Trade monitoring
Consejo General
Roberto Azevêdo (Brasil) fue elegido nuevo Director General de la OMC por un período de cuatro años a partir del 1º de septiembre de 2013.
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.
Specific notes for selected economies
Beginning with the 2002 report, EU data compiled according to national statistical practices have been replaced, starting 1993, with data compiled by Eurostat in accordance with EU legislation. The concepts and definitions adopted by the EU are in line with the United Nations’ International Trade Statistics, Concepts and Definitions, Series M, N° 52, Revision 2. As a result, the conceptual differences between EU member states’ data have been substantially reduced. Moreover, for the EU as a whole, Eurostat data are more timely than the previous source, thus reducing substantially the amount of estimation included in the EU aggregate.
Remerciements et Avertissement
Le Rapport sur le commerce mondial 2012 a été rédigé sous la direction générale d'Alejandro Jara, Directeur général adjoint de l'OMC, et sous la supervision de Patrick Low, Directeur de la Division de la recherche économique et des statistiques. Marc Bacchetta et Cosimo Beverelli ont coordonné la rédaction du rapport de cette année. La rédaction des différentes sections a été coordonnée par Alexander Keck, Coleman Nee, Roberta Piermartini et Michele Ruta.
Trade and development
The WTO’s Committee on Trade and Development continued to focus on the link between trade and development. It considered the implementation of special and differential treatment provisions for developing countries in WTO agreements and decisions, and discussed the participation of developing economies in global trade. It also pressed ahead with implementing the work programme on electronic commerce. Key issues for its Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) included capacity-building initiatives, market access for LDCs and technical assistance.
General Council
In 2011, the General Council oversaw the progress of the Doha Round negotiations on the basis of reports from the Director-General in his capacity as Chair of the Trade Negotiations Committee. The General Council also heard the Director-General’s annual report on accessions as well as his report on the development assistance aspects of cotton. Ahead of the December Ministerial Conference, the General Council agreed on three broad themes – the ‘Elements for Political Guidance’. These were the importance of the multilateral trading system, trade and development, and the Doha Development Agenda.
Introduction
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.
The crisis, policy reactions and attitudes to globalization and jobs
This chapter considers the effects of the financial crisis and subsequent recession on world labour markets. It begins by cataloguing the adverse effects on output of the sudden collapse in demand brought about by the financial crisis in what has come to be called the Great Recession. Next we look at the labour market and how employment and unemployment have been impacted and document the very different responses by country. We then move on to look at attitudinal indicators of the impact of the rising levels of joblessness that we observe across most OECD countries. We examine data on well-being and on attitudes to employment. We also examine a number of questions about the impact of globalization that respondents across many European countries were asked in 2008 and 2010. Finally, we examine the policy responses of governments, and consider what lessons might be learned from the marked differences in labour market outcomes following the recession.
Conclusions
L’une des principales conclusions du rapport est que les approches régionales et multilatérales de la coopération commerciale ne sont pas nécessairement incompatibles mais ne peuvent pas non plus être considérées simplement comme des substituts (c’est-à-dire des arrangements ayant les mêmes objectifs ou répondant aux mêmes besoins). Depuis la fin de la Seconde guerre mondiale l’instauration d’un ordre commercial mondial de plus en plus ouvert et inclusif a reçu un large soutien et cette tendance croissante à l’ouverture s’est manifestée à travers des approches unilatérales, bilatérales, régionales et multilatérales.
Composition, definitions & methodology
The data for this report come from a variety of sources. How they are compiled and presented is explained in this chapter.