Informal Heads of Delegation Meeting – May 3, 2021

Canada’s statement

Canada remains committed to a successful 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) and reiterates the need to achieve meaningful outcomes on fisheries subsidies, agriculture, services domestic regulation, dispute settlement reform, trade and health, and trade and sustainable development. We also continue to support the valuable work of all the joint statement initiatives (JSIs) even if outcomes are not yet possible. We also need to ensure that the longstanding moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions continues in order to prevent MC12 from being a step backwards at a time when we can ill afford to introduce new uncertainty into the global economy.  

That said, Canada is concerned about overloading the agenda for MC12. A focussed meeting with a small set of valuable outcomes that also sets us on a track for future results would be a success. To achieve this, delegations will need to step up in terms of meaningful engagement in Geneva now. Canada is ready to do its part.

More specifically, on trade and health, Canada is interested in exploring how the WTO framework can be improved to better support multilateral efforts in future pandemics. This includes finding ways that WTO Members can provide confidence to those working to address a global crisis that they will be able to harness all available resources to maximize the production and distribution of needed medical supplies.

For the fisheries subsidies negotiations, Canada stands ready to engage to ensure a productive ministerial meeting in July. As head of delegation, I am fully committed to dedicating the time and effort required to these negotiations. Chair, Canada will support you in whatever configurations you feel are needed to move the text forward.

Canada continues to place a priority on delivering agriculture outcomes at MC12 and believes that there at least three elements that can form part of a package. First, Members should be able to take a meaningful step forward on domestic support. Second, an agriculture outcome should include improvements in transparency across all agriculture pillars, notably on applied tariffs, on domestic support notification requirements, on export competition issues, and on export restrictions. Third, Members should be able to agree to a standalone outcome that exempts World Food Program humanitarian purchases from export restrictions. In terms of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, we should move forward on a ministerial declaration to ensure the SPS Agreement and Committee are well positioned to meet the emerging challenges facing agriculture and agricultural trade.

As trade in services can play an important role in the economic recovery, Canada welcomes the exploratory discussions on market access in the Council for Trade in Services Special Session (CTS-SS) and is looking forward to further discussion, including on environmental services, ahead of MC12.

In addition, the JSIs offer good possibilities for progress by MC12 and beyond. Canada is ready to intensify the work on e-commerce to meet the co-conveners' objectives for this critically important negotiation. On services domestic regulation, we are on track for a successful outcome at MC12. On investment facilitation and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), Canada will continue to contribute.

Canada is optimistic about the high level of enthusiasm and interest in meaningfully advancing work on issues at the nexus of trade and environmental sustainability. We consider that a ministerial statement should be an integral element of MC12 in this respect.