Thank You, Chair.
The WTO Agreements, as agreed by the WTO Membership, recognise the importance of market-oriented conditions to the world trading system. We seek to ensure fair competition, by guaranteeing that all WTO Members uphold their obligations under the Agreements.
The world trading system can only succeed if we tackle unfair practices when these occur. We therefore thank Brazil, Japan and the United States for enabling this discussion. It is important that we make progress on issues such as industrial subsidies, state owned enterprises, and forced technology transfer. We also need to ensure that we reduce protectionist measures.
The United Kingdom believes that unfair practices not only violate the agreements but have real life impacts on the life of our citizens. Innovation is stifled, communities are damaged, and uncompetitive companies are bolstered.
Thank you, Chair.
