About the WTO
Aide pour le commerce
En 2012, l’Aide pour le commerce a continué à mobiliser des ressources. D’après les chiffres les plus récents, les engagements sont passés à 45 milliards de dollars EU en 2010, contre environ 40 milliards de dollars EU en 2009. Cela représente une augmentation de 82 pour cent par rapport à la période de référence 2002-2005. Le Comité du commerce et du développement s’est employé à mettre en oeuvre le programme de travail 2012-2013, dont le thème principal est “Approfondir la cohérence”, et il a préparé le quatrième Examen global de l’Aide pour le commerce prévu en 2013, qui sera axé sur les chaînes de valeur mondiales. Quatre ateliers thématiques ont été organisés.
Regional trade agreements
In 2012, the WTO received 37 new notifications, a considerable increase over the 25 received in 2011. The notifications involved 23 regional trade agreements (RTAs). Eight of the RTAs were between developed partners, with another eight involving developed and developing partners. The remaining seven were between developing country partners. The Americas was the region with the highest number of notifications – ten, followed by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region with eight.
Órgano de Apelación
El volumen de trabajo del Órgano de Apelación siguió siendo importante en 2012, aunque el número de nuevas apelaciones se estabilizó. A lo largo del año el Órgano de Apelación distribuyó informes sobre nueve diferencias, cuatro de los cuales se referían a apelaciones presentadas en 2011. Se presentaron nuevas apelaciones en cinco diferencias, y todas ellas se concluyeron en 2012. Se llevó a cabo un procedimiento de arbitraje de conformidad con el párrafo 3 (c) del artículo 21 relativo al plazo prudencial para la aplicación. En junio se nombró a un nuevo Miembro del Órgano de Apelación.
Contact with parliamentarians
In 2013, the annual Parliamentary Conference on the WTO, organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the European Parliament, was held in Bali during the WTO’s Ninth Ministerial Conference. The WTO Secretariat continued to update parliamentarians on WTO issues. It organized a regional workshop for Asian parliamentarians in Singapore.
Dispute settlement activity in 2011
In 2011, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) received eight notifications from WTO members of formal requests for consultations under the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU), less than half the number (17 notifications) received in 2010. This is the lowest number in the history of the WTO, the next lowest being 12 in 2005. Although the volume of new activity is low, the dispute settlement mechanism is currently dealing with numerous cases. The DSB adopted eight panel and five Appellate Body reports, including those in the largest case to come before the dispute settlement system, the case involving the European Union and Airbus..
Message du Directeur général Roberto Azevêdo
L’année 2014 a été cruciale pour l’OMC. Nous avons accompli beaucoup de choses, mais nous avons aussi été confrontés à une épreuve difficile en tant qu’organisation. Après l’explosion de joie à la neuvième Conférence ministérielle à Bali à la fin de 2013, les Membres de l’OMC ont commencé l’année 2014 bien déterminés à mettre en oeuvre les décisions adoptées à Bali, compte tenu de tous les gains que cela apporterait en termes de croissance et de développement dans le monde, et à faire avancer les négociations sur les éléments restants du Programme de Doha pour le développement. Mais le chemin n’a pas été sans obstacles. Le rythme d’avancement des travaux sur certains éléments du paquet de Bali a suscité des préoccupations et, en conséquence, une échéance importante pour la mise en oeuvre a été manquée en juillet.
Quinta Conferencia Ministerial (CM5)
La Quinta Conferencia Ministerial de la OMC se celebró en Cancún (México) del 10 al 14 de septiembre de 2003 y estuvo presidida por el Sr. Luis Ernesto Derbez (México).
Enhanced Integrated Framework
In 2012, the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) – the Aid for Trade programme for least-developed countries (LDCs) – was independently rated as “highly relevant” to the trade and development priorities of LDCs. As a result, the EIF Steering Committee extended the EIF mandate until end-2015, with an additional operational period for project implementation up to 2017. Forty-three countries have so far received assistance, up from 40 at the end of 2011, to build stronger trade institutions and to address trading challenges. The EIF is supported by donor pledges of USD 240 million and contributions of approximately USD 178 million (up from USD 155 million in 2011) as of 31 December 2012.
Marco Integrado mejorado para los PMA
El Marco Integrado mejorado (MIM) para la asistencia relacionada con el comercio en favor de los PM A entró en pleno funcionamiento en 2009. A finales de ese año participaban en el proceso del MIM 47 PM A, y el Fondo Fiduciario del MIM había aumentado hasta alcanzar 90 millones de dólares EE.UU. El amplio apoyo de que goza el MIM quedó de manifiesto en el encuentro ministerial sobre el MIM organizado por el Director General coincidiendo con la Séptima Conferencia Ministerial de la OMC, celebrada en diciembre de 2009.
