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.
The WTO’s rules-based framework benefits farmers and other participants in nascent and developing agri-food value chains by facilitating their daily operations and encouraging regulatory cooperation among governments, WTO Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff told the G-20 Agricultural Summit in (...)
Participating in an Informal WTO Ministerial Meeting organised by the Indian government in New Delhi on 13 May, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo outlined the current discussions regarding WTO reform and told those attending that “this is your organization ... make your voices heard in this (...)
A rules-based, non-discriminatory and equitable trading system is not only in the interest of all trading partners but is essential to preserving the interests of the poorest and most vulnerable economies, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told WTO members on 10 May. Speaking at (...)