WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION latest news

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NEWS ITEM Agency chiefs issue joint call to keep food trade flowing in response to COVID-19 The heads of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a joint statement on 31 March calling on governments to minimise the impact of COVID-19 related border restrictions on trade in food. “Now is the time to show solidarity, act responsibly and adhere to our common goal of enhancing food security, food safety and nutrition and improving the general welfare of people around the world,” the agency heads said. The Joint Statement is below. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM DG Azevêdo welcomes G20 ministers’ commitment to notify WTO of COVID-19 related trade measures At a virtual gathering of G20 trade ministers on 30 March, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo urged them to “lead the way” in using trade to lower the cost of fighting the pandemic, and to lay the foundations of a strong economic recovery. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM 2020 Public Forum theme to be “Building on 25 Years of the World Trade Organization” The WTO’s 2020 Public Forum, to be held from 29 September to 2 October, will examine the important role the multilateral trading system has played over the past quarter of a century and will look ahead to how the WTO might be strengthened to address existing and future challenges to trade and the global economy, not least unexpected crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. News item   ⟶