NEWS RELEASES

December 18, 2005 (3:00 p.m. EST)
No. 247 

WTO HONG KONG MINISTERIAL: REAL PROGRESS BUT MUCH WORK REMAINS

International Trade Minister Jim Peterson and Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Andy Mitchell today issued the following joint statement at the conclusion of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, which took place from December 13 to 18, 2005:

“Canada and 148 other members of the WTO came to Hong Kong to advance negotiations on the ambitious global trade agenda negotiated in Doha, Qatar, in 2001.

“With 70 percent of our gross domestic product and one in five jobs linked to trade, Canadian businesses and agricultural producers need transparent and predictable rules and increased market access. The WTO is the place where this can happen.

“This text provides scope for Canada to achieve its objectives in key areas. A number of Canadian proposals and ideas are reflected in the Declaration, specifically on non-agricultural market access and domestic support to agriculture. We are also pleased that Canada’s objectives have been met on the treatment of sensitive products and on exporting state trading enterprises.

“While the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference did achieve real progress in the areas of market access for non-agricultural products, services, export subsidies for agriculture, and duty-free, quota-free market access for least-developed countries, much remains to be done. We will work aggressively with members and domestic stakeholders toward completing the negotiations by the end of 2006.

“Doha is the right thing to do. It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance global prosperity and development and to lift millions of people out of poverty. Developing countries need to access the benefits of global trade.

“Regular and open dialogue with provinces, territories, business groups and agri-food stakeholders on Canada’s negotiating positions—before, during and after the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference—means that Canada will continue to have a strong presence at the negotiating table. The advice received from these groups was essential to both informing and strengthening our approaches, and we thank them for their ongoing contribution.”

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