Trade monitoring
Contact with parliamentarians
In 2014, the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade met the Director-General Roberto Azevêdo to discuss the post-Bali agenda. A parliamentary session on the theme was also held at the Public Forum in October. The WTO Secretariat continued to update parliamentarians on WTO issues. It also organized two regional workshops for Arab and Latin American parliamentarians.
La adhesión a la OMC
En 2015 Seychelles y Kazajstán pasaron a ser los Miembros 161º y 162º de la OMC. En diciembre, en la Décima Conferencia Ministerial, se aprobaron los conjuntos de documentos de la adhesión de Liberia y el Afganistán, que pasarán a ser Miembros una vez ratificados sus Protocolos de Adhesión. Estas nuevas adhesiones acercarán a la OMC a su objetivo de universalidad (actualmente, los Miembros representan el 98% del comercio mundial).
Conclusion
This Report has ranged widely. The Executive Summary attached to the beginning of the Report outlines the main areas covered and observations made. A report of this nature is itself a summary of complex issues and has to rely heavily on the more detailed and analytical work of others. References have been made in the text to this work. Many of the issues addressed here are “moving targets”, particularly where governments are constantly exercising policy options that exert an influence on outcomes and where WTO Members are actively engaged in a major trade negotiation.
Trade Policy Reviews in 2014
The WTO conducted 13 Trade Policy Reviews in 2014 to examine the trade policies and practices of 21 WTO members. The dates of the reviews and the countries covered are shown on the map. Further information, including the Chair’s concluding remarks for each review, can be found on the WTO website: www.wto.org/tpr
Le rôle du commerce et de la politique commerciale dans le processus de développement
Depuis sa création, le système commercial international a été modelé conformément à des principes conjugués au pragmatisme. Les relations commerciales ne peuvent pas être déterminées seulement sur la base de principes simples et inviolés définis et convenus d’entrée de jeu. Des considérations pratiques, des questions politiques et les expressions particulières de l’intérêt national contribuent inévitablement à déterminer les positions prises par les gouvernements. Certains commentateurs font allusion à cette réalité lorsqu’ils évoquent, à propos d’une mesure ou d’une approche adoptée par des pouvoirs publics, «de la mauvaise économie mais de la bonne politique». Cependant, la solidité et le succès historique du système commercial multilatéral reposent, en grande partie, sur la volonté des gouvernements de s’engager a priori en faveur d’un ensemble de principes et de règles étayés par des arrangements contraignants concernant le règlement des différends commerciaux.
Report by Colombia
In November 2006, on the occasion of the third Trade Policy Review of Colombia, WTO Members were informed of the rationale and objectives of Colombia’s Democratic Security Policy, designed to enhance physical safety and improve investor confidence in order to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty.
Definitions and methodology
Two systems of recording merchandise exports and imports are in common use. They are referred to as general trade and special trade and differ mainly in the way warehoused and re-exported goods are treated. General trade figures are larger than the corresponding special trade figures because the latter exclude certain trade flows, such as goods shipped through bonded warehouses.
Globalization and within-country income inequality
Since the 1980s many developed and developing countries have experienced increases in within-country inequality. The growing income gap has coincided with the period of increasing exposure of countries to globalization through increased flows of goods, services, capital and labour across international borders. These developments have instigated a large debate in the academic and policy circles as to whether globalization is responsible for the growing inequality within countries.