About the WTO
Programme de chaires de l'OMC
En mars 2009, le Secrétariat a lancé un nouveau Programme de chaires de l'OMC (PCO), pour fournir un appui ciblé aux activités d'enseignement, de recherche et de sensibilisation de 14 universités et instituts de recherche situés dans des pays en développement.
Rapports de suivi du commerce
Les rapports de suivi du commerce ont montré que le nombre de nouvelles mesures restrictives pour le commerce prises par les Membres de l’OMC avait légèrement diminué. Les rapports de suivi insistent sur le fait que les Membres de l’OMC doivent travailler ensemble pour faire en sorte que les avantages du commerce soient plus largement partagés et soient mieux compris.
Trade and environment
In 2010, the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE), meeting in regular session, focused on the impact of environmental measures on market access, especially for developing countries. The committee paid particular attention to win-win-win situations where the elimination or reduction of trade restrictions and distortions would benefit trade, the environment and development. Alongside committee meetings, the WTO Secretariat organized three information events, on the 2009 joint WTO-United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report, Trade and Climate Change, on carbon footprint schemes and labelling, and on linkages between trade, transport and the environment.
Contacts avec le monde des entreprises
En 2013, l’OMC a lancé un certain nombre d’initiatives pour renforcer ses relations avec les entreprises, notamment en leur consacrant une nouvelle partie de son site Web. Le Forum public 2013, qui avait pour thème « L’expansion du commerce par l’innovation et l’économie numérique », a suscité beaucoup d’intérêt parmi les entreprises. L’OMC a co-organisé le premier séminaire régional consacré au secteur privé de la région arabe. Le monde des entreprises était bien représenté à Bali pour la neuvième Conférence ministérielle de l’OMC.
Trade and environment
In 2016, the Committee on Trade and Environment discussed a broad range of trade-related environmental issues, including climate change, reform of fossil fuel subsidies, chemicals and waste management, wildlife trade, forestry and fisheries. The Committee was also updated on the WTO environmental database, the environmental provisions in regional trade agreements and the Environmental Goods Agreement negotiations.
Budget, finance and administration
In 2013, the WTO inaugurated a new reception centre, a renovated atrium, and a new building alongside the existing headquarters, bringing all staff under one roof for the first time. It also renovated one of its historic meeting rooms, the “Brazil Room”. The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration regularly reviewed the budgetary and financial situation of the organization. A new external auditor was appointed.
Mensaje del Director General Roberto Azevêdo
Tras el éxito de la Décima Conferencia Ministerial de la OMC, celebrada en Nairobi en diciembre de 2015, el nivel de participación en muchas de las esferas de nuestra labor se intensificó significativamente en 2016. Ha sido un año caracterizado por un intenso debate entre los Miembros sobre muy diversas cuestiones y por un aumento notable del interés de otros colectivos.
How the WTO is structured
Below this is the General Council (normally ambassadors and heads of delegation in Geneva, and sometimes officials sent from members’ capitals), which meets several times a year in the Geneva headquarters. The General Council also meets as the Trade Policy Review Body and the Dispute Settlement Body.
Huitième Conférence ministérielle (CM8)
La huitième Conférence ministérielle de l’OMC s’est tenue à Genève (Suisse) du 15 au 17 décembre 2011 et a été présidée par M. Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga (Nigéria).
Acknowledgements
This publication was prepared by Arti Gobind Daswani, Roy Santana and János Volkai of the WTO Secretariat with the support of WTO Deputy Director-General Karl Brauner, Valerie Hughes (former Director of the WTO’s Legal Affairs Division), Suja Rishikesh Mavroidis (Director of the WTO Market Access Division) and John Adank (Director of the Legal Affairs Division). Special acknowledgment is owed to William Castro, of the WTO’s Young Professionals Programme, for his contributions to the processing of the data and preparation of the one-page case summaries, to WTO staff members Jesse Kreier and Olga Falgueras Alamo, from the Rules Division, for their contribution to the compilation of relevant documents and to Jesse Nicol, from the Appellate Body Secretariat, for his comments. The authors are also grateful to Laoise Ní Bhriain, Maria Bressi and Bryson Strupp, from the Archives Section of the WTO Information Management Services, for their active collaboration in checking the archives and identifying relevant information, and to Tan Albayrak, intern at the Legal Affairs Division, for assisting in the final editing of the onepage case summaries.
Examens des politiques commerciales en 2012
En 2012, l’OMC a examiné les politiques et pratiques commerciales de 26 Membres. Les dates des examens et les pays visés figurent sur la carte. Des renseignements complémentaires, y compris les remarques finales du Président pour chaque examen, sont disponibles sur le site Web de l’OMC: www.wto.org/mepc_fr.
Government Procurement Agreement
Croatia joined the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) on becoming a member of the European Union in 2013. Important developments occurred with respect to the GPA accessions of several other WTO members, including China, Montenegro and New Zealand. Two more countries were granted observer status. The Committee on Government Procurement, which administers the GPA, worked towards the entry into force in April 2014 of the revised Agreement adopted by the parties in 2012 (see page 39). A record level of technical assistance was undertaken.
Coopération avec les établissements universitaires
En 2011, l'OMC a poursuivi sa collaboration avec les établissements universitaires des pays en développement et des pays les moins avancés (PMA) et a continué de soutenir les projets visant à renforcer l'élaboration des programmes d'études, l'enseignement, la recherche et la communication. À travers cette coopération, l'OMC entend aider ces établissements à contribuer à la participation de leurs pays au système commercial multilatéral. L'OMC apporte son soutien par le biais de son Programme de chaires et de son Programme de soutien aux établissements d'enseignement supérieur. L'Université nationale de Singapour est le dernier établissement à avoir adhéré au Programme de chaires.
Supporting development and building trade capacity
The WTO aims to help developing countries build their trade capacity and allows them a longer time to implement trade agreements. Hundreds of training courses are organized each year for officials from developing countries.
Modalities, formulas and modes
The conduct of trade negotiations in the WTO shows both continuity and change from the GATT period, but even the two main points of continuity have come under challenge. One is the use of multi-issue, multi-year rounds as the main organizing principle of negotiations, which was the general rule throughout the GATT period. The other is the practice of bundling all of the issues in these rounds into a single undertaking, which was an innovation from the final (Uruguay) round of the GATT period. Members reiterated both of those principles when they launched the Doha Round in 2001, but after more than a decade of desultory negotiations, those principles are increasingly questioned. Some issues have been handled outside of the round, as is discussed in Chapter 10, and both rounds and the single undertaking face critical scrutiny from analysts and some practitioners.