriculture. The draft circulated by the
conference Chairman did little to cut farm subsidies by rich countries even as it sought
to open up the markets of the developing countries for farm produce. It did not give any
option to poor countries, but offered zero-for-zero tariffs for auto components and
textiles.

Due to above main disagreement reasons, Cancun talks reminded failure and this failure is
likely to postpone the implementation of the Doha Development Agenda, a road map for
multilateral trade liberalization. One positive outcome at Cancun is the solidarity expressed by
developing countries for protecting their interests and their ability to stay together in spite of
pressures exerted by developed countries to break the coalitions. It should be seen as a positive
development since up till now, the trade majors had decided among themselves on what the
agenda should be and implanted such, decisions on the WTO membership. Another positive
development was the role of G-20 in effectively placing the view points of the world
community dependent on agriculture for livelihood, before the Cancun Ministerial Meeting.

Hong Kong conference

The Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference was successfully held in Hong Kong from 13 to 18
December 2005. It was also known as the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference. Ministers
adopted the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration (HKMD), which set out a series of agreements
in the major areas of negotiations, and a timetable for the next and final phase of the multilateral
trade negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). This outcome put the DDA
negotiations back on track, and provided a foundation for full modalities for agriculture
and non-agricultural market access (NAMA) to be agreed. It also invigorated WTO Members'
determination and willingness to engage in serious negotiations.

Geneva conference

From 30th November to 2nd December 2009, Geneva, Switzerland, hosted the WTO
Ministerial Conference’s 7th Session. The prime purpose was to remedy a breach of protocol
requiring two-yearly "regular" meetings, which had lapsed with the Doha Round failure in
2005, and that the "scaled-down" meeting would not be a negotiating session, but "emphasis
will be on transparency and open discussion rather than on small group processes and informal
negotiating structures". “The WTO, the Multilateral Trading System, and the Current Global
Economic Environment” was the overarching theme of discussion. Instead of serving as a Doha
Round negotiation session, as was the case with past Conferences, this gathering was designed
to give Ministers an opportunity to reflect on all aspects of their work, share ideas, and offer to
advise on the best course of action moving forward.

Eighth Ministerial Conference

The Eighth Ministerial Conference was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 15 to 17 December
2011. In parallel to the Plenary Session, where Ministers made prepared statements, three
Working Sessions took place with the following themes: “Importance of the Multilateral
Trading System and the WTO”, “Trade and Development” and “Doha Development Agenda”.
The Conference approved the accessions of Russia, Samoa and Montenegro. In the final
session, Ministers adopted a number of decisions and the Chair made a concluding statement.
Bali Conference

The Ministerial Conference was held in Bali, Indonesia from 3 to 6 December 2013 and
attended by 159 WTO Member countries representatives.
Bali Package
• During the conference, the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to allow countries
to provide subsidy on staple food crops without any threat of punitive action.
• In this regard, the WTO has issued a revised draft of the Bali Package which addresses
India's concerns on food security. The draft proposes an interim mechanism to
safeguard minimum support prices to farmers against WTO caps till a permanent
solution is adopted.
• The deal allows nations such as India to fix a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farm
produce and to sell staple grains to the poor at subsidised rates.
• It also permits countries to store food grains to meet contingency requirements.
Trade Facilitation Agreement
• The 159-member WTO also agreed on the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which
is aimed at making international trade much easier by simplifying and streamlining
custom procedures across the globe.
• The pact is billed to bring in gains worth 1 trillion Dollars for global trade. The TFA
would help countries cut transaction costs.
• The trade facilitation will also help developing countries including India to reduce
transaction cost and improve competitiveness of domestic industry.
Nairobi conference
WTO members concluded their Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi on 19 December by
securing an historic agreement on a series of trade initiatives. The “Nairobi Package” pays
fitting tribute to the Conference host, Kenya, by delivering commitments that will benefit in
particular the organization’s poorest members.

The Nairobi Package contains a series of six Ministerial Decisions on agriculture, cotton and
issues related to least-developed countries. These include a commitment to abolish export
subsidies for farm exports, which Director-General Roberto Azevêdo hailed as the “most
significant outcome on agriculture” in the organization’s 20-year history.

The other agricultural decisions cover public stockholding for food security purposes, a special
safeguard mechanism for developing countries, and measures related to cotton. Decisions were
also made regarding preferential treatment for least developed countries (LDCs) in the area of
services and the criteria for determining whether exports from LDCs may benefit from trade
preferences. The WTO’s Tenth Ministerial Conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 15 to
19 December 2015, the first such meeting hosted by an African nation. The Conference was
chaired by Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Amina
Mohamed.

