The WTO Chairs Programme issued a call for applications today, 4 October, to expand the network of academic institutions from developing and least-developed economies currently in the Programme. The call follows on from the announcement by the WTO Director-General, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, last year that institutions would be admitted more frequently into the Programme. The target regions are Middle Africa, Western Africa, Western Asia, Oceania, and Central America and the Caribbean, which are currently under-represented by the Chairs Programme.

4 October 2023

Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called on members of the WTO on 4 October to step up efforts to deliver a possible outcome on cotton for the organization’s 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) next February, noting that cotton producers in least developed countries are grappling with numerous challenges that are negatively impacting the sector and the livelihoods of those depending on the crop.

4 October 2023

Japan is contributing CHF 55,934 in 2023 to help cover the expenses of officials from least-developed countries (LDCs) in order to facilitate their in-person participation in the second wave of negotiations to curb harmful fisheries subsidies. The contribution is provided by Japan to the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Trust Fund that was created in May 2019 at the request of the WTO’s LDC members.

3 October 2023

The WTO will host a virtual event on 11 October examining trade-facilitating measures related to product rules of origin. The event will focus on initiatives being implemented to simplify rules of origin and facilitate compliance with origin requirements.

3 October 2023

The WTO Intellectual Property Division is holding on 1-2 November a hybrid workshop on Article 67 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) regarding technical cooperation. The deadline to register is 22 October.

3 October 2023

Strengthening the multilateral trading system as embodied in the WTO is the best way to confront the challenges of increasingly fragmented global trade, Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam said on 3 October. Speaking in Dijon, France, at the Vine and Wine World Trade Forum, DDG Paugam said a new trade narrative based on geopolitics, climate and sustainability, and quality-related regulations is starting to take root, leading to some trade fragmentation. The “number one condition to confront these challenges is more of the multilateral trading system, not less,” he declared. His remarks are below.

3 October 2023

In a lecture delivered at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on 3 October, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala emphasized how trade policy choices helped governments to improve access to vital medical products amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Future crises are inevitable, and the international community would be better positioned to meet these challenges in a world where pharmaceutical capacity is more widely diversified and anchored in open global markets that allow inputs and finished products to circulate more freely, she said.

3 October 2023

Remarks by DG Okonjo-Iweala

3 October 2023

Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala met with President José Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste on 2 October at the WTO. They discussed the next steps needed to realize Timor-Leste’s ambition to become a member of the WTO at the 13th Ministerial Conference, which will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi in late February 2024. President Ramos-Horta and the Director-General committed to work towards accomplishing this important objective for both Timor-Leste and the WTO, building on their previous discussions.

2 October 2023

North Macedonia has submitted its instrument of accession to the WTO’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA 2012), marking the completion of its internal ratification process. The instrument was handed to Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on 30 September by Burim Bilali, Counsellor with North Macedonia’s Permanent Mission to the WTO. Once its accession enters into force — on 30 October — North Macedonia will gain new market access opportunities while opening its own procurement market to other GPA parties and committing to enhanced transparency and efficiency for its government procurement procedures.

30 September 2023