Antigua and Barbuda
Statement by the Dr. The Honourable Errol Cort,
Minister of Finance and the Economy
World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference
Hong Kong, China
17th December, 2005

Mr. Chairman,

Let me begin by thanking you and the Government and people of Hong Kong, China, for the excellent meeting facilities, the wonderful logistical arrangements and the superb hospitality extended to my delegation at this august gathering. Long after the conclusion of this conference, the facility and the accompanying arrangements will be indelibly imprinted on our minds.

Mr. Chairman, over the last few days, we have heard the battle cry from these halls to all who would listen. It has been short and succinct and it simply says: “be prepared”. Be prepared: to take some risks; to improve the rules; and to level the playing field in the quest for free and fair trade and to preserve development at the heart of the Doha Round.

Antigua and Barbuda has heard and heeded that battle cry and I hereby reaffirm our commitment to work assiduously to address the issues at hand. I do so secured in my belief that the Doha Development Round provides Members of the WTO with an opportunity to make trade an essential tool for economic growth and development.

Mr. Chairman, for a country to benefit fully from trade it needs to put in place the necessary structures to nurture the seeds of economic growth and development. It is against this backdrop that my government has embraced a path of macro-economic and social reform. Our reform agenda is well known: fiscal consolidation, reducing the deficit while establishing an efficient tax system; the establishment of a priority public sector investment programme; the creation of an enabling environment for the private sector to flourish; social protection of the most vulnerable in our society; and legal reform.

My government’s goal is to increase Antigua and Barbuda's attractiveness as a place to do business, with good governance and transparency as the building blocks of the programme. Concomitant with this are ongoing efforts to reduce economic vulnerabilities, eliminate barriers to competitive global trade and investment, increase competitiveness in the private sector, improve domestic employment, and enhance our capacity for sustainable growth in the face of external circumstances.

This notwithstanding, we are a small, vulnerable, highly open economy, but we recognize the inextricable link between trade and economic development. Without the former, the benefits to be derived from the latter, such as improving the standard of living of our people will be severely diminished.

As small, vulnerable economies, we therefore require flexibility and policy space for implementing the provisions and commitments of various WTO agreements. We need longer transitional periods for implementation and fair market access for our products and services. The prospect that my nation could be forced into liberalization of tariffs without a suitable timeframe and without   the necessary flexibility to institute and complete needed tax reforms is indeed daunting.  The precedent exists for allowing such flexibility commensurate with our small share of world trade.  This is already a mandate of the WTO based on that understanding of “less than full reciprocity”.

The flexibilities available in paragraph 8 of the General Council Decision of 31st August 2004 are simply not sufficient for our specific needs.  As a part of the plan of action resulting from this Ministerial Conference, all WTO Members need to set a roadmap in NAMA that recognizes the needs of small, vulnerable economies based on their share of world trade.  We are not all equally endowed, nor do we have equal size and levels of development.  This fact, Mr. Chairman must never be forgotten and must be specifically accounted for in this Round.

Mr. Chairman, in 2003, Antigua and Barbuda’s services export in value terms was in the order of 900 to1. Services today contribute over 80% to our Gross Domestic Product.  Given our relatively smaller manufacturing and agricultural base, the services negotiations are extremely important for Antigua and Barbuda, since the services sector present one of the greatest opportunities for economic progress in this the Doha Development Round. 

For progress in the negotiations in services, we need all WTO Members to make quality offers that address constructively the requests of trading partners in a commercially meaningful way. Major trading nations must lead by example through the offers that they make, thus allowing others to commit further for the mutual benefit of all. 

In the same vain, we must also preserve the individual right of countries’ to regulate domestic sectors in accordance with international best practices in pursuit of their own developmental goals. 

Mr. Chairman, we face great challenges in our diversification efforts to remain world competitive. Nevertheless, we continue to believe in a rules-based trading system because we know that our developmental goals should be protected in such a system.  All WTO Members despite their size and levels of development must respect the rules of the multilateral trading system.

Mr. Chairman, we are indeed pleased with the progress made in Trade Facilitation and look forward to further advancements, including technical assistance that will allow all Members to participate more effectively in this important process. 

As a small, vulnerable economy, we also look forward to working until the end of the Round under the rubric of paragraph 35 of the draft Ministerial Text.  We urge that all Members take into consideration our concerns in Rules and in TRIPS negotiations.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, we welcome the Aid for Trade Initiative and further urge that it provides real and tangible benefits towards growth and development.  For Antigua and Barbuda, success in this Ministerial Conference means keeping development as the focus in the current negotiations and throughout the Round.

Thank you.