WTO Members
Agree on Draft MC12 Decision on Small Economies’ Integration into Trading System
<Work Programme
on Small Economies>
WTO members agreed on 19 October 2021 on a decision to be submitted
to trade ministers for approval at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) at the
end of November to help further the integration of small economies into the world
trading system. Adopted at a meeting of the Committee on Trade and Development’s
Dedicated Session on Small Economies, it is the first decision proposed for MC12
where consensus has been forged.
Submitted
by the WTO's Group of Small, Vulnerable
Economies, the proposed decision calls for WTO members to address the
issue of integrating small economies into post COVID-19 economic recovery by looking
at the impact of the pandemic and the underlying challenges and opportunities faced
by small economies. The chair, Ambassador Muhammad Mujtaba
Piracha of Pakistan, praised WTO members on the outcome
of their discussions: “This is a moment to celebrate because, for this Ministerial
Conference, it is the first text to be consensually agreed by all members of the
WTO.” The 12th Ministerial Conference will take place in Geneva from 30 November
to 3 December.
The proposed
decision also calls on the Dedicated Session on Small Economies to continue monitoring
the progress of the small economies' proposals in WTO bodies and negotiating groups.
In addition, the decision requests ministers to take note of the work undertaken
to date in the Work Programme on Small Economies. The
latest version of a WTO Secretariat compilation paper regarding this work is available
here.
A Decision on Small Economies was
adopted by trade ministers at the 11th Ministerial Conference held in Buenos Aires in 2017. The
objective of the Work Programme on Small Economies is
to frame responses to the trade-related issues regarding the integration of small,
vulnerable economies into the multilateral trading system. More information on the
Work Programme on Small Economies can be found here.