13th Ministerial Conference (Abu Dhabi, 26 February – 2 March 2024)
The 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) was held from 26 February to 2 March in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, under the motto “Delivering For People Through Trade”. Despite the context characterised by a difficult international geopolitical situation and the strong divergences between Member States on the main negotiating chapters, the Ministers managed to achieve some goals, which, although falling short of expectations, were useful to continue the Organisation’s reform path in the post-Abu Dhabi era.
The Ministerial Conference ended with the adoption of a Ministerial Declaration committing Member States to continue the Organisation’s reform process launched at MC12, aimed at improving all its functions and strengthening the multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core. The Declaration also recalls the importance of open, inclusive, resilient, sustainable, diversified and reliable global supply chains; the growing importance of services, which generate more than two-thirds of the world’s economic output and account for more than half of all jobs; and the centrality of the development dimension in the WTO’s activity (with specific references to women’s participation in trade and the role played by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in economic growth and poverty reduction in all WTO Member States).
The main achievements include the multilateral moratorium on customs duties on e-transmissions (the so-called ‘e-commerce moratorium’), which is of interest to businesses and consumers globally, including those in developing countries (DCs), and was renewed until the next Ministerial Conference (or until 31 March 2026, whichever comes first).
With reference to the reform of the dispute settlement system, the decision adopted by the Ministers, confirming the objective already set at MC12, reaffirms the Member States’ commitment to find solutions to outstanding issues and to restore the full functionality of the system by 2024.
A Ministerial Declaration to strengthen regulatory cooperation to limit the impact of technical regulations on trade was also adopted by Ministers.
Important results were achieved in the trade and development chapter, where Ministers adopted a declaration to improve the implementation of the Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) provisions for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and a Ministerial decision to temporarily maintain certain benefits for LDCs that move to the DC category.
Finally, the Ministers adopted the WTO accession package of East Timor and the Comoro Islands, which will become full members of the Organisation once the necessary internal ratification processes are completed, thus bringing the number of Member States to 166.
On the other hand, the Ministers failed to conclude “Phase 2” of the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, which covers the issues that were left out of the agreement reached at MC12 (notably subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing; special and differential treatment for developing countries and LDCs; reporting and transparency requirements). They also failed to relaunch the negotiation on agriculture, which remains a priority for the entire WTO, and to strengthen the WTO’s deliberative work on issues central to current international trade, such as the link between trade and industrial policy and between trade and the environment. These issues will be prioritised in the post Abu Dhabi discussions, in the run-up to the MC14, which will be held in Cameroon between the end of 2025 and the first half of 2026.
For more information on the Conference: WTO | Thirteenth WTO Ministerial Conference