Canada’s interventions – WTO General Council

October 4, 2022

1. WTO REFORM – UPDATE BY THE CHAIR ON RECENT CONSULTATIONS

• A fully functioning dispute settlement system remains a critical priority for us. We are committed to the Member driven informal discussions under way at the technical level.
• While that proceeds, we should work together to take a very delegate-centered approach.
• Canada agrees with other members that the best approach is practical, iterative, and bottom-up. We should begin with the deliberative function, and draw from the expertise of technical Committees and Councils who are responsible for the day-to-day work of the organization.
• We must first focus on improving the workings of the WTO, not negotiating or re-negotiating economically substantive rules and commitments. Note that I said we must first focus- this is not to say that work on negotiations will not come, but reform must be practical and doable.

2. WORK PROGRAMME ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE – UPDATE BY THE CHAIR

• We are pleased to see that discussions about how we should advance the e-commerce work programme and moratorium have been initiated.
• Given the limited time we have to implement the MC12 decision, it is important to remain pragmatic and realistic on what can be accomplished by MC13. At the same time, there is no time to waste, and Canada is committed to actively participate in the reinvigoration of the work programme.
• This offers a unique opportunity to focus our discussions on trade-related aspects of digital trade that go well beyond the moratorium. In that context, Canada has noted the interest expressed by several developing Members to discuss the development dimension of digital trade, based on Members’ submissions, and is open to support it.
• The other pillar of the Ministerial Decision is discussions on the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions. Canada strongly supports maintaining these discussions under the General Council given the nature of electronic transmissions. It remains important to continue to consider the broad impact of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions, including for businesses and consumers.
• Therefore, the dedicated/structured discussions under the GC is the most appropriate venue to discuss the moratorium. We do not see the need to create any new structure to discuss the moratorium.
• The current dedicated/structured discussions offer sufficient flexibility to consider various configurations, including workshop, informal, technical to discuss areas of interests to Members.

As we consider topics for future discussions, hearing more from the private sector, including MSMEs from developing Members and relevant international organisations would help to deepen the understanding of the Membership.