Speaking at a virtual agriculture symposium titled “Illicit Trade in Food and Food Fraud” on 11 December, Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam emphasized that the WTO rulebook brings a legal framework to international food trade, helping to combat illicit trade. He said: “By definition, our DNA is legal trade. Strengthening the [...]
Senior trade officials attending a virtual “mini-ministerial” on 11 December have expressed a “clear desire” to advance work on development issues as well as on e-commerce, with the aim of achieving concrete outcomes at the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) next February in Abu Dhabi. This was the conclusion of [...]
A joint report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the WTO published on 9 December provides insights into global hydrogen trade and policies for scaling up production. Hydrogen produced exclusively from renewable power — known as green hydrogen — is widely recognised as a key pillar in replacing [...]
In their last dedicated discussion of the year on the Work Programme on E-commerce on 8 December, WTO members discussed text proposals for a ministerial decision to be considered at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in February 2024. The proposals address progress under the Work Programme, the moratorium on the [...]
At the close of the final Fish Week of the year held on 4-8 December, WTO members affirmed their commitment to the fisheries subsidies negotiations and remained hopeful to successfully conclude the talks by the 13th Ministerial Conference in February despite not being in a position to do so by [...]
At a meeting of the Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) held on 7 December, participants engaged in discussions with researchers, the private sector and other stakeholders to learn more about provisions for small businesses in regional trade agreements and to hear about the on-the-ground experiences [...]
WTO members discussed tourism services in the wake of COVID-19 at a session held on 6 December under the aegis of the Council for Trade in Services. They continued addressing implementation of mandates from the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) and reviewed the participation of least developed countries in services trade [...]
A ceremony held at the WTO headquarters on 7 December marked the end of the 2023 edition of three WTO trainee and internship programmes aimed at developing economies. A total of 43 participants spent almost a year in Geneva familiarising themselves with the WTO’s work. The Netherlands Trainee Programme invited 16 participants [...]
Remarks by DG Okonjo-Iweala Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to join you today to take stock of recent trade policy developments. Thank you, Ambassador Almoqbel (Saudi Arabia) for your introductory remarks. You all will have seen my Report which was circulated to Members on 23 November, in document WT/TPR/OV/26 [...]
A new joint report launched on 7 December looks into opportunities and challenges for developing economies arising from digital trade. “Digital Trade for Development” is a joint publication by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [...]