About the WTO

Les initiatives en matière de renforcement des capacités, l'accès aux marchés pour les pays les moins avancés (PM A) et l'initiative Aide pour le commerce ont été quelques-unes des questions importantes examinées en 2009 par le Comité du commerce et du développement et par son sous-comité des PM A.

The WTO is run by its member governments, with decisions taken by consensus among all members. The Ministerial Conference is the top level of decisionmaking in the WTO. It typically meets every two years and brings together all members of the WTO. The most important decision-making body outside of the Ministerial Conference is the General Council, which meets regularly in Geneva to carry out the functions of the WTO.

En 2012, de nouveaux progrès ont été accomplis sur les accessions à l’AMP en instance, y compris celles de la Chine et de la Nouvelle-Zélande. Par ailleurs, le Comité des marchés publics, qui administre l’Accord, a suivi l’entrée en vigueur de l’Accord révisé adopté par les parties en 2012 (voir page 32). Le statut d’observateur a été accordé à quatre pays supplémentaires. La demande de formation technique concernant l’AMP continue de croître, ce qui témoigne d’un intérêt grandissant pour l’accession.

El número de visitantes del sitio Web de la OMC sigue creciendo. En la actualidad recibe casi 1,4 millones de visitas al mes. Además, más de 151.000 personas se han inscrito para recibir avisos por correo electrónico cada vez que se actualiza el sitio. La OMC atrae asimismo a un número creciente de seguidores en sus páginas en los medios sociales, como Facebook, Twitter y YouTube. La OMC recibe numerosas preguntas y observaciones por correo electrónico (más de 40.000 en 2012) y recibió en sus oficinas a lo largo de 2012 a más de 180 grupos de visitantes. A lo largo del año la OMC publicó más de 100 títulos nuevos.

En 2012, le Conseil du commerce des services s’est encore penché sur les questions relatives aux technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC), notamment le commerce électronique et l’itinérance mobile internationale. La transparence a été une autre question importante à l’ordre du jour du Conseil, et les Membres ont examiné comment il serait possible d’améliorer le respect du processus de notification. La Jamaïque a été le dernier Membre de l’OMC à ratifier le cinquième Protocole annexé à l’AGCS, relatif au commerce des services financiers.

Le portail intégré d’information commerciale (I-TIP) constitue une interface unique pour accéder à tous les renseignements recueillis par l’OMC concernant les mesures de politique commerciale. I-TIP, qui rassemble des renseignements sur plus de 25 000 mesures, couvre les mesures tarifaires et non tarifaires qui affectent le commerce de marchandises et contient des renseignements sur les engagements pris par les Membres de l’OMC dans le cadre de l’accession. Dans le courant de 2013, le portail sera élargi au commerce des services ainsi qu’à d’autres domaines. I-TIP a été pour la première fois mis à la disposition du public lors de la Journée des données, qui a eu lieu à l’OMC le 16 janvier 2013.

La septième Conférence ministérielle de l’OMC s’est tenue à Genève (Suisse) du 30 novembre au 2 décembre 2009 et a été présidée par M. Andrés Velasco (Chili).

The timing of the Second Ministerial Conference of the WTO at Geneva in 1998, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the GATT, divided the three years between the Singapore and Seattle meetings neatly in two. This was a greater frequency of ministerial meetings than planned, but there was a great deal of work to do to manage the huge WTO agenda, and issues in the public debate surrounding ‘globalization’ were becoming politically more sensitive all the time.

Aid for Trade continues to mobilize international resources. Although commitments slipped 14 per cent to US$ 41.5 billion in 2011, according to the latest available figures, they are still 57 per cent above the 2002-05 baseline period. This increase continues to be “additional” – that is, new money and not funds switched from other aid commitments. The Fourth Global Review of Aid for Trade in July focused on “connecting to value chains”. In December, the WTO’s Ministerial Conference reiterated the mandate given to the Director-General to pursue actions in support of Aid for Trade.

