Recent World Trade Organization Notices
The World Trade Organization recently posted the following notices:​
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- Items proposed for consideration at the next meeting of Dispute Settlement Body. The WTO Secretariat has circulated a meeting notice and list of items proposed for the next meeting, on July 20, 2017, of the Dispute Settlement Body, which consists of all WTO members and oversees legal disputes among them (here).
- 2017 Global Review of Aid for Trade: Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) session -- Transitioning from paper-based to automated SPS systems. Remarks by Director-General Roberto Azevêdo July 12 (here).
- 2017 Global Review of Aid for Trade: FAO-WTO joint publication launch -- “Trade and Food Standards”. Remarks by Director-General Roberto Azevêdo July 12 (here).
- 2017 Global Review of Aid for Trade: Plenary session -- promoting inclusive trade through gender empowerment. Remarks by Director-General Roberto Azevêdo July 12 (here).
- Trade facilitation key to addressing needs of developing countries. Trade facilitation can be a key contributor to sustainable development as speedier border crossings for goods and services help address poverty alleviation and even humanitarian crises, speakers at various sessions said at the Aid for Trade Global Review on July 11-13. A case study competition underlined the importance of the issue, with joint prize winners announced from Zambia and Jamaica (here).
- Countries urged to reap benefits of food trade by engaging in standards setting. Participation in the development of international food standards for trade is essential if countries are to reap the benefits of booming global trade and prepare for imminent technological changes, according to a joint publication issued by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) on July 12 (here).
- Members reaffirm commitment to Aid for Trade and to development support. WTO members reaffirmed their commitment to the Aid for Trade initiative and to the development dimension of the organization at the closing session of the Aid for Trade Global Review 2017 on July 13. They underscored, in particular, the important role this exercise plays in helping developing and least developed countries (LDCs) improve their capacities to connect to global markets and lower trade costs (here).
- Connectivity and inclusiveness highlighted at opening of Aid for Trade Global Review. Continued support is needed to improve connectivity, lower trading costs and increase women’s participation in trade, particularly in developing and least developed countries (LDCs), speakers at the opening plenary session of the Aid for Trade Global Review 2017 said on July 11. Providing this support will ensure trade contributes further to alleviating poverty and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the speakers said (here).
- 2017 Global Review of Aid for Trade -- opening plenary session. Remarks by Director-General Roberto Azevêdo July 11 (here).
- Trade and investment are essential for sustainable development -- Director-General Roberto Azevêdo. Speaking at a Workshop on Investment Facilitation for Development on July 10, 2017, at the WTO, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said that combining trade, aid and investment can help countries foster development, diversify their export capacity and better integrate into the global economy. The event was organized by the Friends of Investment Facilitation for Development (FIFD) -- representing 11 WTO members -- and gathered experts from international organizations, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and academia (here).
- EU provides EUR 10 million to support sustainable development in poorest countries. As part of global efforts to work towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the European Union is contributing EUR 10 million to the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), the only global Aid for Trade (AfT) programme exclusively designed to help least-developed countries (LDCs) utilize their trade potential to achieve sustainable development and economic growth (here).
- Aid for Trade Global Review: Closing plenary. Remarks by Director-General Roberto Azevêdo July 13 (here).
- Removing barriers to women’s participation in trade critical for economic development. Removing barriers that prevent women from fully participating in trade is critical not only for the empowerment of women but also for economic growth and development in general, speakers at a high-level plenary on gender and trade said on July 12. The plenary was held as part of the WTO’s Aid for Trade Global Review 2017 (here).
- Trade Policy Review: Brazil. The seventh review of the trade policies and practices of Brazil takes place on July 17 and 19, 2017. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of Brazil (here).
- ITC Joint Advisory Group (JAG) meeting. Remarks by Director-General Roberto Azevêdo July 10 (here).