Trade monitoring

The Ministerial Conference of the WTO, composed of representatives of all the Members, is the highest decision-making body of the organization, and is required to meet at least once every two years. Ministerial Conferences review ongoing work, provide political guidance and direction to that work, and set the agenda for further work as necessary. The most recent Session of the Ministerial Conference was held in Hong Kong, China in December 2005.

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.

There is a shared sense that globalization is a powerful engine that has already contributed to lifting many out of poverty and that, if properly harnessed, could further promote growth and development to the benefit of all. For many years, however, concerns have been raised regarding certain effects of globalization on jobs, wages, and job insecurity. Recent survey evidence in European countries, for instance, indicates that in most countries a majority of respondents believe that globalization provides opportunities for economic growth but increases social inequalities. A German Marshall Fund (2007) survey shows that about half of Americans and Europeans think that “freer trade” results in more job loss than job creation. Globalization has also been blamed for the recent financial crisis and its effects on employment.

An important task facing the WTO is that of making the new multilateral trading system truly global in scope and application. The 140 Members of the WTO (as of 31 December 2000) account for more than 90% of world trade. Many of the nations that remain outside the world trade system have requested accession to the WTO and are at various stages of a process that has become more complex because of the WTO’s increased coverage relative to GATT. With many of the candidates currently undergoing a process of transition from centrallyplanned to market economies, accession to the WTO offers these countries - in addition to the usual trade benefits -a way of underpinning their domestic reform processes.