En avril 2009, le Secrétariat de l'OMC a créé le Prix du meilleur article décerné par l'OMC à de jeunes économistes. Ce prix, qui est assorti d'une récompense de 5 000 CHF, vise à promouvoir la recherche économique de haute qualité sur l'OMC et les questions la concernant, et à renforcer la relation entre l'OMC et les milieux universitaires.

Quand le commerce en était encore à ses débuts, les marins se fiaient à la fois à leur connaissance de la navigation, à leur courage et à leur instinct pour se frayer un passage à travers les eaux tumultueuses. Plus tard, la technologie a transformé la navigation autour du globe, mais la nécessité fondamentale de tenir le cap sur une mer déchaînée n’a pas changé.

En la Conferencia Ministerial de Bali, los Ministros convinieron en establecer un Mecanismo de Vigilancia para analizar la aplicación de las disposiciones sobre trato especial y diferenciado para los países en desarrollo que figuran en los Acuerdos de la OMC.

Depuis le dernier rapport annuel de l’OMC, la situation du commerce et, partant, les conditions d’élaboration de la politique commerciale, sont devenues beaucoup plus difficiles. Les effets de la crise financière et économique touchant les marchés émergents et de la récession économique au Japon sont loin d’avoir été pleinement surmontés et influent sur la répartition de la croissance économique mondiale, ainsi que sur les courants d’échanges et les marchés des produits de base (chapitreII). Toutefois, bien que l’on ait ici ou là fait marche arrière dans la libéralisation du commerce, le système commercial multilatéral – pour autant que le montre l’évolution des politiques commerciales – semblait, en septembre 1998, avoir assez bien résisté aux soubresauts des marchés financiers et commerciaux.

En 2011 se celebró por primera vez en la OMC la Conferencia Parlamentaria anual sobre la OMC, organizada por la Unión Interparlamentaria y el Parlamento Europeo. La Secretaría de la OMC siguió distribuyendo su boletín periódico a un número cada vez mayor de parlamentarios. También organizó dos talleres regionales para parlamentarios en cooperación con asociados regionales.

Agricultural negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) began in 2000, before the launch of the Doha Development Agenda. Together with the negotiations in the services sector, the agricultural negotiations were part of the ‘built-in agenda’ agreed in the Uruguay Round. Agriculture is the key to making progress in the Doha Development Agenda, or it may lead to its unravelling. Without movement in the agricultural negotiations, movement in the other areas will be unlikely.

Le Comité du budget, des finances et de l’administration a examiné les rapports sur la situation financière et budgétaire de l’OMC et poursuivi sa discussion concernant l’examen stratégique de l’Organisation qui a été lancé en 2013. Un Bureau du contrôle interne (BCIn) a été établi en novembre.

La Secretaría de la OMC, que tiene sus oficinas en Ginebra, cuenta con una plantilla de 640 funcionarios incluidos en el presupuesto ordinario, y está encabezada por el Director General Pascal Lamy. Dado que son los Miembros de la OMC los que adoptan las decisiones, la Secretaría no tiene facultades decisorias. Sus principales cometidos son ofrecer apoyo técnico y profesional a los distintos consejos y comités, prestar asistencia técnica a los países en desarrollo, vigilar y analizar la evolución del comercio mundial, facilitar información al público y a los medios de comunicación y organizar las conferencias ministeriales. Además, la Secretaría presta algunas formas de asistencia jurídica en los procedimientos de solución de diferencias y asesora a los gobiernos que desean adherirse a la OMC

The World Trade Organization came into being in 1995, as the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which had been established (1947) in the wake of the Second World War. The WTO’s main objective is the establishment of rules for Members’ trade policy which help international trade to expand with a view to raising living standards. These rules foster non-discrimination, transparency and predictability in the conduct of trade policy.

In 2011, the WTO received 25 new notifications, little change on the previous year, involving 15 regional trade agreements (RTAs). Slightly more than half the new RTAs were between developed and developing partners, extending a trend that has emerged in recent years. The Americas was the region with the highest number – eight.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in 1995, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which had been set up over 40 years earlier to oversee the rules of trade. The aim of the WTO is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. Whereas the GATT only dealt with trade in goods, the WTO covers trade in goods and services as well as trade-related intellectual property rights. It also oversees strengthened rules for the settlement of disputes between members.

