Trade monitoring

Since 2011, Cambodia’s real GDP growth has been strong, averaging over 7% annually. Construction, manufacturing (mainly garments exports) and, to a lesser extent, tourism-related services, have been the drivers of growth. Economic growth has been inclusive and widespread, resulting in declining inequality and poverty levels. Prudent macroeconomic management has resulted in moderate inflation, a stable exchange rate, relatively low unemployment, and manageable external debt levels. However, the informal nature of a large portion of the Cambodian economy, which is largely based on services followed by agriculture, implies that GDP is significantly underestimated, and that it undermines the effectiveness of government policy.

A perennial policy question is how the multilateral trading system is affected by the rise of preferential trading agreements (PTAs). Is multilateral trade cooperation compromised by burgeoning regionalism? Should we see these different approaches as complementing or competing with each other? Are there synergies, or inevitable conflicts? Building on the analysis of the report so far, this final section examines these questions.

The World Trade Report is a new annual publication produced by the WTO Secretariat. Each year, the WTR will explore trends in world trade and highlight important issues in the world trading system. In addition to monitoring and interpreting trade developments, the Report seeks to deepen public understanding of pressing policy issues. The WTR does not pretend to provide comprehensive answers to complex and many-sided questions subject to continuing debate among governments and their constituencies. Rather, by explaining the origin of issues and offering an analytical framework within which to address them, the WTR aims to contribute to more informed discussion and a better appreciation of the options available to address policy challenges.

Vivimos en un mundo firmemente basado en normas de productos. Es posible enviar un fax a cualquier lugar del mundo porque los aparatos de fax obedecen a un protocolo común. Es posible compartir archivos informáticos porque los ordenadores utilizan modelos normalizados de equipo y programas informáticos. La necesidad de normas de productos no es nueva. Ya en tiempos bíblicos, la falta de un idioma común (normalizado) hizo estragos en la Torre de Babel (Shapiro, 2000). En tiempos más recientes, durante el gran incendio de Baltimore de 1904, los bomberos que acudieron de ciudades vecinas no pudieron luchar contra el fuego de manera eficaz porque sus mangueras no encajaban en las bocas de incendio de Baltimore.

Developing economies recorded a decline in the value of merchandise trade for the second year in a row, with both exports and imports decreasing by 6 per cent in 2016. A surplus in global supply and a decline in prices for oil products continued to have an impact on the export of fuel products, an important sector for many developing economies. However, the decline recorded for merchandise trade was less severe than the -14 per cent recorded in 2015 for exports and -13 per cent recorded for imports. Merchandise exports from least-developed countries (LDCs) decreased by 6 per cent in 2016, resulting in a slight decline in their share of world merchandise exports, which now stands at 0.94 per cent.

Au cours de la période à l’examen (2015-2018), l’économie canadienne a été caractérisée par une croissance modérée du PIB, une inflation faible, un ratio de la dette du gouvernement fédéral au PIB relativement stable, un déficit du compte courant en baisse et une dépréciation du taux de change réel.

En 2015, l’OMC a célébré son 20e anniversaire avec une série d’événements – lancements de publications, expositions et autres activités spéciales – destinés à rappeler aux Membres de l’OMC et au public ce que l’OMC a réalisé au cours des 20 dernières années.

Ce onzième examen de la politique commerciale du Canada nous a permis de comprendre les principales évolutions du régime économique, de commerce et d’investissement du Canada intervenues au cours des quatre dernières années. Je souhaite remercier la délégation canadienne, dirigée par Mme Kendal Hembroff, Directrice générale des négociations commerciales auprès d’Affaires mondiales Canada, pour sa participation et son engagement très actifs dans le cadre de cet exercice. Je voudrais aussi remercier notre présentateur, M. l’Ambassadeur Juan Carlos Gonzalez, Représentant permanent de la Colombie auprès de l’OMC, pour ses observations et ses interventions pertinentes qui ont nourri les discussions, ainsi que les 53 délégations qui ont pris la parole au cours de la réunion.

El Informe sobre el Comercio Mundial de 2004 ha sido elaborado bajo la supervisión general del Director General Adjunto Dr. Kipkorir Aly Azad Rana. Patrick Low, Director de la División de Estudios Económicos y Estadística, dirigió el equipo encargado de redactar el Informe. Los autores principales del Informe son Bijit Bora, Zdenek Drabek, K. Michael Finger, Marion Jansen, Alexander Keck, Patrick Low, Hildegunn Kyvik Nordås, Roberta Piermartini y Robert Teh. Barbara D’Andrea, de la División de Estudios Económicos y Estadística, es coautora de la Sección IB.2. Jeffrey Gertler, de la División de Asuntos Jurídicos, contribuyó a la redacción de la Sección IB.1. Mukela Luanga, de la División de Estudios Económicos y Estadística, proporcionó material esencial a varios de los autores principales. Las estadísticas comerciales y la información arancelaria fueron facilitadas por el Grupo de Estadística de la División de Estudios Económicos y Estadística, bajo la coordinación de Guy Karsenty, Julia de Verteuil, Andreas Maurer y Jürgen Richtering.

La croissance économique sans précédent du dernier quart de siècle s’est nécessairement accompagnée d’un changement économique sans précédent.

En 2011, l'OMC a continué à avoir des contacts réguliers avec les journalistes, à Genève et ailleurs dans le monde. Elle a organisé 39 séances d'information à Genève. Elle a aussi organisé plusieurs activités de formation à l'intention des journalistes et a utilisé plus largement les médias sociaux pour diffuser des informations et promouvoir des événements. Au cours de l'année 2011, le site Web de l'OMC a été remanié pour mieux faire ressortir les activités de l'Organisation et faciliter la recherche de renseignements sur le site. L'OMC a encore étoffé son programme de publications, en particulier par ses copublications avec d'autres organisations internationales.

WTO members are frequently referred to as “countries”, although some members are not countries in the usual sense of the word but are officially “customs territories”. The definition of geographical and other groupings in this report does not imply an expression of opinion by the Secretariat concerning the status of any country or territory, the delimitation of its frontiers, nor the rights and obligations of any WTO member in respect of WTO agreements. The colours, boundaries, denominations, and classifications in the maps of this publication do not imply, on the part of the WTO, any judgement on the legal or other status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of any boundary.

This fourth Trade Policy Review has offered a very useful opportunity for Members to deepen their understanding of the trade policies and practices of Jamaica, and to collectively appreciate the challenges it faces in sustaining and improving its economic prosperity. I would like to thank the Jamaican delegation, led by Her Excellency Mrs. Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, the discussant Ambassador Högni S. Kristjánsson of Iceland, and to the 31 delegations that took the floor for their valuable contributions.

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.