Books

The Annual Report 2016 begins with a message from the WTO Director-General and an overview of 2015. This is followed by more in-depth accounts of the WTO’s areas of activity over the past 12 months with a spotlight on all the major events of 2015.

This book examines aspects of the operation of the WTO dispute settlement system during the first ten years of the WTO. It covers a representative cross-section of the issues and situations WTO Members have dealt with under the Dispute Settlement Understanding. The book is unique in that it includes contributions from virtually the entire gamut of actors involved in the day-to-day operation of the WTO dispute settlement system: Member government representatives private lawyers who litigate on behalf of Member governments in the system Appellate Body members Appellate Body Secretariat staff and WTO Secretariat staff. It also includes contributions from several academics who closely follow and carefully scrutinize all that goes on within the system. It therefore provides fascinating insights into how the system has operated in practice and how the lessons of the first decade can be applied to make the system even more successful in the years to come.

Over the past 20 years nearly 500 disputes have been brought to the WTO. About half of these were resolved during bilateral discussions while the other half proceeded to a panel process which in recent years generally takes about 14 months. Appeals are considered by the WTO’s Appellate Body and – excluding exceptionally busy periods – are completed within three months. This makes the WTO’s dispute system one of the fastest in the world. This brochure produced to mark the WTO’s 20th anniversary looks into how the dispute settlement system operates.

This is an accessible guide to the vocabulary used in trade negotiations. It explains about 2500 terms and concepts in simple language. Its main emphasis is on the multilateral trading system represented by the agreements under the World Trade Organization (WTO). In addition it covers many of the trade-related activities outcomes and terms used in other international organizations such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the OECD. The last five years have seen a rapid spread in the formation of free-trade areas in all parts of the world. This dictionary allocates generous space to the vocabulary associated with such agreements. It offers clear explanations for example of the concepts used in the administration of preferential rules of origin. Additional areas covered include emerging trade issues and issues based particularly on developing-country concerns.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat a report by the government and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports main export destinations origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Jamaica.

This special compilation describes air transport services from a regulatory and economic point of view with a special focus on market access questions. Each volume contains original material and up-to-date insights written on the basis of close cooperation with industry professionals. It contains the documentation prepared by the WTO Secretariat for the WTO Membership in the framework of a quinquennal review process of the air transport sector. It deals with services "auxiliary" to air transport namely maintenance repair and overhaul airlines' ticket distribution franchising leasing ground handling airport management and air navigation services.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat a report by the government and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports main export destinations origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Madagascar.

The theme of this year’s Report is “Trade in a Globalizing World”. The Report provides a reminder of what we know about the gains from international trade and highlights the challenges arising from higher levels of integration. It addresses a range of interlinking questions starting with a consideration of what constitutes globalization what drives it what benefits does it bring what challenges does it pose and what role does trade play in this world of ever-growing inter-dependency. The Report asks why some countries have managed to take advantage of falling trade costs and greater policy-driven trading opportunities while others have remained largely outside international commercial relations. It also considers who the winners and losers are from trade and what complementary action is needed from policy-makers to secure the benefits of trade for society at large. In examining these complex and multi-faceted questions the Report reviews both the theoretical gains from trade and empirical evidence that can help to answer these questions.

The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty looks at the complex relationships between economic growth poverty reduction and trade and examines the challenges that poor people face in benefiting from trade opportunities. Written jointly by the World Bank Group and the WTO the publication examines how trade could make a greater contribution to ending poverty by increasing efforts to lower trade costs improve the enabling environment implement trade policy in conjunction with other areas of policy better manage risks faced by the poor and improve data used for policy-making.

Les Profils tarifaires dans le monde 2017 donnent des renseignements détaillés sur les droits de douane et les mesures non tarifaires appliqués par plus de 170 pays et territoires douaniers.

Regional trade agreements (RTAs) have proliferated around the world in the past two decades and now nearly all members of the WTO are party to at least one. Besides tariffs and rules of origin regulating trade in goods many RTAs now include provisions on services investments technical barriers to trade and competition rules as well as a host of issues not directly related to trade. The geographic reach of RTAs is expanding with transcontinental agreements spreading forcefully alongside intra-regional agreements. ‘Multilateralizing Regionalism’ was the title of a major conference held from 10–12 September 2007 at the WTO in Geneva. Brought together in this publication the conference papers achieve two things. First they marshall detailed new empirical work on the nature of the ‘Spaghetti Bowl’ and the problems it poses for the multilateral trade system. Second they contribute fresh and creative thinking on how to ‘tame the tangle’ of regional trade agreements.

En pocas palabras la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC) es la única organización internacional que se ocupa de las normas de alcance mundial que regulan el comercio. Su principal función es velar por que las corrientes comerciales circulen con la mayor fluidez previsibilidad y libertad posibles.

A collection of papers by some of the world’s leading specialists on global value chains (GVCs). It examines how GVCs have evolved and the challenges they face in a rapidly changing world. The approach is multidisciplinary with contributions from economists political scientists supply chain management specialists practitioners and policymakers.

What do we know about climate change? What is the relationship between trade and climate change? How does trade affect greenhouse gas emissions and can more open trade help to address climate change? What is the range of national measures that can contribute to global mitigation efforts? These are just some of the questions discussed by this report by the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme.

