Economics

South Africa has requested WTO dispute consultations with the European Union concerning certain aspects of the regime imposed by the European Union on the importation of South African citrus fruit. The request was circulated to WTO members on 24 April.

Since the signing of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization on 15 April 1994, global trade has surged, reaching over US$ 30.4 trillion in 2023, a fivefold increase since 1995. At the same time, tariffs have declined markedly under the WTO, helping to reduce trade costs. This growth in trade has coincided with a significant decrease in poverty worldwide, indicating the impact of trade on supporting economic development and improving people’s lives.

The sixth review of the trade policies and practices of Morocco takes place on 22 and 24 April 2024. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of Morocco.

At a meeting on 19 April, the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises examined notifications and heard calls for greater transparency. The Chair of the Council for Trade in Goods, Ambassador Adamu Mohammed Abdulhamid of Nigeria, presided over the meeting.

On 19 April, the WTO circulated the panel report in the case brought by Australia in “China — Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duty Measures on Wine from Australia” (DS602).

At its first meeting since the launch of the “Partenariat pour le Coton” at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in February, the Steering Committee of the WTO-FIFA Cotton Initiative on 18 April pledged to intensify work to deliver concrete results for African cotton-producing countries, notably the Cotton Four (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali) plus Côte d’Ivoire. They welcomed two new partners — the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) — as members of the Steering Committee.

A four-day training course on Trade and Gender, which came to a close on 18 April, brought together 27 government officials from 15 Latin American and African WTO members. Participants welcomed the opportunity to enhance their skills in gender-responsive trade policymaking and share experiences for advancing women’s economic empowerment through trade in their countries.

At a meeting of the Committee on Trade Facilitation on 16-17 April, members kicked off discussions on utilizing digital tools to optimize the movement of goods across borders in line with the committee’s decision to focus on this topic in 2024. Members heard presentations on national experiences with using digitalization to facilitate trade. The committee intends to explore this topic in further meetings and summarize discussions at the end of the year.

At a special meeting on 17 April, the WTO Committee on Agriculture adopted a report containing recommendations on how to help least developed countries (LDCs) and net food-importing developing countries (NFIDCs) respond to acute food insecurity. The Chair of the Committee, Mr Kjetil Tysdal from Norway, congratulated members for reaching consensus on addressing the food security concerns of the most vulnerable WTO members.

The WTO’s Introductory Trade Policy Course is currently underway in Geneva until 26 April. Over three weeks, 26 French-speaking government officials from 12 least-developed country (LDC) members of the WTO will improve their knowledge of the rules that underpin the multilateral trading system.

The Chair of the WTO’s agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Alparslan Acarsoy of Türkiye, told trade officials that “fresh thinking” was needed to break the persistent deadlock in the talks. At the first meeting of the agriculture negotiating body since the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), he also urged WTO members to acknowledge the work undertaken so far.

On 15 April 1994, 123 countries gathered in Morocco to sign the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, the foundation of today’s rules-based international trading system. Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala marked the anniversary by underlining the critical role trade has played in improving peoples’ lives around the world.

Government officials from WTO members and observers eligible to benefit from technical assistance activities are invited to submit applications to take part in the 2024 Advanced Course on Analyzing Trade in Services to be held from 4 to 7 June at the WTO. Officials can submit applications until 25 April.

The latest edition of the WTO’s “Global Trade Outlook and Statistics” foresees a gradual recovery in world merchandise trade volume in 2024 and 2025. This follows a contraction in 2023 driven by the lingering effects of high energy prices and inflation in advanced economies, particularly Europe. So, what does our forecast indicate?

At a meeting on 12 April, participating members of the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP) discussed the 2024 work plan for implementing the Ministerial Statement announced at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), with the aim of achieving more concrete, pragmatic, and effective outcomes by the next ministerial conference. They welcomed Argentina, Mongolia and North Macedonia as new members of the Dialogue, bringing the number of co-sponsors to 79.

