Developing members of the World Trade Organization vowed to work together to push for a "concrete outcome" in the international trade regime's top decision-making body's meeting in Hong Kong.
At the ongoing sixth WTO ministerial conference, which involves delegates from 150 members, developing member groups including the G-20, the G-33, the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific countries), the LDCs (least developed countries), the African Group and the Small Economies, held their first ministerial meeting in the WTO history and issued a joint statement on Friday.
The statement called for removing distortions that "inhibit the export growth of developing countries" and to give them "adequate policy space" for sustainable development.
It called on developed countries to completely eliminate export support measures by 2010 and cut trade-distorting domestic support.
It reaffirmed support for the Least Developed Countries demands for duty-free and quota-free market access.
It also urged for a "firm commitment" to be made at the Hong Kong meeting to address the issue of cotton. Some Western African countries required the United States, the world 2nd largest cotton exporter, to remove domestic subsidies but the United States refused to give concrete promises.