The supplement concerning the 13th Ministerial Conference for the publication “WTO Ministerial Conferences, key outcomes”

This report, which was submitted to the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in 2023, highlights the role of trade in helping countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also underlines the WTO’s contribution to improving livelihoods and making trade work for people.

The Information and Technology Agreement (ITA) was finalized at the first WTO Ministerial Conference, in Singapore, in 1996, committing its participants to completely eliminate duties on certain information technology products. In its 15 years, the ITA has promoted affordable access to a wide range of technologies, encouraging closer cooperation between developed and developing countries. As production networks become increasingly global, the ITA will continue to facilitate the shift from products made in a specific country to “made in the world”. To mark the 15th anniversary of the ITA, this publication charts the political and technical obstacles which were overcome during the creation of the Agreement and the issues which still need to be resolved. It details the establishment of the ITA Committee and how the Agreement is implemented, and investigates the impact the ITA has had on trade liberalization and innovation. The publication also examines the effect information technology has had on global production networks and what this means for developing countries and the ITA.

“25 years of the WTO: A Photographic Retrospective” captures some of the key moments in the life of the WTO since it came into being on 1 January 1995. Over 150 photos provide insights into the work of the organization over the past quarter of a century, reflecting 25 years of challenges, successes and perseverance.

A key guide to the intricacies of anti-dumping proceedings

The primary purpose of this training guide is to explain the WTO dispute settlement system to an interested person with little or no knowledge of how this system functions. However, with its detailed content, it could also serve as a very useful “handbook” to experienced practitioners of WTO Law. It explains the historic evolution of the current system and explores the practices that have arisen in its operation since its entry into force on 1 January 1995.

This handbook describes the historical and legal background to the TRIPS Agreement, its role in the WTO and its institutional framework and reviews the following areas: general provisions and basic principles; copyright and related rights; trademarks; geographical indications; patents; industrial designs, layout-designs, undisclosed information and anti-competitive practices; enforcement of IPRs; dispute settlement in the context of the TRIPS Agreement; TRIPS and public health; and current TRIPS issues. It contains a guide to TRIPS notifications by WTO members and describes how to access and make use of the official documentation relating to the TRIPS Agreement and related issues. Furthermore, it includes the legal texts of the TRIPS Agreement and the relevant provisions of the WIPO conventions referred to in it, as well as subsequent relevant WTO instruments.

How did a treaty that emerged in the aftermath of the Second World War, and barely survived its early years, evolve into one of the most influential organisations in international law? This unique book brings together original contributions from an unprecedented number of eminent current and former GATT and WTO staff members, including many current and former Appellate Body members, to trace the history of law and lawyers in the GATT/WTO and explore how the nature of legal work has evolved over the institution's sixty-year history. In doing so, it paints a fascinating portrait of the development of the rule of law in the multilateral trading system, and allows some of the most important personalities in GATT and WTO history to share their stories and reflect on the WTO's remarkable journey from a 'provisionally applied treaty' to an international organisation defined by its commitment to the rule of law.

For many micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) around the world today, access to financing can mean the difference between prosperity and bankruptcy. Working to identify, understand, and ultimately overcome the challenges that MSMEs face in their quest for acquiring financing will help to ensure that the next great technological idea does not cease to exist before it has a chance to change the world. This publication seeks to identify some of the most pressing of these challenges, understand them, and explore the potential application of digital technologies to mitigating their impact. To that end, the authors conducted interviews and surveys with experts in the field of MSME financing, including, in some cases, trade financing, to shed light on these issues and explore the ways in which technology can be used. This publication begins by examining some of the challenges that have been identified as impacting MSME financing, as well as the role that the COVID-19 pandemic has had in moulding the landscape. Next, it moves on to examining key digital technologies, their potential benefit to the industry – in particular to MSME financing – a selection of case studies and of companies utilizing these technologies, the adoption challenges they face, and recommendations for overcoming these challenges. The technologies in question include cloud computing, optical character recognition, the Internet of Things, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, distributed ledger technology and application programming interfaces.