Trade monitoring
Concluding Remarks by the Chairperson of the Trade Policy Review Body, H.E. Mr. Eduardo Muñoz Gómez at the Trade Policy Review of Singapore 2 and 4 July 2012
This sixth Trade Policy Review of Singapore has allowed us to improve our understanding of Singapore’ trade and trade-related policies and practices and how they have evolved since the previous review in 2008. We are grateful for the active participation of the Singaporean delegation headed by Mrs. Ow Foong Pheng, Permanent Secretary of Trade and Industry. I would also like to thank the discussant, Ambassador John Adank of New Zealand, and Members of the TPRB for contributing to our fruitful exchange of views.
Facteurs économiques fondamentaux affectant le commerce international
La section précédente a montré que l’avenir du commerce et de la croissance économique dépend de plusieurs facteurs. Les prévisions peuvent changer en fonction de l’évolution de chacun de ces facteurs. Cette section examine comment les facteurs économiques fondamentaux qui déterminent l’avenir du commerce international – à savoir la démographie, l’investissement, la technologie, l’énergie et les autres ressources naturelles, les coûts de transport et le cadre institutionnel – sont susceptibles d’évoluer dans les années à venir.
Introduction
The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) was first established on a trial basis by the GATT contracting parties in April 1989. The Mechanism became a permanent feature of the World Trade Organization under the Marrakesh Agreement which established the WTO in January 1995.
Aid for Trade
The Second Global Review of Aid for Trade, which was held on 6 and 7 July 2009, highlighted substantial and measurable progress in implementing the Aid for Trade initiative. Since its inception, the initiative has succeeded in raising awareness of the needs of developing countries, in particular least-developed countries (LDCs), and the support they require to benefit from trade expansion and reduce poverty. Using the increasing resources provided by donors, the Aid for Trade programme has focused more recently on effective implementation of projects, especially at the regional level. The worsening global economic outlook during 2009 further increased the relevance of the Aid for T rade initiative for developing countries.
Composición de los grupos geográficos y económicos
El término “países” se utiliza con frecuencia para hacer referencia a los Miembros de la OMC, a pesar de que algunos Miembros no son países en el sentido usual del término, sino que se trata oficialmente de “territorios aduaneros”. La definición de grupos geográficos y de otro tipo empleada en el presente informe no implica la expresión de opinión alguna por parte de la Secretaría sobre la condición jurídica de ningún país o territorio, sobre la delimitación de sus fronteras ni sobre los derechos y obligaciones de ningún Miembro de la OMC respecto de los Acuerdos de la OMC. Los colores, fronteras, denominaciones y clasificaciones que figuran en los mapas de la presente publicación no implican, por parte de la OMC, ningún juicio sobre la condición jurídica o de otra índole de ningún territorio, ni constituyen una aprobación o aceptación de ninguna frontera.
Statistics activities
The Statistics Group continued to be the principal supplier of WTO trade statistics and information on market access. The WTO’s Integrated Trade Intelligence Portal (I-TIP), which includes tariff and non-tariff measures, was further improved in 2014. I-TIP now covers trade in services and benefits from analysis produced jointly with the World Bank. In 2014, the WTO also cooperated with, among others, UNCTAD on market access and trade statistics, with OECD on trade in value-added terms and with the UN regional commissions. As a key contributor to the UN manual on trade in services, the WTO participated in several regional capacity-building initiatives.
Report by the WTO Secretariat
During the period covered by its Fourth Trade Policy Review (TPR), Guinea introduced a number of reforms that helped to improve its economic situation. The adoption of a new Mining Code, the implementation of targeted measures in the agricultural sector, and the revival of hydro-electric power generation all helped to improve the attractiveness of the Guinean economy, which is heavily dependent on mining resources. As a result, the annual GDP growth rate, less than 2% in 2010, rose to over 5% in 2011 and 2012 before gradually subsiding to 3.5% in 2015 owing to problems in the mining sector, aggravated in 2015 by the Ebola epidemic, which seriously hampered economic activity. With the end of the epidemic in 2016, mining activities recovered and the agricultural sector began to perform well.
Conclusiones
Una conclusión aplicable a todo este informe es que los enfoques regional y multilateral de la cooperación comercial no deben necesariamente ser incompatibles, pero tampoco pueden considerarse simples sustitutos (es decir, mecanismos que cumplen los mismos propósitos o satisfacen las mismas necesidades). El apoyo de un orden comercial mundial cada vez más inclusivo y orientado hacia el exterior ha sido fuerte desde el fin de la segunda guerra mundial, y esta tendencia creciente hacia la apertura se ha manifestado a través de enfoques unilaterales, bilaterales, regionales y multilaterales.
Preface
The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) was first established on a trial basis by the GATT CONTRACTING PARTIES in April 1989. The Mechanism became a permanent feature of the World Trade Organization under the Marrakesh Agreement which established the WTO in January 1995.
Incidencia de las subvenciones
En esta sección se presenta un panorama de la utilización de las subvenciones tanto a nivel mundial como a distintos niveles de desglose geográfico y sectorial. Teniendo en cuenta la cantidad y la calidad de los datos disponibles, no es posible presentar un cuadro exhaustivo y sistemático de la incidencia de las subvenciones.
Concluding Remarks by the Chairperson of the Trade Policy Review Body, H.E. Mr. John Gero at the Trade Policy Review of Zambia 27 and 29 July
Zambia’s third Trade Policy Review (TPR) has been thorough and informative; it has given us a much better understanding of the trade and related policies and practices of Zambia, together with the challenges it faces. I thank Minister Mutati and his delegation as well as the discussant, Ambassador Feyder of Luxemburg, and Members of the TPRB for contributing to our useful exchange of views. The reports by the Zambian authorities and the Secretariat, as well as the detailed responses of the delegation of Zambia to the many questions posed, have provided a valuable resource for transparency both within Zambia and as far as the WTO membership is concerned.
International cooperation on non-tariff measures in a globalized world
The focus of this section is international cooperation on non-tariff measures (NTMs) and services measures. The section first reviews the economic rationale for such cooperation in the context of trade agreements. It then looks at the practice of cooperation in the areas of technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and domestic regulation in services. The third part deals with the legal analysis of the treatment of NTMs in the GATT/WTO system and the interpretation of the rules that has emerged in recent international trade disputes. The section concludes with a discussion of the challenges of adapting the WTO to a world where NTMs are a growing concern.