Trade monitoring
Cooperación con otras organizaciones internacionales
En 2015, la OMC cooperó con diversas organizaciones intergubernamentales. Con la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre Comercio y Desarrollo (UNCTAD), firmó una declaración destinada a fortalecer su colaboración. Con el Banco Mundial, coeditó un informe sobre la función del comercio en la eliminación de la pobreza, y, conjuntamente con la UNCTAD y la Organización de Cooperación y Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE), siguió publicando informes sobre las medidas del G-20 en materia de comercio e inversión. El Director General, Roberto Azevêdo, viajó a Nueva York para asistir a la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas, en la que se adoptaron los nuevos Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS).
World trade developments
Global output and trade growth decelerated sharply in 1998 as imports of Japan and East Asia fell for the first time since 1974 (first oil crisis). All regions and all broad product categories were affected by the slowdown. The share of the developing countries in world trade dipped for the first time in more than a decade. Nearly two thirds of the world’s economies recorded a decrease in their export earnings, which was the worst performance observed in the 1990’s. Preliminary indicators point to an arrest of the slowdown of world trade in the first months of 1999 and an acceleration of growth in the second quarter.
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.
Merchandise trade and trade in commercial services: Trade in commercial services
The transport sector experienced a difficult year in 2015. Container shipping rates fell sharply and the shipping sector suffered from overcapacity due to lower demand in developing economies. Global air freight volumes slowed in particular in Asia and in Europe, reflecting weaker merchandise trade flows. In contrast, cheaper global air fares resulting from collapsing oil prices boosted international air passenger traffic, which rose by 6.5 per cent, a record for the past decade.
Trade in goods
In 2016, the Council for Trade in Goods addressed many trade concerns, including ten new ones, reflecting its growing role as a forum for airing concerns about measures, policies and practices considered potentially discriminatory or trade restricting. China and Pakistan presented a proposal for advancing the WTO work programme on e-commerce. The Council also considered several waiver requests.