Acerca de la OMC

The WTO’s top-level decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference, which usually meets every two years.

En 2016, la OMC trabajó en colaboración con otras organizaciones intergubernamentales en muchas cuestiones relacionadas con el comercio. El Director General Roberto Azevêdo participó en eventos organizados por las Naciones Unidas, el Banco Mundial y el Fondo Monetario Internacional, y asistió a la cumbre del G-20 celebrada en Hangzhou (China). La OMC siguió publicando informes sobre las medidas del G-20 en materia de comercio e inversión conjuntamente con la UNCTAD y la Organización de Cooperación y Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE).

Le Conseil des ADPIC a poursuivi ses discussions sur des questions telles que l’accès des pays les plus pauvres aux médicaments, la promotion de la transparence et les besoins d’assistance technique des pays les moins avancés, dans le cadre de son examen régulier des questions de propriété intellectuelle. Il a également échangé des informations et discute de plusieurs questions de politique soulevées par différents pays, telles que les stratégies nationales en matière d’innovation et le rôle de la propriété intellectuelle pour encourager l’innovation fondée sur le marché.

Six directors-general have been appointed since the establishment of the WTO. The WTO’s first director-general was Peter Sutherland, who served from January to April 1995. He was succeeded by Renato Ruggiero (1995-99), Mike Moore (1999-2002) and Supachai Panitchpakdi (2002-05). Pascal Lamy, the longestserving director-general, held office from 2005 to 2013. The current directorgeneral is Roberto Azevêdo who took office on 1 September 2013.

El Fondo para la Aplicación de Normas y el Fomento del Comercio (STDF) -el instrumento de la Ayuda para el Comercio que ayuda a los países en desarrollo a aplicar las normas sanitarias y fitosanitarias (MSF)- siguió centrando en lograr una mayor sensibilización, movilizar recursos, reforzar la colaboración, definir y difundir buenas prácticas para aumentar la eficacia de la cooperación técnica relacionada con las MSF. Asimismo, prestó especial atención a proporcionar apoyo y financiación para la formulación y ejecución de proyectos orientados al cumplimiento de los requisitos sanitarios y fitosanitarios internacionales. En 2012, las contribuciones al STDF totalizaron 4,7 millones de dólares EE.UU.

Any discussion of the tenth anniversary of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) would not be complete without an examination of the Working Procedures for Appellate Review (Working Procedures). In his paper, Peter Van den Bossche describes the Working Procedures as one of the factors that, in his view, have contributed to the Appellate Body’s rise in prominence. Indeed, the Working Procedures have played a fundamental role in ensuring that the appellate stage of WTO dispute settlement is conducted fairly and efficiently.

2014 was a momentous year for the WTO. We achieved a great deal, but we also faced a stern test as an organization. After the jubilant scenes at our Ninth Ministerial Conference in Bali at the end of 2013, WTO members went into the new year determined to implement the decisions that were taken there, with all the gains that this would bring for growth and development around the world, and to advance negotiations on the remaining elements of the Doha Development Agenda. However, the route ahead was not free of obstacles. Concerns were raised about the relative pace at which some elements of the Bali Package were moving forward and, as a consequence, a major milestone for implementation was missed in July.

Aristotle would likely approve of the way that the decision-making processes of the multilateral trading system allow for adaptation, innovation and an emphasis on unwritten norms over formal rules. A literal reading of GATT 1947 and the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO Agreement) gives one only an imperfect idea of how decisions are made, with the procedures that are actually followed having evolved over decades of experience, improvisation and accommodation. That evolution was neither easy nor settled, however, and one bloc or another often proposes tweaks or major changes in how issues are deliberated, decisions are made and commitments are enforced.

L’année 2013 a été chargée pour le règlement des différends à l’OMC, les organes de règlement des différends ayant examiné 28 différends concernant des questions allant de la production d’énergie verte à l’interdiction des produits dérivés du phoque. L’Organe de règlement des différends (l’ORD), qui s’est réuni 13 fois, a reçu 20 demandes de consultations, première étape de la procédure de règlement des différends. Les pays en développement ont déposé neuf de ces demandes, l’Amérique latine étant particulièrement active. La charge de travail croissante pose des problèmes au Secrétariat de l’OMC. Sur une note positive, le greffe numérique de l’OMC pour le règlement des différends est entré en phase de test.

The world economy has changed profoundly over the past decades, as there has been a sharp increase in population and a near tripling of average income since 1960. During this period, our economies have become ever more integrated due to advances in communication and information technologies, along with lower barriers to global trade and investment.