Trade monitoring
Trade and development
Capacity-building initiatives, market access for least-developed countries (LDCs) and the Aid for Trade initiative were some of the important issues discussed by the Committee on Trade and Development and its sub-committee on LDCs in 2009.
Accord sur les marchés publics
En octobre 2014, les négociations sur l’accession du Monténégro et de la Nouvelle- Zélande à l’Accord sur les marchés publics (AMP) ont été achevées, donnant à ces pays accès à un marché de 1 700 milliards de dollars EU. Des avancées importantes ont eu lieu en ce qui concerne l’accession à l’AMP de plusieurs autres Membres de l’OMC, comme la Chine, Moldova et l’Ukraine. L’Accord révisé, adopté par les parties à l’AMP en 2012, est entré en vigueur (voir la page 43). Un nouvel outil d’information automatisé sur l’accès aux marchés, le système e-GPA, a été rendu public. Le Secrétariat de l’OMC a entrepris des activités d’assistance technique de haut niveau et a renforcé sa collaboration avec d’autres organisations internationales.
Government Procurement Agreement
In October 2014, negotiations were concluded on the accessions of Montenegro and New Zealand to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), giving them access to a US$ 1.7 trillion market. Important developments occurred with respect to the GPA accessions of several other WTO members, including China, Moldova and Ukraine. The revised Agreement, adopted by the GPA parties in 2012, came into force. A new, automated market access information tool, the e-GPA system, was publicly released. The WTO Secretariat undertook high-level technical assistance and deepened its collaborative partnerships with other international organizations.
Dispute settlement activity in 2010
In 2010 the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) received 17 notifications from members of formal requests for consultations under the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU), the first stage in the dispute process. It met 13 times during the year, establishing six panels to adjudicate seven new cases. (Where two or more complaints relate to the same matter, they are normally adjudicated by a single panel.) The DSB also adopted five panel and two Appellate Body reports concerning five distinct matters. One mutually agreed solution was notified in 2010.
Report by the WTO Secretariat
This is the third Trade Policy Review of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Its macroeconomic performance has been broadly satisfactory, with the economy growing at an annual average rate of 5.2% during 2010-18. Real GDP growth peaked at 15.4% in 2014 but decelerated to an estimated zero in 2018. The recent slowdown was attributed to low commodity prices, a major drought in 2017 and a big earthquake in February 2018 which also weakened PNG’s external position and created fiscal challenges.