WTO News

1. Formal TPRB meeting — WTO trade monitoring report

   Remarks by DG Okonjo-Iweala

2. Fish Fund Steering Committee endorses 2025 budget and workplan, readies call for proposals

   The Steering Committee of the WTO Fish Fund on 11 December approved the 2025 budget and workplan to support developing and least-developed country (LDC) members’ implementation of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies once it enters into force. The first call for funding applications for technical assistance and capacity building is expected to be issued in early 2025.

3. WTO report shows increase in trade restrictions against backdrop of unilateral policies

   The WTO Director-General’s annual overview of global trade developments shows a sharp rise in the coverage of trade-restrictive measures by WTO members between mid-October 2023 and mid-October 2024, compared to the last Trade Monitoring Report in November 2023. While the report, presented at an 11 December meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB), also points to WTO members’ introduction of a substantial number of trade-facilitating measures, there is increasing evidence of inward-looking trade policies which could generate further uncertainty for the world economy.

4. Trade Policy Review: Solomon Islands

   The fourth review of the trade policies and practices of the Solomon Islands takes place on 11 and 13 December 2024. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of the Solomon Islands.

5. DDG Paugam: Trade is key to food and nutrition security

   Speaking on behalf of Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at a virtual agriculture symposium on food and nutrition security organized by the WTO on 9 December, Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam underscored the critical role of open trade in achieving food and nutrition security. He emphasized that WTO rules are essential for facilitating the exchange of food and ensuring positive nutrition outcomes globally. He also stressed the importance of updating the WTO rulebook, noting “DG Okonjo-Iweala stated last week that agricultural negotiations are a top priority of her second term.”