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 the East African Community 21 and 23 November 2012
This second joint Trade Policy Review of the East African Community (EAC) countries has allowed us to situate the five countries’ trade and trade-related policies and practices in their socio-economic context. We are grateful for the active participation of the delegations headed respectively by H.E. Mr. Pierre Claver NDAYIRAGIJE, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Burundi to the WTO; H.E. Dr. Tom MBOYA OKEYO, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Kenya to the WTO; H.E. Mrs. Soline NYIRAHABMANA, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the WTO; H.E. Dr. William A. MGIMWA, Finance Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania; H.E. Mr. Peter KAGIMU KIWANUKA, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Uganda to the WTO. I would also like to thank the discussant, H.E. Mr. Yi Xiaozhun, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of China to the WTO, and Members of the TPRB for contributing to our fruitful exchange of views, as well as the EAC Secretariat for its assistance to its members during this review process.
Public Forum 2016
The 2016 Public Forum – the WTO’s major event for public engagement – focused on how trade can be made more inclusive so that the benefits of trade are spread more widely. Participants looked at how the WTO could help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) gain better access to the global market, and shared ideas on the role of new technologies, digital innovation and e-commerce. The Forum also discussed how women can participate more fully in international trade and better reap the benefits of global trade. The WTO’s World Trade Report and three other publications were launched during the three-day meeting.
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.
Secretaría y presupuesto
La Secretaría de la OMC cuenta con una plantilla de 627 funcionarios, que representan a 69 nacionalidades. Las obras de renovación y ampliación comenzaron a mediados de 2008, y se espera que concluyan antes del final de 2012. La OMC obtiene la mayoría de los ingresos para su presupuesto anual, que en 2008 ascendió a FS 189.257.600, de las contribuciones señaladas a sus 153 Miembros.
Appellate Body
Three appeals of panel reports were filed with the Appellate Body in 2009, out of a total of five reports that could have been appealed. One of these appeals related to original panel proceedings. Two appeals related to panel proceedings under Article 21.5 (Surveillance of Implementation of Recommendations and Rulings) of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU), involving cases where the parties disagreed whether the panel’s original ruling had been properly implemented.
Doha Development Agenda
At the WTO’s Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001, WTO members agreed to launch a new round of trade negotiations. They also agreed to work on other issues, in particular the implementation of the current WTO agreements. The entire package is called the Doha Development Agenda. The negotiations take place in the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) and its subsidiaries, which are regular councils and committees meeting in special session or specially created negotiating bodies. The negotiating bodies report to the TNC, which supervises the overall conduct of their work.
World trade developments in 2004 and prospects for 2005
The year 2004 witnessed strong economic growth across most major regions, providing a solid basis for vigorous global trade expansion. Trade and GDP were particularly buoyant in South and Central America and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), while North America, Asia and to a lesser extent Europe also recorded some acceleration in trade and output growth. A noteworthy feature in 2004 was that the two most populous countries in the world – China and India – recorded outstanding economic growth (9.5 per cent and 7.3 per cent respectively) and trade expansion for the second year in a row.