Ministry of Economy of Ukraine

            The 11^th Ministerial Conference took place from 10 to 13 December 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was chaired by Minister Susana Malcorra of Argentina. The Conference ended with a number of ministerial decisions, including on fisheries subsidies and e-commerce duties, and a commitment to continue negotiations in all areas.

            The Conference opened with the signing of a presidential declaration in support of the WTO. This was signed by:

• President Macri of Argentina,
• President Temer of Brazil,
• President Cartes of Paraguay, and
• President Vázquez of Uruguay
• as well as by representatives of Colombia, Guyana, Mexico, Peru and Suriname.

            On 11-12 December the plenary sessions provided an opportunity for ministers representing the WTO's 164 members to make prepared statements. At the closing session on 13 December, the Chair, Minister Malcorra, issued a Chair's statement and Director-General Roberto Azevêdo delivered his closing speech.

            On the final day of the conference, three proponent groups announced new initiatives to advance talks at the WTO on the issues of:

• electronic commerce;
• investment facilitation; and
• micro, small and medium size enterprises (MSMEs).

            Other notable events at the Conference included:

• the publication of the Buenos Aires Declaration on Women and Trade;
• the launch of the "Enabling E-commerce" initiative; and
• the announcement of Google as the WTO/ICC's first Small Business Champion following the culmination of the small business video competition.

            The Conference ended with the following ministerial decisions on:

• Fisheries Subsidies;
• Work Programme on Electronic Commerce;
• TRIPS non-violation and situation complaints;
• Work Programme on Small Economies;
• The creation of the Working party on accession for South Sudan.

            In addition, resulting from the consultations and considerations outcome, Ukraine has joined the following documents:

• Declaration in support of the Multilateral Trading System
• Joint statement on Electronic Commerce
• Joint statement on Services Domestic  Regulations
• Buenos Aires Declaration on Women and Trade.

Detailed information on the 11^th WTO Ministerial Conference (Buenos Aires)