WTO

Trade restrictions on the rise: Director-General Pascal Lamy, in presenting his interim report on trade developments to the Trade Policy Review Body on 21 June 2011, urged “increased vigilance by all WTO Members” as “protectionist pressures remain and are being generated by stubbornly high levels of unemployment in many countries, persistent global imbalances, and macroeconomic concerns”. Many delegations expressed concern over the recent increase in trade restrictions, and called on the WTO to continue with its regular trade monitoring reports

This publication covers the treaty instruments drawn up by WTO Members in relation to the Agreement Establishing the WTO and the multilateral and plurilateral trade agreements annexed to this Agreement. It lists the signature dates of WTO agreements and the dates of acceptance or amendments to these agreements. It also provides the date of their entry into force as well as for other communications and declarations received by the WTO Director-General in his capacity as depositary. This publication reflects several WTO accessions and treaty amendments since the previous edition. Following a brief introduction, a dedicated section provides a comprehensive summary of the establishment of the WTO and the evolution of its treaty instruments. It also provides information on depositary notifications by the WTO Director-General, the relevant volumes of the WTO and UN Treaty Series, and treaty registration with the United Nations. Hyperlinks in the PDF allow readers direct access to the relevant WTO and UN documents.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports, main export destinations, origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Ghana.

The creation of the WTO in 1995 marked a crucial step in the history of multilateral trade, helping to open up fresh avenues of dialogue on how trade interacts with the environment and how to ensure that trade and environmental policies work hand in hand. This brochure, produced to mark the WTO’s 20th anniversary, looks into the interplay between trade and environment.

World Tariff Profiles 2014 provides a unique collection of data on tariffs imposed by WTO members and other countries. It is jointly published by the WTO, the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).The first part of the publication provides summary tables showing the average tariffs imposed by individual countries. The second part provides a more detailed table for each country, listing the tariffs it imposes on imports (by product group) as well as the tariffs it faces for exports to major trading partners. The profiles show the maximum tariff rates that are legally “bound” in the WTO and the rates that countries actually apply. This edition of World Trade Profiles has anti-dumping measures as its special topic, and includes a compilation of frequently asked questions.

World Trade Statistical Review looks into the latest developments in world trade, with a detailed analysis of the most recent trends for trade in goods and services. It also looks at the participation of developing economies in world trade and recent trade policy developments. The analytical chapters are complemented by a statistical appendix of over 60 tables providing comprehensive data on various facets of world trade in goods and services.

El Informe anual 2017 de la OMC contiene una reseña exhaustiva de las actividades realizadas por la Organización en 2016 y en los primeros meses de 2017

While import-restrictive measures introduced by Group of 20 (G20) economies continue to cover a growing share of trade, the WTO’s latest biannual monitoring report on trade measures — the first to cover a time period coinciding with the coronavirus pandemic — points to significant moves to facilitate imports, including products related to COVID-19. During the mid-October 2019 to mid-May 2020 review period, G20 economies implemented 154 new trade and trade-related measures, 95 of them import-facilitating and 59 import-restrictive. Of these measures, 93 (about 60 per cent) were linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The WTO’s Annual Report 2018 provides a comprehensive account of the organization’s activities in 2017 and early 2018. The Report opens with a message from Director-General Roberto Azevêdo and a brief overview of the year. This is followed by more in-depth accounts of the WTO’s various areas of activity over the past 12 months. The Report also includes “spotlights” highlighting major WTO events and activities, including the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Buenos Aires.

El informe Anual 2018 contiene una exposición completa de las actividades realizadas por la Organización en 2017 y principios de 2018. El informe comienza con un mensaje del Director General Roberto Azevêdo; posteriormente, se resume lo realizado en 2017 y se hace un análisis más profundo de las actividades llevadas a cabo en las diversas esferas de la OMC en los últimos 12 meses. También se destacan los eventos y las actividades más importantes de la OMC, como la Undécima Conferencia Ministerial de la Organización, celebrada en Buenos Aires.