The WTO has launched a new online series designed to improve the trade capacity of WTO members, particularly developing economies, in terms of harnessing the potential of digital technologies for sustainable trade. In a video message delivered at the launch ceremony on 11 April, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala noted the unique ways that digital technologies can drive more efficient, inclusive and sustainable international trade.

The new Global Services Trade Data Hub now available on the WTO website provides access to comprehensive WTO data on services trade. It provides visualizations and customizable features for download — catering to the diverse needs of trade negotiators, analysts, researchers and decision-makers — to deliver insights into global services trade.

Participants in the WTO’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA) Expansion Agreement on 11 April reviewed a proposal from China on how to improve the work of the ITA Committee. They also heard the WTO Secretariat’s overview of work on non-tariff barriers in the Committee and a report on ongoing discussions relating to ITA products in the Technical Barriers to Trade Committee. Participants also raised trade concerns related to the implementation of the Agreement.

WTO members welcomed the development outcomes from the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) at the meeting of the Committee on Trade and Development on 11 April, underlining their commitment to further engage on trade and development issues to boost the participation of developing economies in international trade. Members also reviewed recent developments in regional trade agreements and preferential trade arrangements in separate sessions held on the same day.

The United Kingdom has contributed GBP 673,000 (just over CHF 770,000) to bolster economic growth in the world’s least-developed countries (LDCs) through the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF). The UK’s contribution was confirmed at a ceremony held with Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the UK’s WTO Ambassador, Simon Manley on 10 April at the WTO.

Global goods trade is expected to pick up gradually this year following a contraction in 2023 that was driven by the lingering effects of high energy prices and inflation, WTO economists said in a new forecast on 10 April. The volume of world merchandise trade should increase by 2.6% in 2024 and 3.3% in 2025 after falling 1.2% in 2023. However, regional conflicts, geopolitical tensions and economic policy uncertainty pose substantial downside risks to the forecast.

On 8 April 2024, Türkiye notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 6 April 2024 a safeguard investigation on ethyl acetate.

At the meeting of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) on 8 April, WTO members considered six RTAs involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australia, Colombia, the European Union, Japan, Pacific Island countries, Peru, the United Kingdom, and Viet Nam. Members furthermore discussed how to improve the functioning of the Committee.

The WTO has opened online registration for this year’s Public Forum — titled “Re-globalization: Better Trade for a Better World” — to be held at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva from 10 to 13 September. It has also launched a call for proposals for the event.

On 29 March, Australia and China submitted a notification to the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body of a mutually agreed solution in dispute DS602, “China — Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duty Measures on Wine from Australia.” The notification was circulated to WTO members on 3 April.

China has requested WTO dispute consultations with the United States regarding certain tax credits under the US Inflation Reduction Act to promote the production of electric vehicles and renewable energy projects. The request was circulated to WTO members on 28 March.

WTO members explored the cost of cross-border remittance services and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on ICT and digitally delivered services at two events on 25 and 27 March organized under the Committee on Trade in Financial Services and the Council for Trade in Services respectively. At a Council meeting on 27 March, they followed up on outcomes of the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) and previous ministerial conferences and reviewed the participation of least-developed countries (LDCs) in services trade among other issues.

On 26 March, over 60 students from around the world took part in the concluding session of “Model WTO”, an annual, week-long simulation of WTO negotiations organized by St. Gallen University students with the support of the WTO.

An event titled “A joint conversation on women’s economic empowerment”, hosted by the WTO and the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) on 26 March, provided a platform to showcase recent advances and initiatives aimed at addressing gender inequality in trade and fostering women’s empowerment.

The WTO is organizing a Regional Workshop on Trade and Public Health, in Rabat, from 28 to 30 May 2024 for government officials from WTO members and observers from French-speaking Africa. Officials can submit applications until Wednesday 3 April 2024.