About the WTO

In 2012 the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) pressed ahead with implementing the work programme on electronic commerce. Other issues discussed by the CTD and its Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) included accelerating and easing LDC accessions capacity-building initiatives market access for LDCs and technical assistance.

El Foro Público de 2016 – el principal evento de proyección pública de la OMC – se centró en cómo conseguir que el comercio sea más inclusivo para que se repartan más ampliamente los beneficios del comercio. Los participantes analizaron cómo podía ayudar la OMC a las pequeñas y medianas empresas (pymes) a obtener un mejor acceso al mercado mundial e intercambiaron ideas sobre el papel de las nuevas tecnologías la innovación digital y el comercio electrónico. En el Foro se debatió también cómo pueden las mujeres participar más plenamente en el comercio internacional y beneficiarse más del comercio mundial. Durante la reunión de tres días de duración se presentaron el Informe sobre el comercio mundial de la OMC y otras tres publicaciones.

One of the most important features of the WTO – and a major result of the Uruguay Round – is its strengthened dispute settlement system. Settling disputes has always been a core function of the multilateral trading system but the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) represents a significant improvement over the GATT's approach in several important respects. Above all the system is more efficient – this is an acknowledgement of the importance of prompt dispute settlement to an effective and smooth functioning WTO. Whereas GATT disputes had no fixed timetables the WTO instituted a more structured process with clearly defined stages and deadlines. As a result the WTO has one of if not the fastest international dispute settlement mechanisms. At the panel stage most cases are completed in about 14 months; and Appellate Body reports are with very few exceptions issued in no more than three months.

En las reuniones del Consejo del Comercio de Mercancías los Miembros de la OMC abordaron numerosas preocupaciones comerciales con inclusión de las medidas políticas y prácticas consideradas potencialmente discriminatorias o restrictivas del comercio. Algunas de estas preocupaciones ya se habían planteado con anterioridad. El Consejo examinó asimismo una serie de solicitudes de exención y tomó nota de una lista actualizada y completa de las notificaciones presentadas por los Miembros de conformidad con el Anexo 1A del Acuerdo sobre la OMC. El Gabón anunció la conclusión de la renegociación de sus concesiones arancelarias.

At a time when the global economy is more interconnected than ever it is difficult to imagine a world without the WTO. By establishing global trade rules monitoring adherence to those rules and helping to resolve disputes between nations the WTO plays a crucial role in global governance. Moreover the WTO has an important role to play in helping developing countries integrate into the global trading system. In the coming years this will remain a priority for the WTO.

En 2009 les travaux du Conseil du commerce des services ont été réactivés avec l'examen de plusieurs secteurs de services et modes de fourniture sur la base de nouvelles notes d'information établies par le Secrétariat de l'OMC . Ces notes rendent compte des faits nouveaux les plus pertinents du point de vue du commerce qui sont intervenus dans des domaines clés au cours de la dernière décennie. Sept d'entre elles ont été examinées en 2009 et 13 autres serviront de base pour la poursuite des discussions en 2010.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement which is now being negotiated between 11 states – including Australia Brunei Darussalam Canada Chile Malaysia Mexico New Zealand Peru Singapore the United States and Viet Nam – is supposed to solve many of the problems that have come from overlapping trade deals in the past decade. It is also supposed to be different – “a highquality 21st-century” agreement that will set standards for future trade agreements.

When the World Trade Organization was launched 20 years ago it represented more than a reform of the old GATT system. The WTO was seen as the key pillar of a new kind of global economic order – open inclusive cooperative – that was taking shape in the wake of the end of the Cold War. Countries that were largely closed to the world economy for almost half a century were turning to open markets and economic integration. Many developing countries for decades left behind by the more industrialized were beginning a rapid economic catch up. New transport communications and information technologies were weaving economies more tightly together reshaping international relations in the process. If the GATT was the product of a divided world the WTO offered the promise of a more unified one.

Valerie Hughes’ paper provides an excellent account of the first decade of dispute settlement in the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the new Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU). On its adoption in 1995 the DSU became the first legally binding codification of dispute settlement procedures developed under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). It combined past experience under the customary rules and the 1979 Understanding Regarding Notification Consultation Dispute Settlement and Surveillance (BISD 36/210) of the GATT with truly revolutionary elements in particular the establishment of a two-tier system comprising both panels and the new Appellate Body. As Ms Hughes addresses the different stages of the system from bilateral consultations to implementation of rulings adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) she provides an overview both of past experience and proposals submitted for reform under the current negotiations.