Twenty-nine government officials from 12 WTO members attended the latest Introductory Trade Policy Course for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), which took place at WTO headquarters from 29 April to 17 May. The course was closed with remarks from Dr Maarten Smeets, Chief of Technical Assistance (...)
Some 50 senior government officials from 42 WTO members and observers discussed government procurement as it relates to trade, good governance and inclusive sustainable development at the 2019 Advanced Global Workshop on Government Procurement held at the WTO from 13 to 17 (...)
Addressing via video a meeting of APEC trade ministers in Viña del Mar, Chile on 17 May, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo called on ministers to maintain their support for the trading system during an “extremely challenging” time for global trade. He argued that members have an opportunity to (...)
At the 17 May meeting of the Negotiating Group on Rules, heads of WTO member delegations discussed how to accelerate progress in the negotiations on fisheries subsidies with roughly seven months left to meet the end-2019 target for an agreement. Several members called for a draft text of the (...)
Speaking at an event organized by the World Economic Forum in Geneva on 15 May, Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff said: “Providing fairness, providing decent rules for international competition, is the central purpose of the WTO.” This is vitally important for all sectors of industry but as the (...)
At a meeting of the Committee on Rules of Origin on 15-16 May, WTO members continued to review the use and application of preferential rules of origin programmes for least-developed countries (LDCs). Members discussed a report from the WTO Secretariat looking at possible links between rules of (...)
WTO members discussed concerns over the sustainability of palm oil production and trade at the 15 May meeting of the Committee on Trade and Environment. Delegates from both exporting and importing economies highlighted the need to safeguard the environment while exploring the sector’s employment (...)
On 14 May 2019, Panama notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it had decided to initiate on 3 May 2019 a safeguard investigation on certain fresh, chilled or frozen meat of swine.
Japan has requested dispute consultations with India regarding duties imposed by India on imports of certain information and communications technology (ITC) products. The request was circulated to WTO members on 14 May.