Trade monitoring
Bali Ministerial Conference
At the WTO’s Ninth Ministerial Conference, held in Bali, Indonesia, from 3 to 7 December 2013, ministers adopted the “Bali Package”, a range of issues covering trade facilitation, agriculture and development. A Ministerial Declaration called for a clearly defined work programme on the remaining Doha Development Agenda issues to be concluded by the end of 2014. The Conference also saw ministers accept Yemen as a new member of the WTO.
Conclusions
An over-arching conclusion of this report is that regional and multilateral approaches to trade cooperation need not be incompatible, but neither can they be seen simply as substitutes (i.e. arrangements that serve the same purposes or satisfy the same needs). Support for an increasingly outward-looking and inclusive global trading order has been strong in the period since the end of the Second World War, and this growing trend towards openness has manifested itself through unilateral, bilateral, regional and multilateral approaches.
Comprender las estadísticas del comercio internacional
La presente edición de las Estadísticas del comercio internacional es la última que se publicará en el actual formato. Durante casi 20 años, la publicación ha aspirado a ser un compendio estadístico del comercio de mercancías, el comercio de servicios comerciales y, más recientemente, el comercio en términos de valor añadido de las cadenas de valor mundiales. Con ocasión del 20º aniversario de la OMC, la presente edición examina cómo ha evolucionado el comercio durante los últimos 20 años.
Standards and Trade Development Facility
The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) undertook research in 2014 in a number of developing countries, which led to recommendations for improving coordination between sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and other agencies at borders and facilitating safe trade. It also assisted in the development and implementation of numerous projects that promote compliance with international food safety, animal and plant health standards and facilitate market access. Throughout the year, several recommendations to further strengthen the operation of the Facility were implemented.
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.
Spotlight: 20th anniversary of the WTO
The WTO marked its 20th birthday in 2015 with a series of events – book launches, exhibitions and other special activities – designed to remind WTO members and the general public of what the WTO has achieved over the past two decades.
Una Organización universal
En 2013 se adhirieron a la OMC dos países: la República Democrática Popular Lao y Tayikistán. La OMC tiene actualmente 159 Miembros, que representan más del 97% del comercio mundial. Un país menos adelantado (PMA), el Yemen, completó sus negociaciones de adhesión en 2013, por lo que el número de PMA en proceso de adhesión se redujo a ocho.