About the WTO
L’Accord de l’OMC sur les subventions à la pêche
Quels sont ses objectifs et ses avantages attendus?
L’Accord de l’OMC sur les subventions à la pêche, qui est entré en vigueur en septembre 2025, établit des règles multilatérales contraignantes visant à réduire les subventions préjudiciables, un facteur clé de l’épuisement généralisé des stocks de poissons dans le monde. Cette brochure examine pourquoi l’Accord est important et quelles sont les subventions prohibées et les obligations de transparence des Membres de l’OMC au titre de l’Accord. Elle présente également les avantages attendus de l’Accord, qui vont de la protection des moyens de subsistance des communautés de pêcheurs du monde entier au fait de soutenir un avenir plus durable pour les océans que nous partageons.
WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
What are its objectives and the expected benefits?
The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which entered into force in September 2025, establishes binding, multilateral rules for curbing harmful subsidies, a key factor in the widespread depletion of the world’s fish stocks. This brochure looks at why the Agreement is important, which subsidies are prohibited, and WTO members’ transparency obligations under the Agreement. It also covers the expected benefits of the Agreement, from protecting the livelihoods of fishing communities around the world to supporting a more sustainable future for our shared oceans.
Global Trade Outlook and Statistics: March 2026
March 2026
The WTO’s “Global Trade Outlook and Statistics” presents the WTO Secretariat’s forecasts for world trade in 2026 and 2027. Breakdowns of merchandise and commercial services trade by sector and region are provided, together with details on leading traders. An analytical chapter looks at the continuing importance of most-favoured-nation terms for global trade. The report is timed to coincide with the release of the WTO’s latest quarterly and annual trade statistics, which can be downloaded from the WTO’s online database at https://stats.wto.org/.
Aide pour le commerce
Le financement au titre de l’Aide pour le commerce a maintenu sa tendance à la hausse, les derniers chiffres disponibles – pour 2013 – indiquant une augmentation des engagements de 1,8 milliard de dollars EU par rapport à l’année précédente. Le cinquième Examen global de l’Aide pour le commerce a eu lieu du 30 juin au 2 juillet sur le thème « Réduire les coûts du commerce pour une croissance durable et inclusive ». En décembre, la dixième Conférence ministérielle a reconnu que l’Initiative Aide pour le commerce pilotée par l’OMC restait nécessaire, la priorité devant être donnée aux pays les moins avancés (PMA).
General introduction
This Note has been produced at the request of the Council for Trade in Services in the framework of the second review of the Air Transport Annex.
Copyright and related rights
Part II of the TRIPS Agreement sets out the substantive standards for the protection of IP that WTO members should follow. This chapter outlines the provisions of Section 1 of Part II (running from Article 9 to Article 14), which sets out the protection that members must make available in the area of copyright and related rights – specifically, for literary and artistic works, performances, phonograms (or sound recordings) and broadcasts.
Comercio de servicios
En 2010, el Consejo del Comercio de Servicios prosiguió el examen de sectores de servicios y modos de suministro específicos, sobre la base de notas de antecedentes elaboradas por la Secretaría de la OMC. Trece de esas notas fueron examinadas en 2010 y las dos últimas se examinarán en 2011. El Consejo procedió asimismo al tercer examen de las exenciones del trato de la nación más favorecida (NMF). Estas exenciones al principio fundamental de la OMC de no discriminación entre interlocutores comerciales están permitidas en virtud del AGCS, con sujeción a determinadas condiciones, pero está previsto que con el tiempo se eliminen.
WTO Secretariat
The number of nationalities represented in the WTO Secretariat rose to 80 in 2015, up from 78 the year before. The number of staff on the regular budget rose to 647, from 634 in 2014, with women continuing to outnumber men. The Secretariat is headed by Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, who took office for a four-year term on 1 September 2013. The four Deputy Directors-General began their terms of office on 1 October 2013. They are Yonov Frederick Agah of Nigeria, Karl Brauner of Germany, David Shark of the United States and Xiaozhun Yi of China.
Les directeurs généraux
Six directeurs généraux ont été nommés depuis la création de l’OMC. Le premier d’entre eux a été Peter Sutherland, qui a occupé ce poste de janvier à avril 1995. Lui ont succédé Renato Ruggiero (1995-1999), Mike Moore (1999-2002) et Supachai Panitchpakdi (2002-2005). Pascal Lamy, le Directeur général qui est resté le plus longtemps en exercice, a occupé ce poste de 2005 à 2013. Roberto Azevêdo lui a succédé le 1er septembre 2013 et a exercé cette fonction jusqu’en août 2020.