Trade, debt and finance
The Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance continued efforts during its two meetings in 2014 to improve understanding of the links between exchange rates and trade, in particular with a view to strengthening coherence between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the WTO. WTO members strongly encouraged the WTO Director-General to continue to act by way of diagnosis, advocacy and leadership with partner institutions. At the request of members, a high-level WTO seminar was organized on the challenges of access to trade finance in March 2015.
Actividades de solución de diferencias en 2011
En 2011 se notificaron al Órgano de Solución de Diferencias (OSD) ocho solicitudes formales de celebración de consultas presentadas por Miembros de la OMC en el marco del Entendimiento sobre Solución de Diferencias (ESD), es decir, menos de la mitad que en 2010 (17 solicitudes). Este ha sido el año en que menos solicitudes de este tipo se han recibido en la historia de la OMC, seguido de 2005, en que se recibieron 12. No obstante, aunque el volumen de actividad nueva sea bajo, numerosos asuntos son actualmente objeto de examen en el marco del mecanismo de solución de diferencias. El OSD adoptó ocho informes de grupos especiales y cinco del Órgano de Apelación, entre otros, los relativos al asunto de mayor magnitud que se ha sometido al sistema de solución de diferencias, a saber, el referente a la Unión Europea y Airbus (véase infra).
Millennium Challenge Account support and port reforms in Benin: A trade facilitation effects analysis
Since 2006, Benin has benefited from the United States Government initiative, the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) programme. In Benin, the main component of this programme is the Access to Markets Project, through which 61 per cent of MCA subsidies are directed towards improving port operations and infrastructures. The aim of this chapter is to assess the potential effects of these trade facilitation reforms over the project period. Based on performance indicators, this chapter shows an increase in goods traffic via the Cotonou Port Authority (CPA) by an average 13.65 per cent annually. The Granger causality test is applied to establish a relationship between aid and the time taken to process import containers, as well as the quantity of imports. The study shows that Aid for Trade (AfT) induces a significant decrease in the time taken for import container processing at CPA, by an average 6.9 per cent annually. An econometric model of importing enables support for these correlations. We estimate the model with and without an MCA grant. Findings highlight an important increase in volume of imports when MCA aid is included in the model. These results show that an MCA grant contributed to improvement in the CPA’s performance and we suggest intensification of trade facilitation reforms at the CPA.
Introduction
On 1 January 2008 the multilateral trading system will celebrate its sixtieth anniversary. The World Trade Report 2007 marks the occasion with a retrospective look at what has been learned from those six decades of international trade cooperation. It attempts to identify both what lessons are to be drawn from past experience and the nature of challenges to come. To address these issues, the report adopts an eclectic approach, drawing from the economic literature as well as from economic history, international relations or legal approaches. The objective of the report is to explore the lessons to be learned from the rich history of change and institutional adaptation of the multilateral system.
Cooperation with academic institutions
Members of the WTO’s Chairs Programme presented case studies on how reducing trade costs can boost growth at the Fifth Global Review of Aid for Trade in July and at the Public Forum in October. Chairs arranged a number of workshops and were active in several conferences during 2015. Their annual reports showed that the programme’s objectives are being met. The WTO implemented 12 activities under the Academic Support Programme, which aims to support academic institutions from developing countries that are not part of the Chairs Programme.
The future of the WTO
At the risk of sounding facetious, one might ask where the trading system will be in 2048. If there is anything to numerology, that is when it is next due to take a new turn. That would continue a progression that began in 1648, when the Treaty of Westphalia inaugurated a new era in international law, was followed by influential declarations on the pacific nature of trade in both 1748 (in Montesquieu’s De l’esprit des lois) and 1848 (in Mill’s Principles of Political Economy), and seemed to culminate in 1948 with GATT’s entry into force. That most recent of the ’48s was no end-of-history moment, however, as was apparent when the WTO replaced GATT less than half a century later.
Secretariat and budget
The WTO Secretariat has over 600 regular staff who coordinate the activities of the WTO. Most of the WTO’s annual budget consists of contributions by its members.
Early dispute settlement in the GATT
One of the most successful features of international trade law, as represented by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and later by the WTO, is its dispute settlement system. Already at the start of the negotiations setting up the GATT in 1947, it was realised that for a multilateral trading regime to function efficiently there needed to be rules on how to settle disputes between contracting parties or members. The GATT thus provides the basic rules for the settlement of disputes in its Articles XXII and XXIII, rules largely inspired by Article 93 of the Havana Charter, an agreement which never came into force.
Introduction
En un contexto histórico, 25 años no es más que un abrir y cerrar de ojos.