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Beyond the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the WTO: A Forward Looking Agenda for Development

The Eighth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland, from 15 to 17 December 2011 offers a critical opportunity to generate fresh perspectives to strengthen the multilateral trading system and bring momentum back to trade talks in ways that secure development-friendly outcomes. Rather than being merely a routine exercise, the Ministerial Conference could be harnessed to take stock of where progress has been made and where it falls short on the development- front, and to clarify what remains to be done for the poorest, smallest and most vulnerable WTO Members. Failure to address adequately the interests of the WTO’s poorest and most vulnerable member states not only damages the development prospects of these countries, but also presents clear risks for the credibility of the multilateral trading system.The Ministerial Conference is an opportunity to set a clear road map of priorities for ensuring more concrete outcomes for LDCs, other Sub-Saharan African countries, and SVEs. The paper proceeds in four parts. Part 1 revisits the commitment of the international community to ensuring that the international trading system is tailored to meet the particular needs of developing countries. It highlights the risks and opportunities for developing countries at the forthcoming Ministerial. Part 2 briefly examines the characteristics of LDCs and SVEs and their recent economic and trade performance. Part 3 assesses the lessons learned regarding the strategies that poor and small, vulnerable countries have pursued, particularly the use of coalitions, to advance their interests. Part 4 reviews the state of play on key priorities for the WTO’s poorest and smallest