Since the signing of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization on 15 April 1994, global trade has surged, reaching over US$ 30.4 trillion in 2023, a fivefold increase since 1995. At the same time, tariffs have declined markedly under the WTO, helping to reduce trade costs. This growth in trade has coincided with a significant decrease in poverty worldwide, indicating the impact of trade on supporting economic development and improving people’s lives.

24 April 2024

South Africa has requested WTO dispute consultations with the European Union concerning certain aspects of the regime imposed by the European Union on the importation of South African citrus fruit. The request was circulated to WTO members on 24 April.

24 April 2024

The sixth review of the trade policies and practices of Morocco takes place on 22 and 24 April 2024. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of Morocco.

22 April 2024

At a meeting on 19 April, the Working Party on State Trading Enterprises examined notifications and heard calls for greater transparency. The Chair of the Council for Trade in Goods, Ambassador Adamu Mohammed Abdulhamid of Nigeria, presided over the meeting.

19 April 2024

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 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