About the WTO
Regionalism under the WTO and the prospect of an East Asian free trade area
Regional trade agreements (RTAs) were permitted under Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1947 and the Decision on Differential and More Favourable Treatment, Reciprocity and Fuller Participation of Developing Countries (Enabling Clause). RTAs are classified into customs unions, free trade areas and interim agreements leading to the formation of either, based on the criteria of ‘substantially all the trade’ and ‘not on the whole higher or more restrictive’. RTAs formed by developing countries are afforded more favourable treatment. Article XXIV of the GATT 1947 and the Enabling Clause were incorporated into the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, together with a new Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) adds another dimension to these exceptions from the most-favoured nation (MFN) principle, namely RTAs involving trade in services, with similar conditions applying as to RTAs on trade in goods.
Trade in goods
The Council for Trade in Goods addressed a large number of trade concerns in 2015, reflecting its increasing role as a forum for airing concerns about measures, policies and practices considered potentially discriminatory or trade-restricting. It also considered a number of waiver requests and took note of an updated and comprehensive list of notifications submitted by WTO members. The Philippines delivered a statement about the obstacles faced by micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in participating in regional and global markets. Colombia presented the conclusions of a panel on illicit trade and money laundering.
Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS)
The TRIPS Council continued its discussion on topics such as access to medicines for the poorest countries, promotion of transparency and least-developed countries’ needs for assistance as part of its regular review of intellectual property (IP) matters. The Council also exchanged information on and debated a number of policy issues raised by individual countries, such as national innovation strategies and the role of IP in fostering market-based innovation.
From afterthought to centrepiece: The WTO Appellate Body and its rise to prominence in the world trading system
Since February 1996, when the first appeal was filed, the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has heard and decided 65 appeals from panel cases. The body of case-law generated by the Appellate Body over the past nine years is, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, impressive. From 1996 to 2004, the Appellate Body has issued twice as many decisions as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) did during the same period. The Appellate Body’s case-law is highly authoritative and has made a significant contribution to the development of international trade law. The decisions of the Appellate Body in, for example, EC – Bananas III and US – Shrimp, have effectively put an end to politically as well as economically complex and sensitive disputes between WTO Members. Both panels and parties in WTO disputes have shown, and continue to show, much deference to the case-law of the Appellate Body. The Appellate Body is undoubtedly the most important organ of WTO dispute settlement. The Appellate Body is, all but in name, the World Trade Court. In recent years a few authors have accused it of exceeding the authority conferred on it and of engaging in judicial legislation, especially in cases on anti-dumping and safeguard measures. More generally, WTO Members, after losing a case, allege not infrequently that the Appellate Body has added to or diminished the rights and obligations of Members. This paper does not seek to verify whether this is indeed the case. These accusations, and the ‘emotional’ terms in which they are often expressed, are, however, clear evidence of the importance that the Appellate Body and its case-law now have in the WTO system. The key question addressed in this paper is what explains the prominent status which the Appellate Body and its case-law have achieved since 1996. Was the ‘success’ of the Appellate Body ‘predetermined’ by its constituent instruments, or is it primarily the result of other factors that have affected the Appellate Body and its case-law in the past nine years?
Budget, finance and administration
The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration reviewed reports on the financial and budgetary situation of the WTO and continued its discussion of the Strategic Review of the organization, which was launched in 2013. An Office of Internal Insight (OIO) was established in November.
Introduction and Summary
This Handbook is intended for readers wanting detailed information on the process of accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). It will be of practical use to people involved in one way or another with the process and with the negotiations on accession to the World Trade Organization. The Handbook provides the general reader with a basis for informed discussion and analysis of the WTO’s membership process. It first places accession in the context of the WTO. It then sets out the basic provisions governing accession before going on to look at the standard procedures followed and then at the terms on which applicants have acceded to the Organization. Finally, its annexes bring together the main documents used in the accession process.
Budget, finances et administration
En 2012, la construction de l’annexe au siège genevois de l’OMC a été achevée, ce qui a permis de réunir pour la première fois l’ensemble du personnel sous le même toit. Le Comité du budget, des finances et de l’administration a régulièrement examiné la situation budgétaire et financière de l’Organisation, les arriérés des contributions des Membres et observateurs, la gestion des ressources humaines et la situation du Régime des pensions.
Dispute settlement activity in 2014
Dispute settlement had one of its most active years in 2014 since the inception of the WTO in 1995, with 34 active panel, compliance and arbitration proceedings and six appeals. A highly anticipated dispute against Australia’s tobacco plain packaging requirements got under way. The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), which met 14 times, received 14 requests for consultations – the first stage in the dispute settlement process – and established 13 panels.
The WTO at Ten
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.
Los Acuerdos de la OMC
La presente publicación contiene el texto del acuerdo fundacional de la OMC, el Acuerdo de Marrakech por el que se establece la Organización Mundial del Comercio, de 1994, y sus Anexos, con inclusión de todas las modificaciones y adiciones desde su entrada en vigor hasta septiembre de 2017. Entre ellas se encuentran una enmienda del acuerdo de la OMC sobre propiedad intelectual (Acuerdo sobre los ADPIC), destinada a mejorar el acceso de los países en desarrollo a los medicamentos, el Acuerdo sobre Facilitación del Comercio de la OMC, que entró en vigor en febrero de 2017, además de una enmienda adoptada en 2017 para ampliar los plazos entre los exámenes por homólogos realizados en el marco del Mecanismo de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales a partir de 2019 y el Acuerdo sobre Contratación Pública revisado. La presente publicación actualiza y sustituye a Los Textos Jurídicos: Los Resultados de la Ronda Uruguay de Negociaciones Comerciales Multilaterales, título publicado por primera vez en 1994.
Contacts avec le monde des entreprises
En 2012, l’OMC a pris plusieurs initiatives pour se rapprocher du monde des entreprises. Le Directeur général a établi un groupe de personnes éminentes, au sein duquel les entreprises sont bien représentées, pour analyser les défis de l’ouverture commerciale. L’OMC a par ailleurs réalisé une enquête auprès des dirigeants d’entreprises sur les moyens d’améliorer la coopération entre les entreprises et l’OMC.
Premio OMC de Ensayo para Jóvenes Economistas
En 2012, el Premio OMC de Ensayo para Jóvenes Economistas recayó en el economista estadounidense Treb Allen por un artículo sobre las fricciones de información en el comercio. El Jurado concedió además una mención especial al argentino Pablo Fajgelbaum por su trabajo sobre las instituciones del mercado laboral y el comercio internacional.
Comercio de servicios
El Consejo del Comercio de Servicios centró una gran parte de su labor en el comercio electrónico; los Miembros de la OMC intercambiaron información y estudiaron una propuesta para celebrar un seminario sobre los aspectos de esta cuestión relacionados con los servicios. También se propuso celebrar un seminario para examinar los obstáculos al movimiento transfronterizo de personas para el suministro de servicios (modo 4). El Consejo siguió debatiendo la exención en la esfera de los servicios, que permite conceder un trato más favorable a los PMA.
Asuntos presupuestarios, financieros y administrativos
En 2011, el Comité de Asuntos Presupuestarios, Financieros y Administrativos examinó el proyecto de presupuesto de la OMC y del Centro de Comercio Internacional (ITC) para el bienio 2012–2013 y analizó cuestiones relacionadas con los Miembros con atrasos prolongados en el pago de las contribuciones, el proyecto de construcción de la OMC y los recursos humanos.