Trade monitoring
Merchandise trade, volume (real) terms, 2009
World merchandise trade in volume terms (i.e. excluding the influence of prices and exchange rates) fell by 12.2 per cent in 2009. This was well below the 2.1 per cent increase for 2008, and significantly lower than the 10 year average increase of 4.1 per cent. The drop in trade was also larger than the 2.3 per cent decline in GDP for 2009, which is not surprising since world trade generally grows faster than GDP when output is accelerating and declines more when output slows.
Observaciones a modo de conclusión del Presidente del Órgano de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales, S.E. Sr. Eloi Laourou de Benin en la Reunión de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales del Ecuador celebrada los días 5 y 7 de marzo de 2019
Este tercer examen de las políticas comerciales nos ha permitido conocer más a fondo las políticas de comercio e inversión del Ecuador, en particular por lo que respecta a las reformas y los cambios introducidos desde el último examen, realizado en 2011. Quiero dar las gracias a la delegación del Ecuador, encabezada por el Sr. Diego Caicedo, Viceministro de Comercio Exterior, por su participación a lo largo de todo el proceso. También quiero dar las gracias a nuestro ponente, Embajador Eduardo Sperisen-Yurt, Representante Permanente de Guatemala ante la OMC, por sus observaciones, que ofrecen una base importante para este examen, así como a las 33 delegaciones que han hecho uso de la palabra.
Report by the WTO Secretariat
Switzerland and Liechtenstein are among the wealthiest countries in the world, with GDP per capita of over US$50,000 each in 2006. Since their last TPR, their economies have grown on average by 2.7% per year for Switzerland and 2.2% for Liechtenstein, led by exports and private consumption. External trade (including access to foreign markets) is central to both economies; their ratios of external trade to GDP exceed 100%. The growth in both countries has been coupled with declining unemployment. Given their dependency on international trade, their economies remain sensitive to developments in the global economy.
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.
Organisation, secrétariat et budget
L’Organisation mondiale du commerce a été créée en 1995 pour succéder au GATT (Accord général sur les tarifs douaniers et le commerce), qui avait été établi en 1947 après la seconde guerre mondiale. Son principal objectif est d’établir des règles régissant la politique commerciale de ses Membres en vue de favoriser l’expansion du commerce international et d’élever les niveaux de vie. Ces règles cherchent à promouvoir la nondiscrimination, la transparence et la prévisibilité dans la conduite des politiques commerciales. À cet effet, l’OMC.
Introduction
Il y a plusieurs manières de considérer l’Organisation mondiale du commerce : en tant qu’organisation qui s’occupe de l’ouverture commerciale, en tant qu’enceinte où les gouvernements négocient des accords commerciaux et en tant que lieu où ils règlent leurs différends commerciaux.
Les Membres
L’OMC est ouverte aux États et aux territoires douaniers jouissant d’une entière autonomie dans la conduite de leurs relations commerciales extérieures. Le processus d’accession à l’OMC favorise l’intégration des nouveaux Membres dans l’économie mondiale.
Mise en oeuvre et suivi
Les différents conseils et comités de l’OMC veillent à ce que les Accords de l’OMC soient convenablement mis en oeuvre. Les politiques et pratiques commerciales de tous les Membres de l’OMC font l’objet d’un examen périodique.
Secretaría y presupuesto
La Secretaría de la OMC cuenta con una plantilla de más de 600 funcionarios que coordinan las actividades de la Organización. El presupuesto anual de la OMC se financia en su mayor parte mediante las contribuciones de sus Miembros.
Report by Mongolia
The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in Mongolia’s trading partners and the related business contraction of economic entities caused a severe negative impact on the country’s economic growth. The GDP of Mongolia contracted by 9.7% as of the first 6 months of 2020.
