About the WTO
Appellate Body
The Appellate Body had a busy year in 2014, with seven appeals being filed and the Appellate Body issuing reports for five of those appeals. The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) appointed a seventh member to the Appellate Body, Shree Baboo Chekitan Servansing of Mauritius, for a four-year term.
Agreement on Government Procurement
In 2010 the Committee on Government Procurement concluded negotiations with Armenia and invited it to join the Agreement. Substantial progress was also made regarding China’s accession to the Agreement. At the end of the year, China committed itself to provide a further improved coverage offer to join the Agreement, including coverage of sub-central (i.e. provincial) government entities, in 2011. In addition to these and other accession negotiations, the Committee’s four formal meetings and numerous informal sessions during the year dealt with negotiations to improve the text and coverage of the Agreement, on which progress was also achieved.
Contact with the public
Visitors to the WTO website continue to exceed more than 1.8 million a month. Total page views increased by 14 per cent in 2013, reaching a total of more than 40 million. The WTO attracted an increasing number of followers to its social media pages, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The WTO received over 40,000 public email enquiries in 2013 and welcomed over 160 visiting groups. Fifty-seven new WTO publications were produced.
Developments in trade policy
Since the last WTO Annual Report, conditions for trade and trade-related policy-making have become considerably more difficult. The effects of the financial and economic crisis affecting emerging markets and of the economic downturn in Japan are far from fully worked through. They are having a serious impact on the pattern of world economic growth, and hence, on trade and on commodity markets (Chapter Two). Although there has been some backtracking in trade liberalization, the multilateral trading system – as seen in the development of trade policies – seemed, in September 1998, to be standing up well to the turbulence in financial and trading markets.
Coopération technique et formation
L’Institut de formation et de coopération technique (IFCT) a renforcé la conception et l’exécution des programmes d’assistance technique de l’OMC, ainsi que certains aspects essentiels de ces programmes. L’OMC a organisé 324 activités d’assistance technique en 2014, ce qui est plus qu’en 2013 (279) mais moins qu’en 2012 (343). Malgré la diminution du nombre total d’activités par rapport à 2012, le nombre de participants bénéficiant d’une assistance technique continue d’augmenter grâce à l’utilisation croissante de l’apprentissage en ligne, l’accent étant mis de plus en plus sur les pays les moins avancés (PMA) et sur l’Afrique.
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).