Trade monitoring
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.
Introducción
El comercio mundial registró un aumento anual sin precedentes en 2010, ya que las exportaciones de mercancías subieron un 14,5 por ciento, sostenidas por una recuperación de la producción mundial medida por el producto interno bruto (PIB) del 3,6 por ciento (véase el gráfico 1). Tanto el comercio como la producción crecieron con más rapidez en las economías en desarrollo que en las desarrolladas. Las exportaciones en volumen (es decir, en términos reales, considerando las variaciones de los precios y de los tipos de cambio) subieron un 13 por ciento en estas últimas, mientras que en las primeras el aumento llegó casi al 17 por ciento. La diferencia entre el comercio fue aún más acusada por lo que respecta a las importaciones, que en las economías desarrolladas experimentaron un aumento del 11 por ciento, comparado con el 18 por ciento del resto del mundo.
Standards in the multilateral trading system
This Section focuses on standards-related WTO legal texts and relevant jurisprudence. The Section begins with a discussion of the texts themselves. This is followed by a detailed discussion of some of the key concepts relevant to standards in the TBT and the SPS Agreements as well as GATT 1994. The Agreements are then placed in the context of the economic discussion presented in the previous Sections and reference is also made to accumulated standards-related jurisprudence. Since the focus of the Report is on product standards, only WTO legal texts and jurisprudence bearing on “goods” will be discussed. It is important to note though that the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) also contains standards-related provisions on services, specifically, in Article VI paras. 4 and 5.
Report by the WTO Secretariat
Real GDP growth in the European Communities (EC) was 3% on an annual average during 2006-07, but fell to an estimated 1% in 2008 partly due to the global financial crisis (and subsequently economic slowdown) that emerged in the second half of the year. While the moderation in growth was broad-based, performance at Member States level remained dispersed. Following an increase in government revenues and a decrease in expenditure related to, inter alia, the pension system reforms in several Member States, the EC fiscal deficit, as percentage of GDP, declined from 1.4% in 2006 to 0.9% in 2007 (its best fiscal performance in many years), but is estimated at 2% in 2008. Further efforts to address concerns about long-term fiscal sustainability would appear to remain needed, particularly in the light of the large costs of the measures envisaged to respond to the global economic downturn.
Supporting development and building trade capacity
The WTO aims to help developing countries build their trade capacity and allows them a longer time to implement trade agreements. Hundreds of training courses are organized each year for officials from developing countries.
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.
Introduction
These Trade Profiles combine information on trade flows and trade policy measures of Members, Observers and other selected economies. The information is retrieved from various WTO Divisions and external sources and presented in standardized format for quick reference.