Canada’s interventions – WTO General Council

July 25 and 26, 2022

8. PROPOSED GENERAL COUNCIL DECISION ON PROCEDURES TO ENHANCE TRANSPARENCY AND IMPROVE COMPLIANCE WITH NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS UNDER WTO AGREEMENTS – ALBANIA; ARGENTINA; AUSTRALIA; BRAZIL; CANADA; CHILE; COLOMBIA; COSTA RICA; THE EUROPEAN UNION; ICELAND; ISRAEL; JAPAN; REPUBLIC OF KOREA; LIECHTENSTEIN; MEXICO; REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA; MONTENEGRO; NEW ZEALAND; NORTH MACEDONIA; NORWAY; PARAGUAY, PERU; THE PHILIPPINES; SINGAPORE; SWITZERLAND; THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU; THAILAND; UNITED KINGDOM; THE UNITED STATES; AND URUGUAY (JOB/GC/204/REV.11 - JOB/CTG/14/REV.11)

• Thank you Chair. I did not take the floor yesterday because I chose to respect the guidance you provided at the beginning of the meeting and only take the floor unless we have something new to bring to the meeting.
• Regarding this agenda item, I recall that it is launching a process without prejudice to the outcome.  I very much agree with my Australian colleague that this does not bode very well for the reform process that we cannot agree to move forward on this proposal on transparency, six weeks after the ministerial conference.  We are bewildered by the number of misunderstandings, some of those I suspect are wilful, with regard to the proposal.
• We do not understand the unwillingness to even launch a process, and we are concerned and deeply disappointed.

10. WAIVERS UNDER ARTICLE IX OF THE WTO AGREEMENT

A. REVIEW OF WAIVERS PURSUANT TO ARTICLE IX:4 OF THE WTO AGREEMENT

III) CANADA – CARIBCAN, GRANTED ON 28 JULY 2015 UNTIL 31 DECEMBER 2023 (WT/L/958, WT/L/1146)

• I will start with an address to you all as this is my last General Council meeting.
• Thank you colleagues and DG for your kind words and fond farewells. DG, I must tell you that I am pleased to receive – no chuffed – to have received an A+!  Dear colleagues, it is with some sadness that I take my leave of my post and Geneva but I am pleased to report that – in my view – the WTO I am leaving is in better shape that the WTO that existed when I arrived.  We should all be proud of what we have accomplished at MC-12 but at the same time we must acknowledge that much work remains to be done to move forward as an organization.  
• To you DG, I wish to thank you for your collegiality, energy and commitment to the work of the organization. It was a pleasure to work with you.  I also wish to thank the highly effective and engaged DDGs and the secretariat. To my colleagues, I wish to thank you for your engagement, intellectual debate, collegiality and friendship.
• Chair, I have noted that much work occurs in both formal and informal groupings and I have found this work to be deeply rewarding and useful. I wish to single out for a special thank you for my colleagues in the Friends of the System, the Ottawa Group, the Velvet Mafia, the Friends of Whiskey and the Breakfast Group. 
• I also want to thank my DPR Martin Moen and all of the officers at my mission who have been an invaluable support and guide to me and who have unfailingly buttressed the work of the WTO. Colleagues, please be assured that while I am leaving, Canada will continue to be actively engaged in the life of this organization and will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that the WTO remains the basis for our collective economic growth and prosperity. 
• CARIBCAN reflects the special relationship between Canada and the Commonwealth Caribbean.  Since 1986, it has helped improve the trade and economic development prospects of the region.
• In light of the continuing relevance of the considerations underlying CARIBCAN, the initiative’s objectives, scope and coverage remain unchanged.
• Canada thanks Members who have expressed support for the WTO waiver.