EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Lithuania, Markets and Companies

“The successful outcome in Bali is essential for the reinforcement of the global trading system. The World Trade Organization should receive the impetus for consolidating its role in global trade liberalization and setting of the rules,” said President of the Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius.

The EU trade ministers, meeting in the margins of the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference, assessed the state of play in the negotiations and adopted the Council Conclusions setting out the EU position and expectations for the Conference.

While underlining that the main outcome of the Conference should be an ambitious Trade Facilitation Agreement, the Council also agreed that a limited number of agricultural issues – food security and improvement of the administration of tariff rate quotas, export competition – could fall into the Bali package depending on the overall balance of the final result.

The ministers have also emphasized that the conference should bring significant results to developing and in particular least developed countries by contributing to and strengthening their integration into the multilateral trading system. At the same time the ministers recognized the challenges ahead after the Bali trade talks.

With regard to the main goal – Trade Facilitation Agreement – if it is confirmed in the Ministerial Conference, ambitious and binding results in trade facilitation would ensure tremendous economic benefits to all WTO members, including the most vulnerable developing countries. Reducing the cost of trade just by 1 per cent – through streamlining customs procedures, cutting red tape, and fighting corruption – could bring over €30 billion to the world income and two thirds of this would go to the developing world.