Ministers exchange views on key WTO topics, consider paths forward at MC14

The purpose of the ministerial sessions was to allow ministers and trade officials at MC14 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, to engage in discussions aimed at providing political direction for future work at the WTO as well as to address unresolved issues, with the goal of finalizing specific decisions, ministerial guidance or other outcomes.

The ministerial sessions addressed the following topics:

• Fisheries subsidies;
• Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement;
• E-Commerce Work Programme and moratorium;
• Agriculture; and
• Development, including issues relevant to least developed countries.

The ministerial sessions were preceded by a report from the Chair of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), Ambassador Clare Kelly of New Zealand, who provided an update on the discussions concerning dispute settlement reform. 

Ambassador Kelly noted that she held two rounds of consultations with members on the issue in July and November 2025 respectively on how to advance the discussions. In those consultations, members overwhelmingly reaffirmed that dispute settlement reform is a priority, she said. At the same time, she added, many members recognized the current difficult context surrounding dispute settlement reform and supported the resumption of work after MC14 once the time is right and members are ready.

At the Ministerial Session on Fisheries Subsidies, facilitated by Atty Asis G Perez, Undersecretary at the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines, WTO members praised the entry into force of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies  and welcomed the deposit of instruments of acceptance by Paraguay, Samoa, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 26 March. To date, 119 WTO members have formally accepted the Agreement. 

Members also reaffirmed their commitment to continue negotiating on outstanding fisheries subsidies issues with the aim of finding consensus on additional provisions to further strengthen the disciplines on fisheries subsidies. WTO members considered a draft Ministerial Decision, which the chair of the Negotiating Group on Rules, Ambassador Leslie Ramsammy of Guyana, issued under his own responsibility. 

More information on fisheries subsidies is available here.

The session on the IFD Agreement was facilitated by Dwright Fitzgerald Bramble, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Investment and Diaspora Affairs of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Members reviewed prospects for incorporating the IFDA into the WTO legal framework. 

The facilitator noted broad backing for the IFDA and highlighted its development benefits. Around 60 delegations - including some non-IFDA participants - took the floor to urge the incorporation of the Agreement into the WTO framework (Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement) as a plurilateral agreement, stressing that incorporation would help unlock investment potential in developing economies and signal confidence in the multilateral trading system. 

One minister said that investment is not a trade issue under the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO and cautioned against the use of plurilateral agreements to sideline outstanding multilateral mandates.

At the session, Bangladesh announced its decision to join the IFDA, bringing the total number of the Agreement's co-sponsors to 129.

The session on electronic commerce was facilitated by Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica. The facilitator provided an outline of elements that could comprise a possible package on e-commerce based on consultations with members. These elements include reinvigorating e-commerce discussions through the Work Programme on E-Commerce or through a new Committee on Digital Trade, strengthening the development dimension of e-commerce efforts at the WTO, and continuing a moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions for which members need to decide the duration. Members took the floor and provided their views on these elements. 

At the close of the session, the facilitator noted that members have moved towards convergence. However, she noted that members' positions have yet to fully converge. More discussions would be convened after the session, she said, adding that e-commerce is an issue important for growth and development and relevant to all members' futures.

The session on agriculture, facilitated by H. E. Bilal Azhar Kayani, Minister of State of Pakistan, featured a robust discussion among members covering issues ranging from market access, food security and public stockholding to special safeguard measures. Most members expressed their desire to continue discussions on substantive matters back in Geneva. Several members expressed disappointment in the progress made on key issues to date, and called for new approaches to future negotiations.