About the WTO
Coopération avec d’autres organisations internationales
En 2013, 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 publié des rapports sur l’évolution du commerce et de l’investissement dans les pays du Groupe des 20 (G-20), en collaboration avec la Conférence des Nations Unies sur le commerce et le développement (CNUCED) et l’OCDE.
The WTO agreements relevant to health
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a relatively new international organization. However, it is responsible for a system that is over 50 years old. Established on 1 January 1995, the WTO replaced the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which dated back to 1948. This was a consequence of a decision taken by governments after seven and a half years of negotiations (the "Uruguay Round"), which ended in 1994. With the WTO's creation, the rules were expanded to new areas. While the GATT dealt with trade in goods only, the WTO covers trade in services and intellectual property as well. There are also some areas, such as textiles, agriculture and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, where the WTO goes beyond the GATT by having established specific trade rules. Under the WTO, the procedure for settling trade disputes has also been strengthened.
Dispute prevention and settlement
Chapters II to VIII have dealt with members’ commitments as regards the substantive standards for protection of IPRs under domestic laws, as well as their enforcement through their domestic legal systems. An important feature of the TRIPS Agreement is that disputes between members about compliance by member governments with these TRIPS obligations are subject to the dispute settlement system of the WTO. The TRIPS provisions on dispute settlement are contained in Part V of the TRIPS Agreement entitled ‘Dispute Prevention and Settlement’.
Working in WTO dispute settlement
As explained elsewhere, the idea for this book grew out of a conference organised by the Legal Affairs Division (LAD) in 2012 to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the creation of the Division. We called it ‘LAD at Thirty’.
Conseil général
En 2013, le Conseil général de l’OMC a mené à bien le processus de sélection qui a conduit à la désignation de M. Roberto Azevêdo (Brésil) comme nouveau Directeur général de l’OMC. Il s’est également occupé des préparatifs de fond et de l’organisation de la neuvième Conférence ministérielle de l’OMC. Il a supervisé la progression des négociations du Cycle de Doha, notamment en ce qui concerne le « paquet de Bali », sur la base des rapports établis par le Directeur général en sa qualité de Président du Comité des négociations commerciales.
Relations avec les organisations non gouvernementales
Le Forum public 2013, qui avait pour thème « L’expansion du commerce par l’innovation et l’économie numérique », a attiré de nombreuses organisations non gouvernementales (ONG). Les ONG ont également participé à la neuvième Conférence ministérielle de l’OMC, tenue à Bali en décembre. À Genève, l’OMC a organisé des séances d’information sur des questions commerciales à l’intention des ONG, et des représentants d’ONG ont assisté à plusieurs activités publiques de l’OMC ainsi qu’à des auditions de groupes spéciaux.
The meat in the sandwich
With a measure of anxiety, in September 1993 I moved halfway across the world to Geneva to join the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as a dispute settlement lawyer. Previously I had worked as an in-house lawyer1 and litigator on trade law in the Australian government, focusing on administrative law challenges to government decisions. Twenty-one years on, I have moved through several different jobs inside the WTO, and have thus had a range of experiences in the GATT and WTO Secretariats.
Appellate Body
The Appellate Body had a busy year in 2015, issuing eleven Appellate Body reports in seven distinct matters. As of the end of 2015, the Appellate Body had circulated 138 reports. Three arbitration proceedings concerning the reasonable period of time for implementation of Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) recommendations and rulings were carried out in 2015. The DSB appointed two Appellate Body members, Ujal Singh Bhatia of India and Thomas Graham of the United States, for second four-year terms.
Activités de l’omc
Le présent chapitre donne un aperçu des principales activités menées par l’OMC en 2001.
Introduction
The WTO's first 20 years have certainly not been without challenges. Its Doha Round of trade negotiations has made slow progress as WTO members grapple with the tough and complex issues raised by deepening integration. Its dispute settlement system is dealing with a growing number of trade conflicts – often involving the biggest trade powers and the most contentious policy questions – as the world's economies become more intertwined. As a main locus of global economic coordination, the WTO also finds itself at the centre of growing debates about globalization, development, climate change and many other issues that now transcend national borders – placing the world trading system in the public spotlight as never before. These challenges should not be underestimated. But nor should it be forgotten that they are the result not of the WTO's failings but of its successes. Having created an unprecedentedly open and integrated world trading order – the most far-reaching system of global economic cooperation in history – the WTO now faces the often formidable task of managing it.
Introduction
Trade, the exchange of goods, services and information between individuals or groups, is as old as human history. Expanding trade is a central component of the increasing connectedness among countries.
Dispute settlement
In 2008 the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) received 19 notifications from WTO members formally requesting consultations under the Dispute Settlement Understanding. During the year the DSB established three panels to adjudicate five new cases – the lowest annual number since the establishment of the WTO. Thirteen appeals of panel reports were filed with the Appellate Body in 2008.
Coopération avec les établissements universitaires
En 2014, l’OMC a lancé la deuxième phase du Programme de chaires de l’OMC (PCO) avec la sélection de sept nouvelles chaires, ce qui a porté à 21 le nombre total de chaires. Durant l’année, le PCO a continué à renforcer sa capacité de contribuer à la politique commerciale et la prise de décisions. En 2014, le PCO a publié un ouvrage intitulé Se connecter aux marchés mondiaux, regroupant les contributions des titulaires des 14 chaires créées pendant la première phase du programme. Le Programme de soutien aux établissements d’enseignement supérieur a continué de soutenir les établissements universitaires des pays en développement et des pays les moins avancés (PMA).
Novena Conferencia Ministerial (CM9)
La Novena Conferencia Ministerial de la OMC se celebró en Bali (Indonesia) del 3 al 7 de diciembre de 2013 y estuvo presidida por el Sr. Gita Wirjawan (Indonesia).