Geneva, November 4, 2025. Speaking at the Plenary Session on Reform Process of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Chargé d'Affaires Rebeca Hernández Toledo reiterated the importance of multilateralism, inclusivity, and transparency in the WTO, as well as the defense of decision-making by consensus, as established in the Marrakech Agreement.
She called for limiting the principle of Special and Differential Treatment, or even worse, applying it selectively on a “case by case” basis, not to guide the WTO reform process. This is a historic right that must be preserved and focused on the fair integration of developing countries' economies into the flow of international trade.
Among the priorities that WTO reform should have, the diplomat identified resolving pending issues such as the re-establishment of the Appellate Body, defending the position that any proposal presented should not undermine the ministerial mandates and the principles of the WTO.
The Cuban representative described the current international scenario as complex, marked by an unjust international economic order that has not proven to be an effective way to realize our right to development, and stated that the lack of political will of developed countries to resolve these issues has undermined the functioning of this Organization.
The meeting was an opportunity to denounce the illegal and criminal blockade imposed by the United States government on Cuba for more than six decades, which has intensified to unprecedented levels in recent years. She argued that the blockade violates the rules of the multilateral trading system, the principles of the WTO, and constitutes the greatest obstacle to the normal development of Cuba's legitimate trade relations with the rest of the world.