WTO: Director General Outlines Initiatives for Responsible and Sustainable Trade

01 February, 2022

On 28 January 2022 the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) gave a keynote speech at a conference on more responsible and sustainable trade, held in France which currently has the presidency of the European Union. The speech

See More

WTO: Five Aims for the WTO Member Countries in 2022

18 January, 2022

A blog post on 10 January 2022 from the WTO Deputy Director General Ms Gonzalez looked at five important tasks for the WTO in 2022. Response to the pandemic The WTO members need to deliver a trade and health response to the pandemic, in view

See More

WTO: World Trade Statistical Review 2021

20 August, 2021

On 30 July 2021 the WTO released the World Trade Statistical Review for 2021, setting out the statistics that clarify trends in world trade. Goods The effect of the pandemic led to a fall of 8% in the value of world merchandise exports in

See More

WTO: Goods Trade Barometer Shows Strong Expansion

19 August, 2021

On 18 August 2021, the WTO published the latest reading of the WTO Goods Trade Barometer. The Barometer provides real time information on trends in trade in merchandise relative to the recent trajectory. It is therefore an indicator that runs ahead

See More

WTO: Trade Monitoring Report

07 July, 2021

On 28 June 2021 the World Trade Organisation (WTO) issued the 25th WTO Trade Monitoring Report on G20 trade measures. The report covers the period from mid-October 2020 to mid-May 2021. The review notes that the period saw an increase in

See More

WTO: Discussion on MSMEs and Green Technology

15 March, 2021

At the meeting of the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on 10 and 11 March 2021, members discussed among other topics the use of IP by small businesses in relation to innovations in green technology. The

See More

WTO Adopts Package of Recommendations to Assist MSMEs

17 December, 2020

On 11 December 2020 the WTO’s Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) adopted a package of six recommendations and declarations concerning problems encountered by MSMEs when engaging in international trade. The

See More

WTO: Recommendations to assist small business

07 November, 2020

At a meeting on 5 November 2020 the Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) completed a package of six recommendations and declarations to assist the participation of MSMEs in international trade. The

See More

WTO: Trade Issues and the Environment

21 October, 2020

On 15 October 2020 the WTO issued a publication entitled Short Answers to Big Questions on the WTO and the Environment answering questions on issues relating to trade and the environment. Links Between Trade and the Environment Although trade

See More

WTO: Role of trade policies in addressing plastic pollution

04 October, 2020

On 30 September 2020 the WTO Deputy Director-General addressed the role of trade policy in combating plastic pollution. Trade regulations, border duties and taxes, domestic tax law and incentives in the form of subsidies are some of the tools that

See More

WTO: Enhancement of Special and Differential Measures for Developing Countries

23 September, 2020

On 23 September 2020 the WTO’s Committee on Trade and Development is holding a special meeting to discuss the possible enhancement of the measures for special and differential (S&D) treatment for developing countries contained in the various

See More

WTO issues update on accessions

05 September, 2020

On 1 September 2020 the World Trade Organisation (WTO) published an update on accession negotiations for countries aiming for membership of the organisation. The WTO currently has 164 member countries and covers 98% of world trade. The WTO

See More

WTO: Effect of COVID-19 Crisis on Trade Costs

20 August, 2020

On 12 August 2020 the WTO issued an information note on Trade Costs in the Time of Global Pandemic. The note uses information from the WTO’s forthcoming Global Trade Costs Index and other available indicators to look at the effect on trade costs

See More

WTO: Discussion of Future Objectives

10 March, 2020

On 3 March 2020 at an event on the future of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) an address was given by the Deputy Director General of the WTO summarising the work required to maintain and increase the benefit from the multilateral trading system.

See More

WTO: Trade Policy Review of European Union

04 March, 2020

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) issued a report in connection with the trade policy review of the European Union (EU) conducted on 18 and 20 February 2020. The review looked at developments in EU trade policy in the period from March 2017 to

See More

UK notifies the WTO of withdrawal from the European Union

04 February, 2020

A communication from the UK on 1 February 2020 (WT/GC/206) has set out detail on the implications for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) of its departure from the European Union (EU). The communication notifies the WTO that the UK ceased to be a

See More

WTO: Discussions on Investment Facilitation for Development

30 December, 2019

A meeting of the WTO’s Structured Discussions on Investment Facilitation for Development took place on 12 December 2019. The initiative was launched two years ago and WTO members aim to make progress on this issue before the 12th Ministerial

See More

WTO: Trade restrictions at historic highs in G20 countries

03 December, 2019

A Trade Monitoring Report was issued by the WTO on 21 November 2009 covering the period from mid-May to mid-October 2019. The report indicates that the G20 countries introduced import-restrictive measures affecting goods worth around USD 460.4

See More