Leadership of the organization and management of the institution
In a happy coincidence of theory and practice, Douglass North wrote his seminal essay on “Institutions” at almost precisely the same time that the WTO was first proposed. “Institutions are the humanly devised constraints that structure political, economic and social interaction,” he wrote (1991: 97), and “consist of both informal constraints (sanctions, taboos, customs, traditions, and codes of conduct), and formal rules (constitutions, laws, property rights)” that human beings have devised throughout history “to create order and reduce uncertainty in exchange.” That is as good a definition as any of the purposes of the WTO, which may be further distinguished according to its two halves. The WTO is at once an institution staffed by international civil servants and an organization to which members belong. While it is the organizational half of the WTO that is chiefly responsible for writing new rules, the institutional half not only facilitates those negotiations but also administers agreements, monitors the members’ compliance with the rules, and promotes the capacity of the developing members to participate more effectively in the organization and to take advantage of the opportunities that a more open market affords.
Actividades de estadística
La OMC introdujo nuevas mejoras en su Portal Integrado de Información Comercial (I-TIP), que actualmente tiene una mayor cobertura de los datos sobre las medidas arancelarias y no arancelarias. Conjuntamente con la Organización de Cooperación y Desarrollo Económicos, la OMC ha actualizado la base de datos sobre el comercio en términos de valor añadido, que abarca ahora 61 países y 34 sectores. En julio de 2015, la OMC organizó la Jornada de los datos sobre el comercio, en la que se examinaron los avances recientes en el ámbito de las estadísticas sobre el comercio y el acceso a los mercados y se debatió sobre los retos futuros.
Standards and Trade Development Facility
Contributions to the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) reached US$ 5.9 million in 2011, up from US$ 4.3 million in 2010. The STDF focused on increasing awareness, mobilizing resources, strengthening collaboration, identifying and disseminating good practice, as well as support and funding for the development and implementation of projects that promote compliance with international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements. It adopted a new medium-term strategy (2012-2016) and began developing a new tool to help developing countries prioritize SPS capacity-building needs and improve decision taking.
50th anniversary of the Multilateral Trading System (GATT–WTO), 1998
The 50th anniversary in May 1998 was, first of all, a marketing opportunity. US President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, South African President Nelson Mandela, EU Commission President Jacques Santer, Cuban President Fidel Castro Ruz, Swiss President Flavio Cotti, many prime ministers and other dignitaries hailed the strengths of the GATT system for the benefits that it had delivered to the world and highlighted the promise of the WTO as the GATT’s successor.
Agradecimientos
El Informe sobre el Comercio Mundial 2007 ha sido elaborado bajo la supervisión general del Director General Adjunto Alejandro Jara. Patrick Low, Director de la División de Estudios Económicos y Estadística, dirigió el equipo encargado de redactar el Informe. Los autores principales del Informe son Marc Bachetta, K. Michael Finger, Matthias Helble, Marion Jansen, Alexander Keck, Mark Koulen, Pete Pedersen, Roberta Piermartini, Simon Schropp y Robert Teh. Las estadísticas comerciales fueron facilitadas por el grupo de estadística de la División de Estudios Económicos y Estadística, bajo la coordinación de Hubert Escaith, Julia de Verteuil, Andreas Maurer y Jürgen Richtering. Karen McCusker colaboró con una subsección sobre las restricciones para proteger la balanza de pagos en los países en desarrollo.
Food security
Panellists in this session focused on the G20’s agriculture ministers’ “Action plan on food price volatility and agriculture”, highlighting new and evolving approaches for improving global governance of food security. Discussions began with an overview of the four main areas of work which were agreed by the G20 agriculture ministers: agricultural production in the long run, transparency and information in international markets, international coordination and risk management and financial markets. The G20 discussions had led to the establishment of the new Agriculture Marketing Information System (AMIS), a joint OECD/FAO initiative that seeks to provide up-to-date data on agriculture markets to as wide an audience as possible. The agencies represented on the panel highlighted the various fora that are available for countries to discuss approaches for achieving food security and the types of changes these organizations are making to contribute to global food security. Several panellists commented on the negative effect of export restrictions on global food security. In particular, the World Food Programme (WFP) stressed the importance of finding agreement on a resolution to prohibit export barriers for humanitarian purchases by the WFP at the WTO Ministerial in December 2011.
A global membership
membershipYemen, a least-developed country (LDC), joined the WTO in June 2014, becoming the organization’s 160th member. Seychelles’ accession package was approved in December 2014, paving the way for it to become the WTO’s newest member in April 2015 (see pages 24-25). The WTO now accounts for 98 per cent of global trade, compared with 91 per cent in 1995 when the WTO was established.