About the WTO

My first encounter with the dispute settlement system of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) took place as a member of the US delegation, which litigated the complaint against the then European Economic Community (EEC) on its import controls on certain processed fruits and vegetables. The United States requested a GATT panel to examine whether the EEC system was ‘consistent with the obligations of the EEC under the General Agreement’. Part of the EEC legal defence relied on exemptions under Article XI:2(c)(i) and (ii) of the GATT from Article XI:1’s general prohibition against non-tariff restrictions. The exemptions allowed for restrictions on agricultural imports necessary to enforce governmental measures that restricted the marketing or production of like domestic products, or that operated to remove a temporary surplus of ‘like’ domestic products. I sifted through EEC agricultural statistics to show that market withdrawals of fresh tomatoes had counted for less than 1 per cent of domestic production, and could therefore not be considered as a restriction on domestic quantities justifying a minimum import price and surety system on imported tomato concentrates.

In 2015, the WTO cooperated with a variety of intergovernmental organizations. With the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), it signed a declaration to strengthen collaboration. It co-published a report with the World Bank on trade’s role in ending poverty and continued to publish reports on G20 trade and investment measures, together with UNCTAD and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Director-General Roberto Azevêdo was in New York for the UN General Assembly at which the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted.

En 2013, le Comité du commerce et de l’environnement a eu des discussions et a reçu des renseignements sur diverses évolutions dans le domaine des politiques environnementales, allant des systèmes de calcul de l’empreinte environnementale, y compris l’empreinte carbone et des systèmes d’étiquetage aux initiatives en faveur d’une économie verte et aux accords environnementaux multilatéraux comportant des dispositions relatives au commerce. Le Secrétariat de l’OMC a établi les bases de données environnementales pour 2010 et 2011 et a mis à jour la Matrice des mesures commerciales prises au titre de certains accords environnementaux multilatéraux.

En 2012 la OMC nombró a sus dos primeros Embajadores de la Juventud, las estudiantes Ankita Mishra, de la India, y Karina Hehs, del Brasil, ganadoras del concurso al mejor ensayo y al mejor vídeo, respectivamente, sobre el tema “¿Cómo puede el comercio promover el desarrollo?”.

In Section B we discussed a range of reasons why nations may share an interest in cooperating with one another in trade matters. In this section we extend the analysis to examine fundamental issues of treaty design, focusing on two main questions. First, what are the core rules that any good trade agreement must contain so as to reap the envisaged benefits from cooperation? Second, how does the creation of a formal organization (or institution) ensure the effectiveness of rules and foster the objectives of an agreement?

I have been working at a Japanese steel company for over 20 years on various investment and trade matters, including a number of trade disputes that have been brought before the dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the following chapter, I offer a personal perspective on the subject: ‘Business and the WTO dispute settlement mechanism’.

The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) – the Aid for Trade vehicle to help developing countries implement sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards – continued to raise awareness, mobilize resources, strengthen collaboration and identify and disseminate good practice to enhance the effectiveness of SPS-related technical cooperation. It also provided support and funding for the development and implementation of projects that promote compliance with international SPS requirements. An independent review of the STDF reported that “the results are impressive and a testament to the effective operation of the STDF”.

The first edition of WTO ‘Data Day’ took place on 18–19 May 2009. This inter-agency initiative aimed to raise awareness on the use and interpretation of trade-related statistical data, familiarize users with data applications, draw attention to continuing needs for data, and promote coherence and cooperation among international agencies that manage data.