Trade monitoring
A brief history
The WTO began life on 1 January 1995 but its trading system is half a century older. Since 1948, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) had provided the rules for the system. Whereas GATT had mainly dealt with trade in goods, the WTO and its agreements now cover trade in services, and in traded inventions, creations and designs (intellectual property).
Implementation and monitoring
WTO councils and committees continued to monitor the implementation of WTO agreements and to review whether requirements were being followed by WTO members. They also provided a forum for discussion on various issues, ranging from trade and climate change to the food price crisis. Seventeen trade policy reviews of WTO members were undertaken in 2008.
Contacts avec le public
L’OMC utilise différents moyens de communication, comme son site Web et les réseaux sociaux, pour dialoguer avec le public. Le site Web a attiré un peu plus de 20 millions de visiteurs en 2016, et l’OMC est de plus en plus suivie sur les réseaux sociaux. Les vidéos sur le site Web ont été regardées plus de 200 000 fois en moyenne chaque mois. Pendant l’année, l’OMC a produit plus de 70 publications et a organisé le lancement de 5 livres. Elle a accueilli 208 groupes de visiteurs en 2016.
Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS)
The TRIPS Council continued to promote transparency in WTO members’ intellectual property (IP) systems and reviewed implementation of the TRIPS Agreement. It discussed access to medicines, biodiversity, traditional knowledge, the patentability of life forms, biotechnology and technical cooperation, among other topics. The Council extended until January 2033 a waiver on least-developed countries (LDCs) having to apply TRIPS provisions on pharmaceutical patents. It also recommended a parallel waiver of LDC obligations regarding two other TRIPS provisions regarding pharmaceutical products. The Council discussed aspects of innovation policy, including the role of IP in financing innovation.
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.
Communication avec les parlementaires
En 2014, le Directeur général Roberto Azevêdo a rencontré la Commission du commerce international du Parlement européen pour discuter du programme de l’après-Bali. Une séance parlementaire sur ce thème a été organisée en octobre lors du Forum public. Le Secrétariat de l’OMC a continué à tenir les parlementaires informés des questions relatives à l’OMC. Il a aussi organisé deux ateliers régionaux à l’intention des parlementaires arabes et latino-américains.
Trade and development
In the Committee on Trade and Development, key themes were duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) market access for least-developed countries (LDCs) and the participation of developing countries in the multilateral trading system. The Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi reaffirmed ministers’ commitment to addressing the “marginalization” of LDCs in international trade. Ministers also took decisions of specific benefit to LDCs, including enhanced preferential rules of origin and preferential treatment for LDC services providers. The Committee agreed that the WTO Secretariat should update its report on the implementation of special and differential treatment provisions in WTO agreements and decisions.