The Nairobi Decision expands upon this by providing more detailed directions on specific
issues such as methods for determining when a product qualifies as “made in an LDC,” and
when inputs from other sources can be “cumulated” — or combined together — into the
consideration of origin. It calls on preference-granting members to consider allowing the use
of non-originating materials up to 75% of the final value of the product. The decision also calls
on preference-granting members to consider simplifying documentary and procedural
requirements related to origin.

Buenos Aires conference

The Eleventh Ministerial Conference took place from 10 to 13 December 2017 in Buenos
Aires, Argentina. It was chaired by Minister Susana Malcorra of Argentina. The Conference
ended with a number of ministerial decisions, including on fisheries subsidies and duties on
electronic transmissions, and a commitment to continue negotiations in all areas.

Regarding e-commerce, the Ministerial Conference agreed to:

• continue the work under the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, based on the
existing mandate as set out in WT/L/274;
• endeavour to reinvigorate their work and instruct the General Council to hold periodic
reviews in its sessions of July and December 2018 and July 2019 based on the reports
submitted by the relevant WTO bodies and report to the next session of the Ministerial
Conference; and
• maintain the current practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic
transmissions until our next session in 2019.

With respect to E-Commerce, the WCO issued communication from the International Customs
community on the occasion of MC11 indicating that E-commerce is posing several challenges,
as well as offering opportunities, for governments and business alike. The WCO has been
working with private sectors and stakeholders, include the IFCBA, to detail key drivers of E-
Commerce.

As well, for the first time in the history of the WTO, members and observers have endorsed a
collective initiative to increase the participation of women in trade. In order to help women
reach their full potential in the world economy, 118 WTO members and observers agreed to
support the Buenos Aires Declaration on Women and Trade, which seeks to remove barriers
to, and foster, women’s economic empowerment.

Twelfth Ministerial Conference

The Twelfth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference was held in Geneva,
during 12-17 June, 2022. The Conference was co-hosted by Kazakhstan and chaired by Mr.
Timur Suleimenov, Deputy Chief of Staff of Kazakhstan’s President. India participated
constructively in the negotiations in all areas which were part of agenda i.e. agriculture,
fisheries, WTO response to pandemic, TRIPS, E-Commerce and WTO reform.

The outcome package included decisions including on fisheries subsidies, the WTO response
to the pandemic, food insecurity, e-commerce. As part of the Ministerial Decision on the Work
Programme on electronic commerce, WTO members agreed to maintain their current practice
of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions and to intensify discussions among
members on this topic.

In response to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, members adopted a Ministerial Declaration

on the WTO response to the current and future pandemics which provides a template aimed at
faster and globally coordinated response for future Pandemics without altering the existing
rights and obligations of WTO Members. This includes a waiver of certain requirements under
the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) concerning
the use of compulsory licences to produce COVID-19 vaccines.

In parallel, a Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement provides a platform for members
to work together to diversify vaccine production capacity. As per the Decision, Members will
have greater scope to take direct action over the next five years to override the exclusive effect
of patents through a targeted waiver that addresses specific problems identified during the
pandemic, especially facilitating and streamlining vaccine exports.
After negotiations for 21 years, WTO members agreed on an Agreement on Fisheries
Subsidies which sets new global rules to curb harmful subsidies and protect global fish stocks
in a manner that also recognizes the needs of fishers in developing and least-developed
countries (LDCs). The agreement prohibits support for Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated
(IUU) fishing. It bans support for fishing in overfished stocks. The agreement also seeks to
curb subsidies for overcapacity and overfishing by ending subsidies for fishing on the
unregulated high seas.

Further, Ministers also adopted a decision reaffirming the commitment of members to the
WTO’s Work Programme on Small Economies, which seeks to address the particular
challenges facing these economies. Another decision extends the moratorium on so-
called TRIPS “non-violation and situation” complaints, which deals with situations where a
government may complain it has been deprived of an expected benefit because of another
government’s action, even if no agreement has been violated.

Conclusion

The work of the WTO is heavily dependent on the trade agreements in place between
countries. These are further practically worked out in the light of several summits. They
usually cover rules concerning trade in goods and services, investments and intellectual
property. Moreover, they spell out implementation steps and dispute resolution mechanisms.
The important objective of WTO is to enrich the standard of living of the individuals belonging
to member countries, safeguard the environment, promote peace, ensure 100 percent
employment, and stimulate free trade, ultimately resulting in economic growth. Therefore,
these summits become a necessity to implement the core objectives of WTO.