The WTO Secretariat has circulated a meeting notice and list of items proposed for the next meeting, on 22 June 2016, of the Dispute Settlement Body, which consists of all WTO members and oversees legal disputes among them. The meeting notice is circulated in the form of a document officially (...)
World trade recorded a 1.1 per cent decline in the first quarter of 2016 compared with the previous quarter, and a 1.0 per cent decline compared with the same period last year, according to quarterly trade volume statistics jointly prepared by the WTO and the United Nations Conference on Trade (...)
Liberia has notified the WTO that its Parliament has ratified its Protocol of Accession, clearing the final hurdle for its WTO membership. According to WTO rules, Liberia will become a WTO member on 14 July, 30 days after its instrument of acceptance was deposited at the (...)
The Republic of Moldova has ratified the WTO’s revised Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), submitting its instrument of accession to the WTO Secretariat on 14 June. Starting next month, the country will benefit from new market access opportunities and other provisions under the (...)
At the Technical Barriers to Trade Committee meeting on 14-16 June 2016, WTO members discussed how complying with standards can promote trade in energy efficient products and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, they acknowledged the need for increased global cooperation on (...)
Speaking at a special session of the 16th Annual Conference on WTO Law on 10 June in honour of Professor John Jackson and Ambassador Julio Lacarte Muró, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo paid tribute to both men for their profound contribution to the development of the multilateral trading system. (...)
WTO developing country members were urged on 9 June to start notifying their timeframes and needs for fully implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), as entry into force of the TFA draws closer.
On 9 June 2016 Saudi Arabia, as President of the GCC and on behalf of the GCC Member States: Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 9 (...)
Seychelles has become the latest country to accept the 2005 protocol amending the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Ms Cillia Mangroo, Director-General of the Trade Division at Seychelles’ Ministry of Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy, presented (...)
Online registration for the 2016 Public Forum is now open on the WTO website: www.wto.org/pf16. The Forum will be held at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva from 27 to 29 September. Under the theme “Inclusive Trade”, it will be an opportunity for participants to discuss how a wider range of (...)