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About the Book The World Trade Organization (WTO) has been lauded for overcoming longstanding negotiating deadlock to adopt a set of substantive decisions and agreements at its 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2022. However, when viewed from the standpoint of the WTO’s developing and least-developed member states, these outcomes deliver disappointingly little, this report maintains/argues. The authors examine the main elements of the MC12 package – encompassing such issues as WTO reform, a TRIPS decision, pandemic response, agriculture, fisheries subsidies and electronic commerce – and find that they largely fail to address core concerns of the developing and least-developed countries. KINDA MOHAMADIEH is Legal Advisor and Senior Researcher with the Third World Network office in Geneva. Her work focuses on World Trade Organization (WTO) processes and negotiations, international investment governance, and business and human rights issues. She is currently a PhD candidate at the international law department of the Graduate Institute in Geneva. RANJA SENGUPTA is a Senior Researcher with the Third World Network. She has an M.Phil. degree in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, and her current work spans international trade and investment, the UN 2030 Agenda, and financing for development. SANGEETA SHASHIKANT is a Legal Advisor to the Third World Network and Coordinator of its Development and Intellectual Property Programme. SANYA REID SMITH is a TWN Senior Researcher based in the TWN office in Geneva. She has been analysing the impacts of trade agreements both at the World Trade Organization and free trade agreements (FTAs) since 2004. CONTENTS 1 Introduction 2 The MC12 Ministerial Outcome Document and the work on WTO reform The most striking features of the MC12 Ministerial Outcome Document Paragraph 3 of the MC12 Ministerial Declaration on WTO reform The contention over ‘WTO reform’ and what it could mean for the future of the WTO The way forward in deciphering WTO reform 3 MC12 and the WTO’s pandemic response Background to the negotiations on the Declaration The content of the Declaration on the WTO response to the pandemic The way forward 4 The TRIPS Decision TRIPS Decision comes up short Making sense of the Ministerial Decision What next for developing countries? Footnote 1: Setting the record straight Therapeutics and diagnostics Implementing and using the Decision 5 MC12 Outcomes on Agriculture and Food Security The proposed Decision on Agriculture The Food Insecurity Declaration The Decision on the World Food Programme (WFP) Some strategy-related concerns in relation to agriculture and food security 6 The Fisheries Subsidies Agreement in MC12 7 Some impacts of renewing the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions 8 Conclusion
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