The Republic of Korea is contributing KRW 417 million (approximately CHF 350,000) to help developing and least-developed countries (LCDs) participate effectively in global trade negotiations. This donation to the WTO’s DDA Global Trust Fund will finance training workshops for government (...)
WTO members agreed at a meeting of the General Council on 3 March 2020 to establish a working party for the accession of Curaçao to the organization. Situated in the southern part of the Caribbean Sea and with a population of 163,000 people, Curaçao is a constituent country and separate customs (...)
Speaking at an event in Washington DC on the future of the WTO on 3 March, Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff said that more intensive engagement is necessary to ensure that the benefits of the multilateral trading system continue and are increased. He continued: “Humanity has done great things (...)
Argentina, Finland, Spain and Uruguay have all formally committed to ratify the ILO’s Convention that provides an international framework to end violence and harassment in the world of work.
At a meeting of the full WTO membership on 2 March, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo set out his views on how members could position themselves to deliver agreements on fisheries subsidies and other issues at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June. He urged them to determine what can — (...)
On 28 February 2020, Ukraine notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 25 February 2020 a safeguard investigation on polymeric materials.
The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) meeting on 28 February was suspended due to a disagreement between the Philippines and Thailand regarding the Philippines’ request to impose retaliatory measures on imported Thai goods. The request stems from their dispute in DS371, “Thailand — Customs and Fiscal (...)
Some 150 academics, researchers and policy makers gathered on 27-28 February in Jakarta, Indonesia, to discuss emerging research challenges and opportunities in intellectual property (IP) and innovation. The discussion took place as part of the second IP & Innovation Researchers of Asia (...)
At a meeting of the Technical Barriers to Trade Committee on 25-26 February, WTO members discussed how to improve regulatory cooperation on self-driving cars and medical devices. They also exchanged experiences on procedures related to testing and certification. These discussions were followed (...)