News from WTO

              News from WTO

WORKING PARTY COMPLETES CAMBODIA'S MEMBERSHIP NEGOTIATION

The WTO working party handling Cambodia's membership negotiation completed its work Tuesday 22 of July, leaving a final decision approving membership for the Cancún Ministerial Conference, in September.

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25TH WTO TRADE POLICY COURSE ENDS

Thirty government officials from developing countries and economies in transition completed on 22 July 2003 a three month training on the multilateral trading system, its rules and its procedures.

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NEW REPORTS BY WTO BODIES TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL

The WTO working groups and committees presented reports to the General Council during its session on July 24-25, 2003.

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APPELLATE BODY UPHOLDS RULING IN BRAZIL-EC PIPE DISPUTE

The Appellate Body, in a report issued on 22 July 2003, upheld most of the Panel's findings in the case EC - Anti-Dumping Duties on Malleable Cast Iron Tube or Pipe Fittings from Brazil (DS219/AB/R).

Download:
The report in Word format: click
The report in pdf format: click
All documentation on the case DS219: click
More on Dispute Settlement: click

WTO AFRICAN MEMBERS PREPARE CANCÚN

Senior African officials are meeting ITC, UNCTAD and WTO experts this week to prepare for the next Ministerial conference. They will discuss agriculture, services, industrial tariffs and other sectors.

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AGENCIES TO STEP UP TRADE ASSISTANCE TO LDCS

The WTO, IMF, ITC, UNCTAD, UNDP and the World Bank, in a joint communiqué issued on 10 July 2003 in Washington D.C., said they will step up activities under the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical
Assistance to Least Developed Countries (the IF).

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AGRICULTURE MODALITIES 'REMAIN ELUSIVE', NEGOTIATIONS CHAIRPERSON REPORTS TO TNC

The chairperson of the agriculture negotiations has circulated a report to the Trade Negotiations Committee on 7 July 2003 intended to help WTO member governments prepare for the Cancún Ministerial Conference in September. In it he describes agreement on "modalities" as "elusive", and calls for "collective guidance and decisions" on a number of key issues in
order to achieve the Doha mandate.

Go to report: click

WTO 2003 ANNUAL REPORT OUT

The WTO, on 4 July 2003, published its 2003 Annual Report, (pdf format, 178 pages; 900 KB) which focuses on the first full year of negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda.

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ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA REQUESTS PANEL AGAINST US ON GAMBLING AND BETTING

On 24 June 2003, Antigua and Barbuda made its first request for the establishment of a panel to look at the United States' measures affecting the cross-border supply of gambling and betting services (DS285).

Summary of the meeting: click

NEW REQUESTS FOR CONSULTATIONS

The WTO has received the following new requests for consultations: DS294 United States: Laws, Regulations and Methodology for Calculating Dumping Margins ("Zeroing") (Brought by EC): 19 June 2003

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WTO URGES MOROCCO TO ACCELERATE TRADE REFORMS

WTO members, in concluding their two-day review of Morocco's trade policies on 18 June 2003, applauded its recent economic performance and urged it to accelerate its trade reforms with a view to improving efficiency and fully benefiting from its participation in the multilateral trading system.

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Opening remarks: click
Find out more about
the symposium at: click
Presentations from
the symposium will be
added to the website as the
become available at: click

SUPACHAI SUPPORTS GROUP OF EIGHT CONSENSUS ON DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi, on 4 June 2003, welcomed the support of the Group of Eight nations for the timely conclusion to the Doha Development Agenda global trade talks, but urged leaders from the world's richest nations to transform their pledges of support into action at the negotiating table so that an ambitious outcome can be achieved by the 1 January 2005 deadline.

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WTO SECRETARIAT ISSUES STUDY ON ADJUSTING TO TRADE LIBERALIZATION

While economists emphasize the long-run gains from trade liberalization, policy makers are worried about the short-run costs. The WTO Secretariat, on 23 May 2003, issued Special Study No. 7 "Adjusting to Trade Liberalization - The Role of Policy, Institutions and WTO Disciplines", which seeks to identify tools at the disposal of governments to smooth adjustment, to minimize an economy's adjustment costs and to alleviate the burden of those who suffer most.

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WTO PAPER OUT ON KEY ISSUES IN THE TARIFF NEGOTIATIONS

The WTO Secretariat, on 6 May 2003, issued a comprehensive discussion paper on "Industrial Tariffs and the Doha Development Agenda". Containing many tables and charts, the paper focuses on the basic mandate given to negotiators at Doha and looks at specific issues facing developed, developing and least-developed countries.

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FRANCE CONTRIBUTES 1.5 MILLION SWISS FRANCS TO WTO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FUND

Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi, on 12 May 2003, welcomed France's contribution of 1.5 million Swiss francs to the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund.

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REVISED WORKING PROCEDURES FOR APPELLATE REVIEW

The Appellate Body circulated today (1 May 2003) a revised, consolidated version of its Working Procedures, modifying the rules governing third-party participation in oral hearings in appeals. The revised procedures come into effect today.

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Full text: click

WTO SECRETARIAT REPORTS SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN NEW ANTI-DUMPING INVESTIGATIONS

The WTO Secretariat, on 2 May 2003, reported that in the period 1 July-31 December 2002, 17 Members initiated 149 anti-dumping investigations against exports from a total of 43 different countries or customs territories. This represents a significant decline from the corresponding period of 2001, during which 23 WTO Members had initiated 210 anti-dumping investigations.

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GENERAL COUNCIL EXTENDS TIMEFRAME TO REVIEW WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT RULES TO 31 MAY 2004

At its meeting on 24 July 2003, the General Council agreed to extend negotiations in the Dispute Settlement Body Special Session which is reviewing WTO rules for dispute settlement. The timeframe was extended
from 31 May 2003 to 31 May 2004.

