On 30 March 2026, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) announced that its 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) had concluded early that morning, with ministers adopting a number of decisions and committing to continue work in Geneva, Switzerland, on key outstanding issues.
Cameroon’s trade minister, the Chair of MC14, said ministers had worked to conclude as many issues as possible across the various areas of negotiation during the four-day meeting. He thanked the ministers facilitating the discussions as well as all the ministers and delegations in attendance for their “tireless work”.
Nevertheless, he admitted, “we ran out of time” with regard to several outstanding issues such as the WTO’s work programme on electronic commerce and the continuation of the existing moratoriums on customs duties for electronic transmissions and non-violation complaints under the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
The WTO Director-General (DG) welcomed progress in discussions on a work programme to advance ongoing WTO reform talks, the decision to advance work on further disciplines on harmful fisheries subsidies and other issues.
“A lot was accomplished,” the WTO DG declared. “We decided to work differently. I think we have a new way of working at the WTO. To modernise the way we do business, so we can be more nimble, more responsive as we move forward.”
The WTO DG suggested members use the draft texts developed over the four days of ministerial discussions to finalise agreements on outstanding issues in Geneva at the next General Council meeting.
MC14 outcomes
Ministers agreed to continue negotiations on fisheries subsidies, with the aim of making recommendations to the 15th Ministerial Conference to achieve the comprehensive disciplines on fisheries subsidies set out in Article 12 of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
Ministers also adopted two MC14 decisions that were endorsed earlier by members in Geneva: on improving the integration of small economies into the multilateral trading system; and on enhancing the precise, effective and operational implementation of special and differential treatment provisions in the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
Continued work in Geneva
“We are very close to a Yaoundé package of agreements that would be important for members and the future of the organisation,” added the WTO DG. “But we are not all the way there yet.
“In the circumstances, we believe that it would be appropriate to preserve the important texts we have developed here and use them as a basis to finalise agreements in Geneva at the next General Council meeting.”
The WTO DG said the emerging Yaoundé package that members would be bringing back to Geneva included the following:
- The draft Yaoundé Ministerial Declaration on WTO Reform and Work Plan;
- The draft Ministerial Decision on Electronic Commerce;
- The draft Ministerial Decision on the Moratorium on TRIPS Non-Violation and Situation Complaints; and
- The least developed country (LDC) package.
Finalising this package “would amount to a considerable achievement,” the director-general said. “We shouldn’t leave it on the table.”
She noted that the existing moratoriums on customs duties on electronic transmissions and on TRIPS non-violation and situation complaints would expire at the end of this month.
The WTO director-general’s remarks are accessible at:
https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news_docs/dg_statement_mc14_closing_hod_e.pdf
The ministerial conference, normally held every two years, is the WTO’s highest decision-making body. Nearly 2,000 trade officials, including more than 90 ministers, attended the four-day MC14 in Yaoundé, the second time a ministerial conference has taken place in Africa.