Given its abundant natural resources and accelerating consumer-driven growth, sub-Saharan Africa has much to offer investors and traders. Yet the region remains weakly integrated into global and regional value chains, due to, among other things, geographical disadvantages, infrastructural shortcomings, high transport costs and difficult-to-access market intelligence – all of which add to the cost of trade. While not an insignificant player in international business and trade circles, South Africa is facing shrinking demand in its traditional export markets and has to plot a new economic course after decades of overreliance on commodity exports and value-added imports. This chapter looks at how a market selection tool, the Decision Support Model (DSM), can streamline the process of identifying export opportunities, particularly at an intra-regional level. Covering both products and services, and adaptable to different countries’ circumstances, the DSM simplifies market selection decisions by pinpointing both short- and longer-term business opportunities in high-potential sectors, while also exposing market access barriers that could become the focus of specific efficiency-enhancing interventions. In this way, the DSM can be a valuable aid to trade facilitation.

Les quatre rapports établis par le Secrétariat au nom du Directeur général ont montré que, malgré la crise financière et économique, les Membres de l'OMC ont généralement continué à résister aux pressions protectionnistes en 2011. Pourtant, ces pressions augmentent, de même que les risques pesant sur l'économie mondiale. Les perspectives du commerce mondial se sont assombries, et il est probable que les exportations mondiales augmenteront moins que prévu.

L’année 2015 a été particulièrement chargée pour l’Organe d’appel, qui a présenté onze rapports dans sept affaires distinctes. À la fin de 2015, il avait distribué au total 138 rapports. Trois procédures d’arbitrage concernant le délai raisonnable pour la mise en oeuvre des recommandations et décisions de l’Organe de règlement des différends (ORD) ont été menées à bien en 2015. L’ORD a reconduit deux membres de l’Organe d’appel, Ujal Singh Bhatia (Inde) et Thomas Graham (États-Unis), pour un deuxième mandat de quatre ans.

My journey to becoming a member of the Appellate Body began in Itu, a small town in the countryside of the state of São Paulo, in Brazil, a former Portuguese colony – where I was born. Portuguese traditions remain alive in the activities of the Brazilian state, especially in the judicial branch. Tribunals and judges unconsciously act as if they were still the sovereign’s representatives, and install their courts in buildings that resemble real palaces. Lawyers and the general public address judges as ‘your excellency’, and when they appeal to the courts they do so as if the judges were granting them a favour, instead of securing a right that derives from the constitution or the law.

This chapter evaluates the extent to which changes in tariffs and in international prices were transmitted into consumer prices in Tunisia over the period 2000– 2008. A pass-through equation is estimated using sectoral panel data at the retail product level and controlling for unobserved sectoral heterogeneity. The main results show that, on average, tariff pass-through (TPT) is 10 per cent and it varies across sectors. In particular, agricultural products seem to be driving the results. In summary, the change in Tunisian tariffs has affected local prices, but the effect is lower in magnitude than that found for other developing countries. This is in part due to imperfect competition and state interventions by means of subsidies and price controls that prevent the full transmission of changes in international prices. This research suggests that, for Tunisia, trade facilitation measures and sectoral actions to facilitate the business environment could positively impact on the passthrough effect and that reductions in border prices could have higher effects on retail prices, which, in turn, contribute to increase domestic welfare and generate inclusive development.

Two constants mark the theory and practice of discrimination in trade relations. The first is that it has always been controversial among economists, many of whom share the misgivings that Adam Smith (1776: 460) expressed when he compared preferential trading arrangements to “[t]he sneaking arts of underling tradesmen” who “make it a rule to employ chiefly their own customers.” In an anticipation of the argument that these arrangements are a second-best alternative to the first-best option of non-discriminatory liberalization, he declared “a great trader purchases his goods always where they are cheapest and best, without regard to any little interest of this kind.” Viner (1950: 44) elaborated upon that argument when he distinguished between the trade-diverting and trade-creating effects of customs unions, each of which originated in a discriminatory agreement’s twin effects of “shift[ing] sources of supply … either to lower- or higher-cost sources.”

