WTO update

 

20 Oct 2023 Latest news

Dear maria CHADZIDAKIS VAVOURANAKIS, Below are the news items published today on the WTO public website which match with your news preferences.

NEWS ITEM Trade in wine and vine products on the rise The first edition of the Vine and Wine World Trade Forum, held earlier this month in Dijon, France, revealed that international trade in wine and vine products has grown significantly over the past two decades. Blog   ⟶

NEWS ITEM Germany gives EUR 500,000 to enhance developing economies’ trading skills The government of Germany is contributing EUR 500,000 (approximately CHF 480,000) to help developing and least-developed economies (LCDs) take a more active part in global trade negotiations. Germany's Alternate Permanent Representative to the WTO, Bettina Waldmann, signed the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the German Government at the WTO on 19 October 2023. Press release   ⟶

NEWS ITEM Members address WTO reform and agree to hold thematic sessions on supply chain resilience At a meeting of the Committee on Market Access on 16-17 October, members took stock of progress made in the discussion on how to improve the functioning of the Committee as part of the work towards WTO reform. Members also agreed to hold the first thematic session on supply chain resilience in November and addressed a high number of trade concerns. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM Macao, China formally accepts Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies Macao, China deposited its instrument of acceptance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on 19 October. Ms Lúcia Abrantes Dos Santos, Permanent Representative, presented Macao, China’s instrument of acceptance to Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM Facilitator of e-commerce work programme seeks members’ views on way forward In the first of a series of meetings to be held in the lead up to the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), Ambassador Usha Dwarka-Canabady of Mauritius, the facilitator of the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, reported at a dedicated session on 18 October on her consultations with WTO members on the possible outcome at MC13 and heard members’ views on how to proceed in the remaining months, including on the moratorium on the imposition of customs duties on e-commerce. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM Registration opens for the Youth Trade Summit on Gender Following the nomination by research and governmental institutions of 59 young researchers and professionals to attend the Youth Trade Summit on Gender on 13-14 November at the WTO, registration for the event is now open to the wider trade and gender community. The Summit, which seeks to act as a “talent incubator”, will foster collaboration and networking among different generations of trade and gender stakeholders. The deadline to register for in-person attendance is 31 October. News item ⟶ NEWS ITEM Members discuss reinvigorating efforts of working group on trade and technology transfer The Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology discussed two proposals at its meeting on 13 October. They aim to reinvigorate the Working Group’s deliberations and to propose recommendations to increase the flow of technology to developing countries. News item ⟶ NEWS ITEM WTO training course on services aspects of e-commerce concludes Thirty government officials from across the world completed a training course on the services aspects of e-commerce from 10 to 13 October at the WTO. Organised as part of the WTO’s technical assistance activities for developing economies, this course provided participants with an in-depth look at formulating e-commerce policies and undertaking negotiations on e-commerce at the multilateral and regional level. News item ⟶