 Official logo of WTO | |
| Author | World Trade Organization |
|---|---|
| Country | Switzerland |
| Language | English |
| Website | https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/wtr_e.htm |
The World Trade Report (WTR) is the annual report published since 2003 by the World Trade Organization. Each WTR provides an in-depth analysis of an aspect of trends in international trade, trade policy issues and the multilateral trading system.
The 2016 World Trade Report examines the participation of Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in international trade, how the international trade landscape is changing for SMEs, and what the multilateral trading system does and can do to encourage more widespread and inclusive SME participation in global markets.
The 2023 report explores the role of international trade in addressing global challenges, including peace and security, poverty and inequality, and sustainable development. It emphasizes the significance of international trade, supported by a robust multilateral trading system, in establishing a secure, inclusive, and sustainable world.
Despite recent crises and trade tensions, global trade flows have demonstrated resilience. The report acknowledges the growing skepticism towards international trade, which has resulted in setbacks in regional trade integration efforts and the adoption of unilateral trade policies. WTO committees have witnessed an increase in trade concerns at the technical level, leading to trade tensions and a rise in government subsidies.
The report examines the impact of trade tensions on international trade flows. While the stagnation of the global trade-to-GDP ratio since the global financial crisis is not primarily attributed to trade tensions, factors such as the deceleration of production unbundling have played a role. However, trade tensions between China and the United States are beginning to affect trade composition.
Furthermore, the report observes a gradual shift in trade along geopolitical lines, with trade between geopolitical blocs growing at a slower rate compared to trade within blocs. Despite these developments, claims of de-globalization are deemed exaggerated, as there are indications of re-globalization and increased international cooperation.
The report highlights the resilience of international trade during the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. It emphasizes the importance of trade in facilitating the production and distribution of medical supplies and vaccines. The digital revolution has contributed to the growth of trade in digitally delivered services, while the value of global trade in environmental goods has risen rapidly. Global value chains have expanded to involve more economies, and trade policy has made significant progress through agreements such as the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation and the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
Overall, the World Trade Report 2023 underscores the ongoing relevance of international trade in addressing global challenges and advocates for an inclusive and sustainable approach to globalization. It explores how re-globalization, characterized by increased international cooperation, can effectively tackle the major challenges of national and economic security, poverty alleviation, and environmental sustainability. The report emphasizes the importance of global solutions through enhanced cooperation and highlights the role of a revitalized multilateral trading system overseen by the WTO. [1] [2]
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its preamble, its purpose was the "substantial reduction of tariffs and other trade barriers and the elimination of preferences, on a reciprocal and mutually advantageous basis."
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that govern international trade in cooperation with the United Nations System. The WTO is the world's largest international economic organization, with 164 member states representing over 98% of global trade and global GDP.
The global financial system is the worldwide framework of legal agreements, institutions, and both formal and informal economic action that together facilitate international flows of financial capital for purposes of investment and trade financing. Since emerging in the late 19th century during the first modern wave of economic globalization, its evolution is marked by the establishment of central banks, multilateral treaties, and intergovernmental organizations aimed at improving the transparency, regulation, and effectiveness of international markets. In the late 1800s, world migration and communication technology facilitated unprecedented growth in international trade and investment. At the onset of World War I, trade contracted as foreign exchange markets became paralyzed by money market illiquidity. Countries sought to defend against external shocks with protectionist policies and trade virtually halted by 1933, worsening the effects of the global Great Depression until a series of reciprocal trade agreements slowly reduced tariffs worldwide. Efforts to revamp the international monetary system after World War II improved exchange rate stability, fostering record growth in global finance.
The Uruguay Round was the 8th round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) conducted within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), spanning from 1986 to 1993 and embracing 123 countries as "contracting parties". The Round led to the creation of the World Trade Organization, with GATT remaining as an integral part of the WTO agreements. The broad mandate of the Round had been to extend GATT trade rules to areas previously exempted as too difficult to liberalize and increasingly important new areas previously not included. The Round came into effect in 1995 with deadlines ending in 2000 under the administrative direction of the newly created World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Doha Development Round or Doha Development Agenda (DDA) is the trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which commenced in November 2001 under then director-general Mike Moore. Its objective was to lower trade barriers around the world, and thus facilitate increased global trade.
An international environmental agreement or sometimes environmental protocol, is a type of treaty binding in international law, allowing them to reach an environmental goal. In other words, it is "an intergovernmental document intended as legally binding with a primary stated purpose of preventing or managing human impacts on natural resources."
The Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) is an international treaty of the World Trade Organization. It was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and entered into force with the establishment of the WTO on 1 January 1995.
