Today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) released the following statement at the conclusion of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) where consensus was reached on a variety of key trade issues. Specifically, the members achieved agreements on an intellectual property response to the pandemic, ensuring food security amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prohibiting subsidies for illegal fishing, and continuing the longstanding moratorium on e-commerce tariffs.
“This agreement is great progress for global trade policy, and for the success and health of the World Trade Organization (WTO). At her first Ministerial Conference, Ambassador Tai steadfastly represented the United States, and I commend her for her work achieving this meaningful outcome.
“The Committee’s Chief Trade Counsel, Alexandra Whittaker, and Trade and Labor Oversight Counsel, Kelly Fay Rodríguez, represented the Committee at MC12, meeting with officials at the WTO and with United Nations’ agencies: the International Labour Organization, UN Women, and the World Intellectual Property Organization, to advance a trade agenda that promotes labor rights, women’s economic empowerment, and inclusion of indigenous peoples and local communities, among other issues.
“MC12 will be remembered for ushering in a new era of compromise for the WTO. These agreements may not be perfect, but they are strong foundations and I look forward to building upon them.”
Original source can be found here.
