A follow-up session of the 2023 Advanced Course on the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures took place in Geneva from 10 to 13 June. The session offered the 19 participants from various WTO members and observer governments the opportunity to report on the progress and results of their action plans to address SPS implementation challenges.
Montenegro deposited its instrument of acceptance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on 14 June. Ambassador Slavica Milačić presented Montenegro’s instrument of acceptance to Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The inaugural WIPO-WTO Executive Program on Intellectual Property (IP) Issues, jointly organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the WTO, concluded on 14 June in Geneva. This two-week event marked a significant milestone in international IP dialogue, bringing together 30 senior IP officials from developing economies and least-developed countries to share national perspectives and explore IP as a vital public policy tool.
At a meeting on 13 June, co-coordinators of the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP) proposed a set of potential items of focus as the initiative geared towards achieving concrete, pragmatic and effective outcomes by the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14). Participants also heard updates on various international processes aimed at reducing plastics pollution, delving deep into the technical elements that align with the actions identified in the MC13 Ministerial Statement.
Addressing the WTO Committee on Government Procurement at a meeting on 12 June, the Deputy Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), Ms Dorothy Tembo, called on parties to the Government Procurement Agreement 2012 (GPA 2012) and observers to help support its recently launched global campaign aimed at improving the participation of women entrepreneurs in government procurement. Parties to the GPA 2012 intensified negotiations on Albania’s accession to the Agreement after the Government... Читать дальше...
The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) has “delivered significant and tangible results” and “the target countries and sectors that have benefitted from STDF support have seen stronger export growth in plants, animals and foods than their comparators,” according to an independent evaluation published on 12 June 2024. The report covers the performance of the STDF in strengthening sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) systems in developing countries for the period 2020–24.
Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala met with the President of Comoros, Azali Assoumani, on 12 June at the WTO. The President announced that his country had taken the first step to ratify its imminent WTO membership, which was approved at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi in February. Both leaders subsequently discussed next steps for the entry of Comoros into the WTO.
The deadline for submitting proposals for this year’s Public Forum — entitled “Re-globalization: Better Trade for a Better World” — has been extended to 21 June 2024. Individuals interested in organizing sessions at the Forum, to be held on 10-13 September, are invited to complete an online application form.
The sixth review of the trade policies and practices of Iceland takes place on 12 and 14 June 2024. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of Iceland.
The Committee on Market Access held on 11 June a first exploratory session on “greening” the Harmonized System (HS), the system used to classify traded goods, and how this relates to the work of the WTO. The session featured presentations from the WTO Secretariat, World Customs Organization (WCO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS) Secretariat, and the Government of Ecuador on how the HS could be adapted to help WTO members achieve their environmental objectives.