Report by Nicaragua
Nicaragua was a Contracting Party of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) since 28 May 1950 and has been a Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 3 September 1995. In that capacity, it has honoured its commitment to promote and strengthen the multilateral trading system through regulatory and institutional changes which have had a positive effect on trade flows in the country.
Report by the WTO Secretariat
Between fiscal year (FY) 2013/14 and FY 2018/19, Myanmar’s economic growth averaged a robust 7.1% annually. It made progress in reducing poverty and inequality; Myanmar’s per capita GDP grew to over USD 1,300. However, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the growth rate, which is expected to decline to 1.5% in FY 2019/20. Prudent macro-economic management and the country’s relatively moderate level of economic exposure to the global economy are expected to prevent an economic contraction.
Informe de la Secretaría de la OMC
Este cuarto examen de la política comercial de Nicaragua cubre el periodo 2012-2020. En los últimos años, el crecimiento potencial de la economía de Nicaragua aumentó en medio punto porcentual, según cálculos del FMI, debido a mejoras significativas en infraestructura particularmente transporte, telecomunicaciones y suministro de electricidad. Ello coadyuvó a que el PIB real creciera 4,7% en promedio anual durante 2013- 17. No obstante, la economía nicaragüense se ha visto afectada seriamente por la crisis política y social que inició en abril de 2018 relacionada con reformas al sistema de seguro social. El resultado ha sido pérdida de empleos, una caída en la confianza de los consumidores y de las empresas, que sumado a sanciones financieras internacionales causó caídas en el PIB real de 3,9% en 2018 y 4,0% en 2019. Para 2020 y 2021, el FMI estima que el PIB real tendrá tasas de crecimiento del -5,5% y -0,5%, respectivamente, debido fundamentalmente a los efectos de la pandemia COVID-19.
Report by the WTO Secretariat
Since its previous Review in 2014, Mongolia has maintained a generally open trade regime, and the economy expanded between 2014 and 2019. In 2019, the economy grew by 5.1%, with an improvement in the fiscal balance and an increase in both reserves and GDP per capita. However, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, exports declined by 40% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020, and the economy contracted 9.7% in the first half of 2020. Inflation progressed slowly, reflecting an increase in food and utilities prices. The unemployment rate has decreased since 2016, and stood at 7.8% in 2018. Exports, imports, and FDI grew between 2017 and 2019. Mongolia was ranked 92nd overall in the 2019 United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index, up from 108th in 2012. In terms of value-added, the share of services has declined since 2016, to account for 44.8% of GDP in 2019. The share of mining has increased since 2015 to reach 26.0% of GDP in 2019, and that of manufacturing has increased to 10.5%. The share of services in total employment increased to 53.1% in 2019, while that of agriculture decreased to 25.3%.
Report by the WTO Secretariat
Qatar is a hydrocarbon-rich country with a small indigenous population relative to its expatriate community. Some 1.9 million foreign workers constitute approximately 95% of the economically active population. Per capita GDP amounted to USD 62,800 in 2019. As stated in Qatar National Vision 2030, Qatar is pursuing economic diversification in the coming decade, seeking to build an economy less reliant on petroleum resources and with a larger private sector. Construction of infrastructure for the staging of the FIFA World Cup 2022 was a major economic stimulus, but most of these projects were finalized or are about to be completed.
Report by India
The Seventh Trade Policy Review of India is taking place at a time when the world is witnessing an unprecedented health crisis with the contagious COVID-19 hitting economies across the world in rapid succession. Global growth has been severely affected and substantial risks of more severe outcomes remain. In its June 2020 update, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that global output would contract by 4.9% in 2020-21.
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.
Report by the WTO Secretariat
Singapore’s economy has long been characterized by solid growth, subdued inflation, low unemployment, ample fiscal and monetary reserves, financial stability, and openness to international trade and investment. This strong performance has been underpinned by sound macroeconomic policies, resulting in a substantial increase in living standards over the past two decades. Today Singapore has one of the highest GDPs per capita in Asia (USD 59,819).