Speaking at an informal ministerial meeting on 23 May organised by the Australian government in the margins of the OECD meetings in Paris, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo urged ministers to address systemic challenges and advance negotiating work in parallel. He warned that current progress on (...)
Speaking at a meeting of the OECD Ministerial Council in Paris on 23 May, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo highlighted that advances in technology are changing the way we trade and do business today, facilitating trade in digital products and services. Noting the rapid growth in e-commerce and (...)
On Sunday 16 June, the WTO will welcome the public to its headquarters in Geneva. The 2019 WTO Open Day will give visitors the chance to find out more about the work of the WTO, to explore its historic building and to enjoy a full range of activities that will take place on the lakeside (...)
At a meeting organized in Paris by the Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on 22 May 2019, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo provided an update on the state of play in global trade and on discussions about the reform of the WTO. He welcomed (...)
The fourth review of the trade policies and practices of Trinidad and Tobago takes place on 22 and 24 May 2019. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
The WTO Secretariat has circulated a meeting notice and list of items proposed for the next meeting, on 28 May 2019, 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 (...)
In an address to the French National Assembly in Paris on 21 May 2019, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said that the multilateral trading system has proven to be essential for supporting growth and development globally. He acknowledged France’s vocal support for the trading system and stressed (...)
In a speech to the AIG Global Forum in Rotterdam on 21 May, Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff said that at a time of “stress” for the trading system, now is the opportunity to adapt the system to current realities and to prepare it to meet future challenges. He stressed that to respond to the (...)
World trade growth is likely to remain weak into the second quarter of 2019 according to the WTO’s latest World Trade Outlook Indicator (WTOI), released on 20 May. The new WTOI reading is 96.3, exactly as it was in the previous release in February this year, maintaining the weakest level since (...)