The Directorate-General for Trade is a Directorate-General of the European Commission. The European Commission's Directorate- General for Trade develops and implements the EU's trade policy in order to help secure prosperity, solidarity and security in Europe and around the globe. It covers a wide area from manufactured goods to services, intellectual property and investment.
The IBSA Dialogue Forum is an international tripartite grouping for promoting international cooperation among these countries. It represents three important poles for galvanizing South–South cooperation and greater understanding between three important continents of the developing world namely, Africa, Asia, and South America. The forum provides the three countries with a platform to engage in discussions for cooperation in the field of agriculture, trade, culture, and defence among others.
International economic law is a dynamic and evolving field of international law that governs the regulation and conduct of states, international organizations, and private entities in the global economic landscape. This field encompasses a diverse range of disciplines, including aspects of public international law, private international law, and domestic law applicable to international business transactions, and domestic laws relevant to international business transactions.
Environmental governance (EG) consists of a system of laws, norms, rules, policies and practices that dictate how the board members of an environment related regulatory body should manage and oversee the affairs of any environment related regulatory body which is responsible for ensuring sustainability (sustainable development) and manage all human activities—political, social and economic. Environmental governance includes government, business and civil society, and emphasizes whole system management. To capture this diverse range of elements, environmental governance often employs alternative systems of governance, for example watershed-based management. Obviously, in fact the EG arrangements are very diversed and not at all as inclusive as we could wish them to be.
Sea transport accounts for most of the European Union's external and internal commerce. The EU is the world's third-largest importer of fisheries and aquaculture products and the fifth-largest producer. Maritime borders make up more than 70% of the Union's external borders, and hundreds of millions of travelers pass through European ports each year. The security of Europe's energy supply is heavily reliant on marine transit and infrastructure. The significant expansion of EU Member States' fleets, as well as suitable port infrastructure, contribute to a well-functioning energy market and supply security, and hence to European residents' and the European economy's overall well-being. The Arctic region is therefore a vital new area for the EU to work towards and a new strategy for the Arctic region that matches with the European Green deal was established in late 2021.
Vangelis (Evangelos) Vitalis is a New Zealand diplomat and trade negotiator currently working as the Deputy Secretary for the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Multistakeholder governance is a practice of governance that employs bringing multiple stakeholders together to participate in dialogue, decision making, and implementation of responses to jointly perceived problems. The principle behind such a structure is that if enough input is provided by multiple types of actors involved in a question, the eventual consensual decision gains more legitimacy, and can be more effectively implemented than a traditional state-based response. While the evolution of multistakeholder governance is occurring principally at the international level, public-private partnerships (PPPs) are domestic analogues.
The Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development (IPFSD) is a dynamic document created to help governments formulate sound investment policy, especially international investment agreements (IIAs), that capitalize on foreign direct investment (FDI) for sustainable development. It was prepared by the Division on Investment and Enterprise (DIAE) of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). IPFSD is not a negotiated text or undertaking between States; but rather an initiative by the UNCTAD Secretariat that represents expert guidance while leaving domestic policy makers free to adapt and adopt. IPFSD is the result of numerous consultations with experts and is intended as a platform to provide for further consultation and discussion with all investment stakeholders. The main objective of the IPFSD is to create a balance between the rights and obligations of States and investors while maintaining attractive investment environments.
UNCTAD's Division on Investment and Enterprise (DIAE) is a research and policy practice centre of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development whose work focuses on investment and enterprise with a particular view on development. The Division's overarching mandate is to steer sustainable development and inclusive growth objectives through investment and enterprise development, productive capacity-building, industrialization and economic diversification. Its work programme is tailored to serve all UN member States, with a particular emphasis on the needs of least-developed and other structurally weak and vulnerable economies.
The Bali Package is a trade agreement resulting from the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Bali, Indonesia on 3–7 December 2013. It is aimed at lowering global trade barriers and is the first agreement reached through the WTO that is approved by all its members. The package forms part of the Doha Development Round, which started in 2001.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization which regulates international trade. The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948. The WTO deals with regulation of trade between participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements, which is signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments. Most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the Uruguay Round (1986–1994).
Sustainable Development Goal 17 is about "partnerships for the goals." One of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015, the official wording is: "Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development". SDG 17 refers to the need for the nonhegemonic and fair cross sector and cross country collaborations in pursuit of all the goals by the year 2030. It is a call for countries to align policies.
The Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was a landmark event, marking the first Ministerial Conference held in nearly five years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It brought together trade ministers and senior officials from all 164 WTO member countries to discuss and negotiate critical global trade issues.