World Trade Organization Notices for Nov 27-28
The World Trade Organization (WTO) posted the following notices from Nov 27-28 (may have to click twice on source documents for proper viewing):
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- Trade Policy Review: East African Community (EAC). The second review of the trade policies and practices of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda took place Nov. 21-23. (here)
- Ukraine, Russia, and Brazil cause concern. At the Council for Trade in Goods meeting, 23 delegations issued a joint statement urging Ukraine to withdraw its request to renegotiate tariff commitments on a wide range of products. They said Ukraine’s notification covers 371 tariff lines, and that this goes beyond the intended scope of the WTO provision on tariff negotiations. Concerns were raised about Ukraine's transparency and ability to compensate other members, per the provision. The EU expressed concern over protectionist measures taken recently by Russia. It criticized two measures in particular: the ban on importation of live animals and, along with the U.S. and Japan, the recycling fee for automobiles, which imposes fees on imported cars but gives a choice of non-payment to domestic cars. Russia was also encouraged to take the final step to join the WTO’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA), and to notify its Customs Union to the WTO. The EU also said Brazil's use of the IPI tax to protect the domestic automobile sector was worrying because it could also spread to other economic sectors in Brazil. (here)
- WTO-Pacific Islands relationship. Director-General Pascal Lamy and the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Samoa. Lamy explains, "the two organizations will work together to provide trade-related technical assistance to the Forum Island Countries of the Pacific Islands Forum." This partnership will also complement important trade integration efforts at the regional level in the Pacific, including the key trade priorities of the Pacific Plan. (here)