GEN19-14

The activity will cover, on two consecutive full days, the state of play of the ongoing WTO negotiations (especially those that may be considered by the Ministers at MC12), namely Agriculture, Fisheries subsidies, Services and the DSB, The activity will also focus on the WTO joint initiatives, with a special focus on e-commerce. Thirdly, the activity will concentrate on the modernization proposals of the WTO, including the Appellate Body reform. This segment of the workshop will also cover some of the tensions that are currently characterizing part of the WTO negotiations. Finally, the workshop will dedicate one session to relevant topics from the Caribbean perspective.
The activity will be carried out by one WTO Secretariat official as main speaker, and by a number of experts (from CARICOM, the OECS, and governments of the participating Members) as discussants. The methodology will rely on exhaustive presentations of the topics by the speaker, followed by discussion sessions led by one or more discussants, and finally a Q&A session for each agenda item. The activity being intended for senior government officials, will not contain a general introduction to the WTO, which will be taken for granted, but will rather develop the main issues that are currently shaping the negotiations and discussions at the WTO. The goal is to enhance the awareness of the participants on this particular period in the WTO existence, especially in view of the next Ministerial Conference, with due consideration to the specific needs of the region targeted by the workshop.