Global Unions Statement of Priorities for the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11), Buenos Aires, Argentina 10 - 13 December 2017

Trade in agriculture is greatly important for all but particularly for the poorest women and men producers and for most developing countries. The current impasse on agricultural export subsidies and other trade-distorting domestic support is not helping to advance the globally declared goals for food security. A permanent solution to public stockholding would advance the efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The developmental mandate of the Doha Round stands many years now without agreement on how to implement it. Members need to find the political will to agree on issues like the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) and relaxed rules of origin and duty-free and quota-free market access for all LDC products, which are key in order to achieve the SDGs.

Developed countries should make preferential access to their markets conditional on the respect of ILO standards and work on special mechanisms to increase the capacity of developing countries, and in particular LDCs, to bring their laws in line with ILO standards and guarantee an ever-improving implementation. Liberalisation of trade and competition without better and safer working conditions for the workers who produce and distribute goods and services will fail to deliver the developmental mandate of the negotiations and reduce the potential positive impact of an inclusive trade system on the economy.

The WTO Membership should be taking bold decisions to restructure the international trading system in order to make trade work for development and the achievement of the Agenda 2030, including the creation and promotion of decent work. The international trade union movement calls on the Ministers to put development on the top of the agenda, deliver a strong mandate for action on agriculture, and agree a fair regime on fisheries that helps the oceans recover their stocks. Avoiding introducing new negotiation issues, like e-commerce, at this stage would help focus discussions on how a new multilateral trading system could contribute to economic recovery and the achievement of the SDGs.

Global Unions Statement of Priorities for the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11), Buenos Aires, Argentina 10 - 13 December 2017