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the key features of the provisions of Part III, Sections 1 to 5, of the TRIPS Agreement entitled ‘Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights’. This Part of the Agreement elaborates in 21 articles the enforcement procedures that members have to make available to permit prompt and effective action against infringements of IPRs covered by the TRIPS Agreement.

En 2015, la OMC celebró en Nairobi su Décima Conferencia Ministerial, la primera que tiene lugar en África. Los Ministros adoptaron varias decisiones sobre la agricultura, el algodón y las cuestiones relacionadas con los países menos adelantados, entre ellas la histórica decisión de eliminar las subvenciones a la exportación de productos agropecuarios.

I first came to Geneva and to the Secretariat of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1959, during a period of expansion for the Secretariat. Sweden had never before had an officer in the GATT Secretariat, and I was selected to take up a temporary position in the General Trade Policy Division. I joined the GATT Secretariat on a long-term basis on 15 May 1961.

The Fifth Global Review of Aid for Trade, held at the WTO in June/July, highlighted how high trade costs are hampering developing countries’ ability to benefit from market access opportunities. The Review attracted over 1,500 participants and saw the launch of a new OECD-WTO co-publication outlining the impact of the Aid for Trade initiative.

Agriculture is important, but trade is distorted by subsidies and protectionism — hurting producers (and some consumers) who are not supported or protected. The 1994 agreement is a first step in the effort to reduce the distortion.

Contributions to the STD F reached US$ 4.3 million in 2010, from US$ 300,000 of seed finance from the World Bank and the WTO in 2003. There are now 19 donors to the trust fund and, in addition to the core partners, other organizations participating in the STD F include the International Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), as well as donors and developing countries.

As noted in the preceding Chapter, several WTO agreements are relevant to health policy. Generally, the positive growth and income effects of more open and predictable trade regimes can provide the resources, as well as goods, services and information, for effective health systems. The WTO agreements explicitly allow governments, in pursuing national health and other policy objectives, to take measures to restrict trade in order to protect health. This is legitimate as a matter of principle. The emphasis in WTO rules is on how policies are pursued without questioning the underlying objective. For example, is a measure applied or enforced in a way that discriminates between trading partners or between imported products and products produced domestically? Are there ways of implementing policy that would be less restrictive on trade? Thus, it is the manner in which government pursue specific health policies in practice which might have trade-related implications, which are examined in this Chapter.

This chapter examines the operation and accomplishments of two understudied aspects of the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement system – the consultation process and the implementation results. After a brief summary of the operation of the WTO dispute settlement system – focusing on consultations and the implementation process – it examines in detail the results of consultations and the record on implementation. As part of that examination, it looks at proposals on consultations and implementation that have been made over the years in the ongoing dispute settlement reform negotiations.

The Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB) reviewed the trade policies and practices of 24 WTO members in 20 meetings in 2015. By the end of 2015, the TPRB had carried out 429 reviews involving 151 of the 162 WTO members.

Un renforcement de la production mondiale en 1999 a inversé la tendance à la baisse du commerce mondial au premier semestre de 1999 et a entraîné une forte expansion des échanges pendant le second semestre. Pour l’ensemble de l’année, la croissance réelle du commerce mondial est restée inchangée par rapport à l’année précédente et a été inférieure au taux moyen enregistré tout au long des années 90. Bien que la croissance du commerce soit demeurée plus rapide que celle de la production mondiale de produits de base et celle du PIB mondial, l’écart entre les taux de croissance est resté en 1999 inférieur à celui qui a été observé pendant la période 1990-1997.

When the ILO decided to move to its new headquarters, one important question was which works of art should move with it, and which should be left behind. There would be costs involved in moving the works and repairing any damage, and some of the works might not suit the new building.

The Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) reinforced the design and delivery of WTO technical assistance programmes and strengthened key aspects of these programmes. The WTO undertook 324 technical assistance activities in 2014, higher than the 279 in 2013 but below the 343 activities in 2012. Although the overall total of activities was down on two years ago, the number of participants benefiting from technical assistance continues to rise due to the growing use of e-learning, with an increasing focus on least-developed countries (LDCs) and Africa.

En 2014, l’OMC a coopéré avec diverses organisations intergouvernementales, dont l’Organisation des Nations Unies, l’Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques (OCDE), le Fonds monétaire international (FMI) et la Banque mondiale. L’OMC a aussi publié, en collaboration avec la Conférence des Nations Unies sur le commerce et le développement (CNUCED) et l’OCDE, des rapports sur l’évolution du commerce et de l’investissement dans les pays du Groupe des 20 (G-20), composé des principaux pays développés et en développement.

El Director General de la OMC, Roberto Azevêdo, planteó la cuestión del acceso de los países en desarrollo a la financiación del comercio en un seminario del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Comercio, Deuda y Finanzas que tuvo lugar en marzo, y de nuevo en la Tercera Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre la Financiación para el Desarrollo, celebrada en julio en Addis Abeba. Las empresas comerciales, en particular las de los países en desarrollo, encuentran cada vez más dificultades para acceder a la financiación del comercio. El Director General Azevêdo se comprometió a consultar con los asociados multilaterales y hacer propuestas concretas en el primer semestre de 2016. El Grupo de Trabajo prosiguió sus esfuerzos por mejorar la comprensión de la relación entre los tipos de cambio y el comercio.

En 2011, la OMC participó activamente en la Cuarta Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Países Menos Adelantados e intensificó su cooperación con varias organizaciones intergubernamentales, como las Naciones Unidas, la Organización de Cooperación y Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE), la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), el Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI) y el Banco Mundial. La OMC publicó, con la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre Comercio y Desarrollo (UNCTAD) y la OCDE, informes conjuntos sobre la evolución del comercio y la inversión en los países del G-20.

In 2015, the General Council made preparations for the Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi and submitted recommendations for decisions. It oversaw progress in the Doha Round negotiations on the basis of reports from the Director-General in his capacity as Chair of the Trade Negotiations Committee. It also oversaw progress in implementing decisions taken at the Ninth Ministerial Conference in Bali, based on regular reports by the General Council chair, Fernando de Mateo of Mexico. It heard the Director-General’s reports on the Fifth Global Review of Aid for Trade and other matters, such as WTO accessions.

En enero de 2017 entró en vigor una enmienda del Acuerdo sobre los ADPIC que facilita el acceso a medicamentos asequibles para los países en desarrollo. El Consejo de los ADPIC prosiguió su labor ordinaria de promoción de la transparencia de los sistemas de propiedad intelectual de los Miembros de la OMC y examinó la aplicación del Acuerdo sobre los ADPIC. También examinó, entre otros temas, el acceso a los medicamentos, la biodiversidad, la patentabilidad de formas de vida y la cooperación técnica.

La Secretaría de la OMC, que tiene su sede en Ginebra (Suiza), cuenta con una plantilla de 634 funcionarios incluidos en el presupuesto ordinario y está encabezada por el Director General Roberto Azevêdo, que tomó posesión de su cargo por un período de cuatro años el 1º de septiembre de 2013. El 1º de octubre de 2013 iniciaron sus mandatos los cuatro Directores Generales Adjuntos: Yonov Frederick Agah de Nigeria, Karl Brauner de Alemania, David Shark de los Estados Unidos y Yi Xiaozhun de China (véase el gráfico 1). La Secretaría no tiene facultades decisorias, ya que son los Miembros los que adoptan todas las decisiones en la OMC.

En 2012 se adhirieron a la OMC cuatro países: Montenegro, Rusia, Samoa y Vanuatu. A principios de 2013, el número de Miembros se amplió a 159 tras la adhesión de Laos y Tayikistán (véase la página 10). Los Miembros de la OMC representan el 97 por ciento del comercio mundial.