GENEVA – This week, Ambassador María Pagán and members of the U.S. delegation participated in discussions ahead of the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in February.
Ambassador Pagán engaged in small group discussions to exchange views on possible outcomes regarding agriculture where she reiterated the importance of Members approaching the negotiations with a fundamentally constructive and holistic view. Ambassador Pagán and members of the U.S. delegation also participated in drafting sessions to contribute toward a potential consensus Ministerial declaration for MC13.
Ambassador Pagán continued to conduct bilateral and small group outreach with WTO Members to advance dispute settlement reform discussions and, in particular, engaged with Members on a shared understanding of essential security and other critical issues related to reform.
The U.S. delegation participated in the Dispute Settlement Body meeting. In the meeting, the delegation intervened to support the ongoing reform process and welcomed the dedicated level of participation of Members in the reform discussions over the past two years. The U.S. delegation also reiterated that a reformed dispute settlement system should address erroneous interpretations on issues such as essential security, regulatory space, trade remedies, and other fundamental, systemic issues.
Ambassador Pagán and the U.S. delegation participated in a meeting of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation to welcome the progress made on important services issues. During the meeting, WTO Members exchanged views on issues affecting the blocked submissions which would allow for the implementation of the Services Domestic Regulation Joint Statement Initiative Reference Paper.
The U.S. delegation participated in virtual small group meetings to advance key issues in the E- Commerce Joint Statement Initiative.
The U.S. delegation participated in various meetings throughout the second week of the WTO's "fish month" to try to reach agreement over the next three weeks on a text to discipline harmful fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing.
The U.S. delegation participated in a meeting of the Trade and Environmental Structured Discussions (TESSD) to discuss a potential MC13 co-Chairs statement and a 2024 workplan to deepen discussions on trade and climate-related topics. The United States is a co-sponsor of the TESSD.
The U.S. delegation participated in a meeting of the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DDP) to discuss a potential draft MC13 ministerial statement. The United States is a co-sponsor of the DDP.
The U.S. delegation participated in consultations with the Chair of the Council on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
The U.S. delegation participated in an informal meeting of the Committee on Market Access, the Gender working group, and an informal session on a development related proposal from the Group of 90 relating to the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) agreements.
The U.S. delegation comprises Washington and Geneva based officials and is supported in its work in Geneva by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in Washington, D.C. and a range of other U.S. agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and Department of the Treasury. The delegation engaged in 60 additional bilateral and plurilateral meetings during the week across a wide range of issues.
###