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Understanding negotiations: click

AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL AND THAILAND REQUEST A PANEL TO EXAMINE THE EU SUGAR SUBSIDY REGIME

On 21 July 2003, Australia, Brazil and Thailand made their first request for the establishment of a panel to look at the European Union's export subsidies on sugar (DS265, DS266 and DS283).

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PANEL REPORT OUT ON US SAFEGUARD MEASURES ON STEEL PRODUCTS

The WTO, on 11 July 2003, issued the reports of a panel, which concluded that the safeguard measures imposed by the United States on the imports of certain steel products are inconsistent with the WTO Safeguards Agreement and GATT 1994. The case was brought to the WTO by the European Communities, Japan, Korea, China, Switzerland, Norway, New Zealand and
Brazil.

Download the panel report: click

OFFICIALS COMPLETE WTO DISPUTE-SETTLEMENT COURSE

Twenty-nine government officials completed, on 4 July 2003, a five-day
immersion into the rules and procedures governing the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism.

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NEW REQUESTS FOR CONSULTATIONS

The WTO has received the following new requests for consultations:
-DS296 United States: Countervailing duty investigation on dynamic random access memory semiconductors (DRAMS) from Korea (Brought by Korea): 8 July 2003
-DS295 Mexico: Definitive anti dumping measures on beef and rice (Brought by United States): 23 June 2003
- DS294 United States: Laws, Regulations and Methodology for Calculating Dumping Margins ("Zeroing") (Brought by EC)

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UN HEAD URGES MORE FLEXIBILITY IN DOHA TALKS

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in remarks at the opening meeting of the 2003 Economic and Social Council on 30 June 2003 in Geneva, said that the Doha Development Agenda could provide "a powerful engine of growth" and urged all negotiators to "show more flexibility, and give priority to the global interest".

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OFFICIALS COMPLETE WTO COURSE ON NEGOTIATING TRADE AGREEMENTS

Twenty-four officials from developing and least-developed countries and economies in transition completed on 27 June 2003 a WTO specialized course "Negotiating Trade Agreements: from Theory to Practice".

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TRADE REFORMS HELP BRING STABILITY TO INDONESIAN ECONOMY

WTO members, after reviewing Indonesia's trade policies on 27 and 30 June 2003, said that as a result of government reforms, the economy seems to have stabilized. They praised Indonesia's trade liberalization efforts, such as bringing tariffs down to an average of 7.2% in 2002, but also noted tariff peaks on a few products.

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PANEL REPORT OUT ON INDIA-US TEXTILES DISPUTE

The WTO, on 20 June 2003, issued the report of a panel that had examined India's complaint about United States - Rules of Origin for Textiles and Apparel Products (DS243). The panel found that India had failed to establish that the US measures are inconsistent with the WTO Agreement on
Rules of Origin.

Download:
The report in Word format: click
The report in pdf format: click
All documentation
on the case DS243: click
More on Dispute Settlement: click

WTO DIRECTOR-GENERAL ESTABLISHES A CONSULTATIVE BOARD ON THE FUTURE OF THE MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM

WTO Director-General Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi has established a Consultative Board of eminent persons chaired by Mr. Peter Sutherland to advise him on the challenges and opportunities confronting the
organization and the multilateral trading system.

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ARBITRATOR GIVES US UNTIL 27 DECEMBER TO IMPLEMENT RULING IN 'BYRD AMENDMENT' DISPUTE

An arbitrator says the United States should implement recommendations and rulings by 27 December 2003, in the two WTO disputes over the US's Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000. The complaining countries in these cases (DS217 and DS234) are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the EU, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and Thailand.

Download:
The report in Word format: click
The report in pdf format: click
All documentation
on the case DS217: click
All documentation
on the case DS234: click
More on Dispute Settlement: clik
 

President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, in his address to the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) on 10 June 2003, urged an agreement at Cancún to reduce and eventually eliminate cotton subsidies. TNC Chairman Supachai Panitchpakdi, in his opening remarks, warned negotiators that "time is running out" on preparations for the Fifth Ministerial Conference.

Address by President Blaise
Compaore of Burkina Faso: click

Opening remarks of
TNC Chairman: click

SUPACHAI PRAISES NEGOTIATORS' EFFORTS IN MARKET ACCESS TALKS, URGES GOVERNMENTS TO WORK TOWARD AGREEMENT

Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi, on 28 May 2003, praised negotiators from WTO Member Governments for the progress they have made in negotiations to reduce barriers to trade in manufactured products but urged governments to apply greater effort to narrow differences and agree on the framework for continuing work.

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DSB ADOPTS PANEL REPORT ON ARGENTINA'S ANTI-DUMPING MEASURES ON POULTRY

The Dispute Settlement Body, on 19 May 2003, adopted the panel report on Brazil's complaint against Argentina's anti-dumping duties on poultry from Brazil.

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'AVOIDING THE WORST IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL PROGRESS,' SUPACHAI TELLS NEGOTIATORS

A clear priority for about a dozen issues requiring action in or before the Cancún Ministerial Conference in September, is to reduce the load to "manageable proportions" by reaching understanding on as many of these issues as possible, Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi told the Trade Negotiations Committee, which he chairs, on 9 May 2003.

Statement: click

EU GRANTED PERMISSION TO APPLY US$ 4 BILLION SANCTIONS AGAINST US IN FSC CASE BUT DELAYS APPLICATION

The Dispute Settlement Body, on 7 May 2003, granted the European Union authorization to increase by US$4 billion its import tariffs on US goods.

The EU said that they were still willing to give the US a short additional period to make the necessary legislative changes.

Summary of the meeting: click