| Transparency and subsidy notification compliance spotlighted at committee meeting |
| At a meeting of the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) on 29 October 2024, the Chair Dr Wolfram Spelten (Germany) emphasized the critical importance of transparency for the effective functioning of the SCM Agreement. He expressed concern over WTO members’ persistently low compliance rates with subsidy notification obligations and urged members to submit their pending notifications promptly. |
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| DG Okonjo-Iweala encourages members to continue advancing trade and development work |
| Speaking at the 7th South-South Dialogue on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Development on 31 October in Geneva, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala highlighted that the WTO’s 30 anniversary year has brought results on development, notably at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) held in Abu Dhabi in February 2024. She called on members to continue advancing their negotiating efforts while considering trade priorities of LDCs. |
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| Members address digitalization, capacity building at trade facilitation meeting |
| WTO members shared their national experiences on trade facilitation during thematic discussions and undertook a dedicated session on the technical assistance and capacity building needed to implement the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) at a 22-24 October meeting of the Committee on Trade Facilitation. The meeting was chaired by Ms Chanikarn Dispadung of Thailand. |
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| DG Okonjo-Iweala: Increasing supply chain finance empowers small businesses to boost trade |
| Speaking at a roundtable with heads of multilateral development banks (MDBs) on the sidelines of World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund annual meetings in Washington D.C. on 25 October, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala highlighted the critical role of supply chain finance in integrating small businesses from developing countries into global trade. She commended the WTO’s and International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) progress in promoting supply chain finance and supported the next steps agreed by MDBs to improve access to finance. IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop co-hosted the event. |
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| | United States gives USD 180,000 to support food, animal and plant health standards |
| The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is contributing USD 180,000 (approximately CHF 156,000) to the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) to help developing economies meet international food safety, animal and plant health standards, and facilitate safe trade. The contribution will help advance STDF work to improve access to global and regional markets for developing economies and least-developed countries (LDCs). FDA has contributed between USD 180,000 and USD 200,000 USD annually, for a total of USD 2,140,000 since 2014, pledging similar support for 2025. |
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