Over the past seven decades, since the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was established in 1947, there has been a phenomenal increase in international trade in goods, largely due to sustained efforts by the world’s main trading nations to reduce and eliminate tariff barriers in a multilaterally orchestrated manner. This publication reviews how the procedures and practices relating to tariff negotiations and renegotiations have evolved over this time. In particular, this new edition recounts how negotiations to expand the duty-free coverage of the Information Technology Agreement were concluded and provides an account of tariff renegotiations regarding successive enlargements of the European Union. It also covers tariff negotiations for the accession of a number of new members to the WTO, such as China and Russia. This book will be of particular interest to negotiators, members of government, trade ministries, economists and academics specialized in trade policy.

WTO members have notified over 25,000 draft regulatory measures to the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee over the past 20 years, covering imports ranging from food to medical devices. Over 470 of these measures have undergone detailed scrutiny by WTO members in the TBT Committee. But only a handful of these issues have resulted in formal disputes, proving the effectiveness of the committee process. This brochure, produced to mark the WTO’s 20th anniversary, looks into the TBT Agreement and the work of the TBT committee.

This book was commissioned by the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a factual account of the first decade of its existence. It aims to cover the principal activities of the WTO as the successor to GATT and the steps taken to establish a global trading system. Peter Gallagher, the author, is an independent trade analyst and consultant, who records what might be regarded as the WTO's main achievements as well as describing the controversies that have arisen in its first ten years. A useful reference book for policy makers, journalists, members of trade delegations and for everyone who requires a detailed understanding of the workings of the WTO.

The History and Future of the World Trade Organization is a comprehensive account of the economic, political and legal issues surrounding the creation of the WTO and its evolution. Fully illustrated with colour and black-and-white photos dating back to the early days of trade negotiations, the publication reviews the WTO's achievements as well as the challenges faced by the organization, and identifies the key questions that WTO members need to address in the future.

The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty looks at the complex relationships between economic growth, poverty reduction and trade, and examines the challenges that poor people face in benefiting from trade opportunities. Written jointly by the World Bank Group and the WTO, the publication examines how trade could make a greater contribution to ending poverty by increasing efforts to lower trade costs, improve the enabling environment, implement trade policy in conjunction with other areas of policy, better manage risks faced by the poor, and improve data used for policy-making.

This new edition provides an introduction to the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture, outlining its key principles, the work of the Agriculture Committee, and how disputes have interpreted WTO law on agriculture. The publication includes the full text of the Agriculture Agreement as well as the decisions taken on agriculture at the 2013 Bali Ministerial Conference. A frequently asked questions section provides a handy overview of the Agriculture Agreement and the issues covered by it. The publication also provides an update on agriculture negotiations at the WTO. This publication forms part of the WTO Agreements Series, a set of compact booklets on selected WTO agreements. Other publications in the series include Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Trade.

Bringing together articles by some of the leading policy-makers, including previous WTO Director-Generals, practitioners, scholars of international trade law, government officials, international civil servants, Members of the WTO Appellate Body, and judges from a number of international tribunals, this volume assesses the dispute settlement system during the first ten years of the World Trade Organization. It examines the relationship and balance between political governance and dispute settlement; the functioning of the dispute settlement procedures and various reform proposals; the contribution of the Appellate Body to the development of international trade law; and treaty interpretation in a number of international dispute settlement fora such as the WTO, the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Justice, and the Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The book has its origins in a series of events commemorating the tenth anniversary of the creation of the WTO dispute settlement system and the Appellate Body.

The WTO Building provides a fascinating insight into the artwork and architecture of the Centre William Rappard (CWR), home of the World Trade Organization. The book describes the origins and evolution of the CWR, highlighting the many works of art created and donated to adorn the building over the years. It covers the extension of the CWR, the transformation of an inner courtyard into an atrium, and the latest steps taken to preserve the building’s historic artworks.

Trois questions importantes seront déterminantes pour l'avenir de l'OMC: le règlement des différends, les négociations et l'intégration régionale. Le règlement des différends est généralement considéré comme l'un des succès majeurs de l'OMC durant ses dix premières années d'existence. La conclusion des négociations du Cycle de Doha est l'un de ses principaux défis. L'intégration régionale est désormais au premier plan du débat alors que les accords régionaux prolifèrent et que les décideurs et les universitaires prennent la mesure de leur incidence sur le système commercial multilatéral. Ces questions, et leur interaction, sont traitées par d'éminents spécialistes et professionnels du droit commercial international originaires d'Amérique du Nord, d'Europe et de la région Asie Pacifique. En outre, des sections spécifiques sont consacrées à la région Asie Pacifique, à sa participation au règlement des différends et aux négociations dans le cadre de l'OMC, et aux tendances récentes à une plus grande intégration régionale.AE1:AE10

Asia’s economic success over the past four decades has been built on a strategy of export promotion coupled with trade opening. Poverty rates throughout the region have fallen dramatically, especially in countries that have succeeded in integrating into regional or global value chains. However, this economic success has been accompanied by structural changes, such as the need for workers to change roles, sectors, and sometimes regions. Faced with increased foreign competition, firms have been forced to reorganize and quickly adopt new technologies. Despite the importance of this adjustment process, relatively little empirical evidence exists. This volume aims to close this gap by providing new insights into how Asia’s labor markets and firms have adjusted to trade opening. Written by leading trade economists with expertise in the region, the publication shows that trade opening has led to a more efficient allocation of capital and labor, but this has been accompanied by significant adjustment costs. The book sheds light on the effects of trade on workers and firms, with the aim of improving understanding of the adjustment process and contributing to the debate on how to make globalization work for all.

