On 19 December 2024, the European Union notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 19 December 2024 a safeguard investigation on “manganese and silicon-based alloying elements”.

19 December 2024

The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) agreed at its meeting on 18 December to a request from Indonesia for the establishment of a panel to review the European Union’s anti-dumping duties on fatty acid imported from Indonesia.

18 December 2024

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the WTO Secretariat have jointly launched a database on trade in critical minerals to enhance transparency regarding these minerals and to support the clean energy transition. The database provides information on trade flows, allows visualizations of trade networks and specialization patterns and compiles data on tariffs and other trade policies for 250 critical minerals and related products across value chains.

18 December 2024

The General Council Chair, Ambassador Petter Ølberg of Norway, has welcomed the “significant progress” made in the ongoing negotiations on dispute settlement reform, which is taking place under the purview of the General Council. He said he would be consulting with members early next year on how to further advance the reform work. Speaking at the last General Council meeting of the year on 16-17 December, Ambassador Ølberg thanked Ambassador Usha Dwarka-Canabady of Mauritius for her important contributions as facilitator of the talks over the past six months.

17 December 2024

Cameroon, host of the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in 2026, deposited its instrument of acceptance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on 16 December. Ambassador Salomon Eheth presented Cameroon’s instrument of acceptance to Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the General Council meeting in Geneva.

16 December 2024

WTO members have agreed that the organization’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) will take place from 26 to 29 March 2026 in Cameroon. The dates were endorsed at a 16 December meeting of the WTO’s General Council.

16 December 2024

Remarks by DG Okonjo-Iweala

13 December 2024

A total of 30 government officials from developing and least-developed WTO members and observers concluded on 13 December a two-week course on trade and environment in Geneva. The programme enabled participants to strengthen their expertise in addressing contemporary challenges relating to the intersection of trade and environmental policies.

13 December 2024

On 13 December 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the WTO held the 11th Trilateral Technical Symposium titled “Strengthening manufacturing capacities to respond to the noncommunicable diseases burden.” The event underscored the importance of strengthening production and its diversification through initiatives that promote innovation and enhance access to health technologies. It focused on the global health burden caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and the role that trilateral partners can play in this regard.

13 December 2024

Opening Remarks by WTO Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

13 December 2024