Australia is a stable, democratic and culturally diverse nation with a highly skilled workforce and one of the strongest performing economies in the world.
We, Ministers and Representatives of the Parties to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the European Union (EU), met on the occasion of the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 27 March 2026 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
At this meeting, we discussed how the CPTPP-EU Trade and Investment Dialogue (CPTPP-EU Dialogue) could support rules-based trade and the multilateral trading system to ensure it is able to respond to current challenges. Discussions were comprehensive, solutions-focused and forward looking. We reached a shared understanding that:
Free and open markets and rules-based trade have contributed to our prosperity and are essential to our future economic growth and security;
The WTO is at a critical juncture amid heightened tensions in the global trading system;
Recognising the critical importance of urgent, deep, comprehensive and inclusive reform of the WTO, we will take concrete steps to support and strengthen the multilateral trading system;
We support the WTO reform process and welcome the work undertaken by the facilitator and will seek to collaborate in tangible, pragmatic ways, in order to deliver concrete reform recommendations by MC15;
We seek to enhance cooperation among like-minded WTO members in order to drive better outcomes for the broader membership;
We strive to lead in delivering concrete outcomes in areas relevant to supporting the rules-based trading system;
We recognise the positive role of plurilateral negotiations at the WTO, including the Joint Statement Initiatives, as a means to advance issues of interest, foster new ideas and approaches, and build momentum towards multilateral agreement of new rules;
In line with our 2025 CPTPP EU Trade and Investment Dialogue Joint Ministerial statement, we underscore our efforts to incorporate the Agreement on Electronic Commerce and the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement into the WTO legal framework; we reaffirm our commitment to a long-term solution for the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions; and we affirm the need to encourage greater participation in the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA);
We share concerns about market distorting practices, which distort trade and investment flows, affect resilient supply chains, and cause excess capacity. We also share concerns about economic coercion that seeks to exploit economic vulnerabilities and dependencies; and,
We will continue cooperating on areas such as trade diversification and facilitation and supply chain resilience, digital trade, and the global trading environment.
We will continue our collaboration, including through informal exchanges and, where appropriate, technical-level engagement to explore potential areas for practical cooperation.
We have instructed Senior Officials from CPTPP Parties and the EU to continue the development of workplans on areas of cooperation of mutual interest in preparation for a progress report and recommendations, as appropriate, to be provided to our next CPTPP-EU Dialogue.