On the basis of an overview of the existing academic economic literature, the study provides an impartial view of what can be said, and with what degree of confidence, on the relationship between trade and employment, an often contentious issue of public debate. Its focus is on the connections between trade policies, and labour and social policies and it will be useful to all those who are interested in this debate: academics and policy-makers, workers and employers, trade and labour specialists.

Developed to assist public understanding of the trade and environment debate in the WTO, this document briefly presents its history and focuses on trade and environment related issues within the Doha mandate, the effects of trade liberalization on the environment, the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements and the WTO, and a review of trade disputes involving environmental issues.

Global trade has contributed strongly to reducing poverty but important challenges remain in making trade work for the poorest. This publication presents eight case studies to reveal how trade can help to reduce poverty in developing countries. It focuses on four constraints faced by the extremely poor – namely that they tend to live in rural areas, work in the informal sector, live in fragile and conflict-affected regions and face gender inequality. The case studies identify ways to overcome these constraints, including through the adoption of policies that maximize the contribution of trade to poverty reduction. The studies also highlight the ongoing gaps in data and research that constrain policy-making. The publication is a follow-up to The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty, co-published by the WTO and the World Bank in 2015, which examined the challenges the poor face in benefiting from trade opportunities. The country-specific approach of this new publication complements the global perspective of the previous report.

Over the past 20 years, global trade in goods has nearly quadrupled, reaching US$ 19 trillion in 2013 compared with US$ 5 trillion in 1996. This represents an annual growth rate of 7.6 per cent on average. Over the same period, there has been a 15 per cent reduction in average tariffs applied by WTO members. This brochure, produced to mark the WTO’s 20th anniversary, looks at the evolution of trade and tariffs over the past 20 years.

The Trade Facilitation Agreement is the first multilateral trade agreement to be concluded since the WTO was established 20 years ago. Once it enters into force, the Agreement is expected to reduce total trade costs by more than 14 per cent for low-income countries and more than 13 per cent for upper middle-income countries by streamlining the flow of trade across borders. This brochure, produced to mark the WTO’s 20th anniversary, looks into the provisions of the Agreement and its potential benefits.

The availability of trade finance has become an increasingly important issue in the past few years. As international banks have become less willing to provide trade finance guarantees, particularly in developing countries, this has reduced the capacity of local banks to provide credit to businesses wishing to trade, leading to a significant gap between the demand and supply of trade finance. Small and medium-sized enterprises have been especially hard-hit by this trade finance gap. This publication delves into the global trade finance gap and the reasons for the growing reluctance of the global financial sector to engage in this form of financing. It examines the challenges of regulatory compliance and describes the efforts of international organizations, such as the World Trade Organization and the International Finance Corporation, to respond to this issue. It also presents case studies of the capacity-building programmes organized by multilateral development banks which aim to improve the availability of trade finance.

Graduation from the status of least-developed country (LDC) marks an important milestone in the development path of each LDC. At the same time, the phasing-out of international support measures associated with LDC status, including trade preferences and special treatment in the WTO, could present challenges for graduating LDCs in their efforts to continue integration into the global economy. A quarter of LDCs were on track to graduate from LDC status prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Trade impacts of LDC graduation: Insights from countryspecific market access analyses” complements the report “Trade impacts of LDC graduation” issued in May 2020, and examines in greater detail the impact of graduation on preferential market access for each of the 12 graduating LDCs. The report looks at the export structure of graduating LDCs, the likely increase of tariffs on their exported products and projected changes in trade flows employing a partial equilibrium model. It sheds light on products and destination markets that require specific attention from graduating LDCs as they prepare for graduation.

Trade multilateralism in the twenty-first-century century faces a serious test as weakness in the global economy and fast-paced technological changes create a challenging environment for world trade. This book examines how an updated and robust, rules-based multilateral framework, anchored in the WTO, remains indispensable to maximizing the benefits of global economic integration and to reviving world trade. By examining recent accessions to the WTO, it reveals how the growing membership of the WTO has helped to support domestic reforms and to strengthen the rules-based framework of the WTO. It argues that the new realities of the twenty-first century require an upgrade to the architecture of the multilateral trading system. By erecting its 'upper floors' on the foundation of existing trade rules, the WTO can continue to adapt to a fast-changing environment and to maximize the benefits brought about by its ever-expanding membership.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Albania.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Argentina.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Armenia.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Australia.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Bahrain.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO's Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Bangladesh.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Barbados.

“Trade Policy Reviews" analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - "key trade facts" - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Belize.

"Trade Policy Reviews" analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - "key trade facts" - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Bolivia.

“Trade Policy Reviews" analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - "key trade facts" - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Brazil.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Brunei Darussalam.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Canada.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Canada.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Chile.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of China.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of China.

“Trade Policy Reviews" analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - "key trade facts" - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of China.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Chinese Taipei.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Colombia.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Croatia.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of The Dominican Republic.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of East African Community.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Egypt.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of El Salvador.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of European Union.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of the European Union.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of the European Union

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Fiji.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Georgia.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Ghana.

“Trade Policy Reviews" analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - "key trade facts" - provides a visual overview of the WTO member's major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Guatemala.