About the WTO
Los 20 años de la OMC
La OMC nació el 1º de enero de 1995 y sucedió al Acuerdo General sobre Aranceles Aduaneros y Comercio (GATT), que había regulado el comercio mundial desde 1948. En los últimos 20 años, la OMC ha contribuido de manera notable al fortalecimiento y la estabilidad de la economía mundial, ayudando a impulsar el crecimiento del comercio, resolver numerosas diferencias comerciales y respaldar la integración de los países en desarrollo en el sistema de comercio.
Trade policy reviews
During 2010 the Trade Policy Review Body (TPR B) reviewed 19 WTO members: Malaysia, El Salvador, Croatia, Armenia, Albania, the People’s Republic of China, Malawi, the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei), The Gambia, Honduras, the United States, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Sri Lanka, Belize, Papua New Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Hong Kong, China. The Chair’s concluding remarks for these reviews are reproduced below.
Ideas workshop
This Ideas Workshop was an effort to collect and share the latest thinking, experiences and recommendations on the critical issue of how to ensure that green economy policies are environmentally effective, economically efficient and coherent with trade and other policies. Environmental effectiveness is a key consideration when evaluating the extent to which a specific policy can be qualified as “protectionist” from the perspective of international trade. Therefore, assessing the effectiveness of green economy policies lies at the heart of the debate on the risks of green protectionism.
Commerce des services
En 2010, le Conseil du commerce des services a poursuivi ses discussions sur certains secteurs de services et modes de fourniture, sur la base de notes d'information établies par le Secrétariat de l'OMC. Treize de ces notes ont été examinées en 2010 et deux autres le seront en 2011. Le Conseil a aussi entrepris le troisième examen des exemptions du principe de la nation la plus favorisée (NPF). Ces exemptions du principe fondamental de l'OMC de non-discrimination entre partenaires commerciaux sont autorisées au titre de l'AGC S, à certaines conditions, mais elles sont censées être éliminées progressivement.
General Council
In 2012, the General Council agreed that the Ninth Ministerial Conference will be held in Bali, Indonesia. It oversaw the progress of the Doha Round negotiations on the basis of reports from the Director-General in his capacity as Chair of the Trade Negotiations Committee. It heard the Director-General’s annual report on accessions and on the development assistance aspects of cotton. In July, it adopted recommendations on the accession of least-developed countries (LDCs) as mandated by the Eighth Ministerial Conference. It also reviewed progress in the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce.
Relaciones con las organizaciones no gubernamentales
El Foro Público de la OMC, cuyo tema en 2012 fue “¿Está en crisis el multilateralismo?”, congregó a unos 1.200 participantes.
Commerce des marchandises
Le Conseil du commerce des marchandises a examiné de nombreuses préoccupations commerciales en 2015, ce qui montre qu’il sert de plus en plus souvent de cadre à l’expression des préoccupations concernant les mesures, politiques et pratiques jugées potentiellement discriminatoires ou restrictives pour le commerce. Il a également examiné plusieurs demandes de dérogation et a pris note d’une liste complète et mise à jour des notifications présentées par les Membres de l’OMC. Les Philippines ont fait une déclaration sur les obstacles empêchant les micro, petites et moyennes entreprises d’accéder aux marchés régionaux et mondiaux. La Colombie a présenté les conclusions d’un groupe d’experts sur le commerce illicite et le blanchiment d’argent.
Trade Policy Reviews
In 2016, the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB) reviewed the trade policies and practices of 23 WTO members. By the end of 2016, the TPRB had conducted 452 reviews since its establishment in 1989, covering 153 of the 164 WTO members. During the year, members agreed further reforms to the trade policy review mechanism, including adjusting the frequency of undertaking trade policy reviews.
Trade monitoring reports
Trade monitoring reports showed a slight decrease in the number of new trade-restrictive measures introduced by WTO members. The WTO revised downwards its trade forecasts for 2016, predicting the slowest pace of trade and output growth since the financial crisis of 2009. The monitoring reports underscore the need for WTO members to work together to ensure that the benefits of trade are spread more widely and are better understood.
Una Organización universal
Liberia se adhirió a la OMC el 14 de julio de 2016. El Afganistán pasó a ser Miembro de la OMC el 29 de julio de 2016.
Introduction
L’Accord de l’OMC sur les obstacles techniques au commerce (Accord OTC) est entré en vigueur au moment de la création de l’Organisation mondiale du commerce, le 1er janvier 1995. Il vise à faire en sorte que les prescriptions relatives aux produits figurant dans les réglementations et les normes (concernant la sécurité, la qualité, la santé, etc.), ainsi que les procédures d’évaluation de la conformité des produits avec ces prescriptions (essais, inspection, accréditation, etc.), ne soient pas indûment discriminatoires et/ou ne créent pas d’obstacles non nécessaires au commerce.
The building
As Swiss writer Paul Budry observed, George Épitaux's building is extraordinary in its sobriety. The edifice avoids ostentatiousness, rather drawing strength through unity. He describes it as a "disciplined mass" united through the action of those working within its walls. The one notable departure from this moderation is the northern tower, reaching skyward like a lighthouse. The paradox of such a sleek building is that while it may appear simple, it requires an immense amount of forethought to execute such pure lines.
Reaching out to parliamentarians
In 2011, for the first time, the annual Parliamentary Conference on the WTO, organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament, was held at the WTO. The WTO Secretariat continued the distribution of its regular newsletter to a growing number of parliamentarians. It also organized two regional workshops for parliamentarians in cooperation with regional partners.
Regional integration in the MENA region: Deepening the Greater Arab Free Trade Area through trade facilitation
This chapter assesses the trade facilitation performance of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and determines the welfare and sectoral effects of trade facilitation improvements within the context of regional trade integration. It shows that introducing a trade facilitation provision in the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) will lead to a significant welfare increase for all MENA sub-regions compared with a scenario of further trade liberalization without trade facilitation. Trade facilitation in the GAFTA would enhance export competitiveness and lead to a significant increase in overall and intra-trade export value for all countries, but particularly for the Mashreq and Maghreb countries. In the analysis, all sub-regions witnessed an export boost in agro-food product exports, particularly those products in which the Mashreq and Maghreb countries have a comparative advantage. The welfare-enhancing results of this analysis indicate that the MENA region has a high stake in implementing the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA), and should begin with areas that contribute the most to trade cost reduction, such as automation and streamlining of trade procedures.
Cooperation with other international organizations
In 2013, the WTO cooperated with a variety of intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Together with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the OECD, the WTO published reports on trade and investment developments in the Group of 20 (G-20) countries.