Lamy cites need for “increased vigilance” to three potential dangers facing world trade: Director-General Pascal Lamy in his annual report to WTO members on developments in the international trading environment published on 24 November 2010 called for increased vigilance by members to three potential dangers the first regarding “an increase in protectionist pressures generated by global imbalances at a time when the political consensus in favour of open trade and investment is already under strain from stubbornly high levels of unemployment in many countries”. He also cited “the danger of a steady accumulation over time of measures that restrict or distort trade and investment” and “the challenge of managing the trade and investment impacts of stimulus and bail-out measures taken in response to the crisis”.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat a report by the government and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports main export destinations origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Israel.

En la era digital son cada vez más los gobiernos que han adoptado políticas encaminadas a impulsar el crecimiento por medio de la innovación y la modernización tecnológica. En el Informe sobre el comercio mundial 2020 se examinan esas tendencias y el papel que desempeñan el comercio y la OMC en este contexto. Un rasgo definitorio de las políticas gubernamentales adoptadas en los últimos años ha sido su apoyo a la transición a la economía digital. Tradicionalmente el comercio y las políticas comerciales han sido importantes motores de innovación. En particular el sistema multilateral de comercio ha contribuido considerablemente a la innovación y la difusión de tecnología a nivel mundial al fomentar unas condiciones del mercado mundial previsibles y al sustentar el desarrollo de las cadenas de valor mundiales. Habida cuenta de que los datos se han convertido en un insumo esencial de la economía digital las empresas dependen más de los activos intangibles que de los físicos y las empresas digitales pueden llegar más deprisa a los mercados mundiales sin la cantidad de inversión física que se necesitaba antes en otros sectores. En el contexto de la economía digital el éxito dependerá de la apertura el acceso a los bienes y servicios de tecnología de la información y las comunicaciones (TIC) la colaboración en los proyectos de investigación y la difusión de los conocimientos y las nuevas tecnologías. En el Informe sobre el comercio mundial 2020 se muestra que la cooperación internacional contribuye de manera significativa a fomentar el desarrollo digital y la innovación tecnológica con mayor eficacia minimizando al mismo tiempo los efectos indirectos negativos de las políticas nacionales. Los Acuerdos de la OMC alcanzados hace un cuarto de siglo han demostrado tener una notable visión de futuro al proporcionar un marco que ha favorecido el establecimiento de economías basadas en las TIC en todos los niveles de desarrollo. Una mayor cooperación internacional en la OMC y en otros foros permitiría seguir innovando y reducir las tensiones comerciales para ayudar a los mercados internacionales a funcionar de manera más previsible.

Les Profils commerciaux 2016 fournissent une série d'indicateurs clés sur le commerce des marchandises et des services de 195 économies. For each economy the data is presented in a handy two-page format providing a concise overview of global trade.

“Les examens des politiques commerciales” analysent les politiques et pratiques commerciales de chaque Membre de l’OMC. Les examens comprennent trois grandes parties: un rapport indépendant établi par le Secrétariat de l’OMC un rapport établi par le gouvernement et les remarques finales formulées par le Président de l’Organe d’examen des politiques commerciales de l’OMC. La première section- “Principales données sur le commerce” - donne un aperçu visuel des principales exportations/importations du Membre de l’OMC considéré des principales destinations de ses exportations des origines de ses importations et d’autres données clés. La présente édition examine les pratiques commerciales de l’Union européenne.

International Trade Statistics 2013 provides a detailed overview of developments in world trade up to the end of 2012 covering both merchandise and services trade as well as trade measured in value-added terms.

La publication “Conférences ministérielles de l'OMC: principaux résultats” contient tous les principaux résultats des Conférences ministérielles de l'OMC depuis la création de l'Organisation en 1995. Couvrant les onze Conférences ministérielles tenues entre 1996 et 2017 les principaux résultats comprennent les décisions et déclarations ministérielles ainsi que les déclarations des Présidents. La publication reproduit également les résultats ministériels pertinents du Cycle d'Uruguay adoptés en rapport avec l'institution de l'OMC.

“Trade Policy Reviews” analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat a report by the government and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening section - “key trade facts” - provides a visual overview of the WTO member’s major exports/imports main export destinations origins for its imports and other key data. This edition looks into the trade practices of Suriname.

Le Rapport annuel de l'OMC traite des activités courantes de l'Organisation et donne des renseignement sur sa structure son personnel et de son budget actuel. Il est publié au premier semestre de chaque année.

La publicación “Perfiles arancelarios en el mundo 2020” ofrece información exhaustiva sobre los aranceles impuestos por más de 170 países y territorios aduaneros. La publicación comienza con un desglose de los aranceles impuestos por esas economías. Los datos se presentan en cuadros sinópticos y en perfiles individuales de una página para cada economía. Se proporciona también una tabla recapitulativa sobre determinados indicadores relativos a los perfiles de importación y de exportación para estas economías. A continuación figura una sección sobre la utilización de las medidas no arancelarias que están adquiriendo una importancia cada vez mayor en el comercio internacional. El tema especial de esta edición es un artículo sobre el acceso a los mercados de los productos médicos y de los suministros médicos relacionados con la COVID-19 La publicación ha sido elaborada conjuntamente por la Organización Mundial del Comercio la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre Comercio y Desarrollo (UNCTAD) y el Centro de Comercio Internacional (ITC).

The 2008 Annual Report of the WTO focuses on the activities of the organization in 2007 and details its current structure staff and budget. Includes detailed progress reports on various aspects of the Doha negotiations and an overview of some of the main developments within the WTO.