World merchandise trade growth is likely to remain weak in early 2020, according to the WTO Goods Trade Barometer released on 17 February. The real-time measure of trade trends now reads 95.5 — less than the 96.6 recorded last November and well below the index’s baseline value of 100. This (...)
The WTO has issued a call for young economists to submit papers for the 2020 WTO Essay Award. The award aims to promote high-quality research on trade policy and international trade co-operation and to reinforce the relationship between the WTO and the academic community. Essays must be (...)
As part of its efforts to eliminate forced labour in Peru’s Amazon region, the International Labour Organization is working in collaboration with the most affected communities.
The 3rd Regional Dialogue on WTO Accessions for Africa was held on 12-14 February in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with the focus on the theme of “Deepening Economic Integration in Africa through WTO Membership and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation”. Hosted by the government of (...)
At the 13 February informal meeting of the Negotiating Group on Rules, heads of WTO delegations took stock of the state of play of fisheries subsidies negotiations and discussed how best to develop a consolidated legal text for an agreement to curb harmful fisheries subsidies, with the aim of (...)
In a speech delivered at the Addis Ababa University on 11 February, Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff stressed WTO commitment to supporting Africa’s continued economic integration, growth and development through the participation of African members in the organization. DDG Wolff paid his first (...)
WTO members moved closer to finalizing the new Aid for Trade (AfT) work programme for 2020-2021 at a meeting of the Committee on Trade and Development dedicated to AfT on 11 February 2020. Delegations also discussed at a workshop how Aid for Trade can help support rural economic (...)
WTO members highlighted the need for continued transparency in trade procedures at the 11 February meeting of the Committee on Trade Facilitation. The prompt submission of notifications related to the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) is vital for reaping the benefits of (...)
Japan has requested WTO dispute consultations with Korea regarding alleged subsidies provided by the Korean government to its shipbuilding industry. Japan’s request was circulated to WTO members on 10 February.
The WTO launched on 7 February a revamped WTO Data portal and a new WTO API portal to improve access to its international trade statistics and other WTO-related information. The latest features on the two portals aim to make it easier to find and share WTO (...)