On 19 April, the WTO circulated the panel report in the case brought by Australia in “China — Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duty Measures on Wine from Australia” (DS602).

19 April 2024

At its first meeting since the launch of the “Partenariat pour le Coton” at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in February, the Steering Committee of the WTO-FIFA Cotton Initiative on 18 April pledged to intensify work to deliver concrete results for African cotton-producing countries, notably the Cotton Four (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali) plus Côte d’Ivoire. They welcomed two new partners — the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) — as members of the Steering Committee.

18 April 2024

A four-day training course on Trade and Gender, which came to a close on 18 April, brought together 27 government officials from 15 Latin American and African WTO members. Participants welcomed the opportunity to enhance their skills in gender-responsive trade policymaking and share experiences for advancing women’s economic empowerment through trade in their countries.

18 April 2024

At a special meeting on 17 April, the WTO Committee on Agriculture adopted a report containing recommendations on how to help least developed countries (LDCs) and net food-importing developing countries (NFIDCs) respond to acute food insecurity. The Chair of the Committee, Mr Kjetil Tysdal from Norway, congratulated members for reaching consensus on addressing the food security concerns of the most vulnerable WTO members.

17 April 2024

At a meeting of the Committee on Trade Facilitation on 16-17 April, members kicked off discussions on utilizing digital tools to optimize the movement of goods across borders in line with the committee’s decision to focus on this topic in 2024. Members heard presentations on national experiences with using digitalization to facilitate trade. The committee intends to explore this topic in further meetings and summarize discussions at the end of the year.

17 April 2024

The WTO’s Introductory Trade Policy Course is currently underway in Geneva until 26 April. Over three weeks, 26 French-speaking government officials from 12 least-developed country (LDC) members of the WTO will improve their knowledge of the rules that underpin the multilateral trading system.

16 April 2024

The Chair of the WTO’s agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Alparslan Acarsoy of Türkiye, told trade officials that “fresh thinking” was needed to break the persistent deadlock in the talks. At the first meeting of the agriculture negotiating body since the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), he also urged WTO members to acknowledge the work undertaken so far.

16 April 2024

Government officials from WTO members and observers eligible to benefit from technical assistance activities are invited to submit applications to take part in the 2024 Advanced Course on Analyzing Trade in Services to be held from 4 to 7 June at the WTO. Officials can submit applications until 25 April.

15 April 2024

On 15 April 1994, 123 countries gathered in Morocco to sign the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, the foundation of today’s rules-based international trading system. Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala marked the anniversary by underlining the critical role trade has played in improving peoples’ lives around the world.

15 April 2024

At a meeting on 12 April, participating members of the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP) discussed the 2024 work plan for implementing the Ministerial Statement announced at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), with the aim of achieving more concrete, pragmatic, and effective outcomes by the next ministerial conference. They welcomed Argentina, Mongolia and North Macedonia as new members of the Dialogue, bringing the number of co-sponsors to 79.

12 April 2024