Review of 2013

9th Ministerial Conference

The WTO’s Bali Ministerial Conference concluded a day later than scheduled on 7 December 2013 with agreement on a package of issues designed to streamline trade, allow developing countries more options for providing food security, boost least-developed countries’ trade and help development more generally.

The Bali Package is a selection of issues from the broader Doha Round negotiations. Echoing calls from many delegations, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said WTO members’ attention should now turn to the rest of the Round.

The deal on the Bali Package was struck after intensive round-the-clock consultations from Wednesday 4 December until the early hours of Saturday 7 December, interspersed with meetings of heads of all delegations.

Earlier in the Conference, ministers accepted Yemen as a new WTO member (see accessions section below). They also adopted five decisions on the WTO’s regular work on intellectual property (members agreed not to bring “non-violation” cases to the WTO dispute settlement process), e-commerce, small economies, trade and transfer of technology, and Aid for Trade.
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Roberto Azevêdo was elected as Director-General

Nine candidates were nominated by their governments in December 2012 to succeed Director-General Pascal Lamy, whose term of office ended on 31 August 2013. The candidates were from Ghana, Costa Rica, Indonesia, New Zealand, Kenya, Jordan, Mexico, Korea and Brazil.

On 29-31 January 2013, each of the nine candidates presented their vision for the organisation to WTO members. The candidates from New Zealand, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea and Brazil gathered the most support from the WTO membership and advanced to the second round. Two candidates, from Mexico and Brazil, advanced to the final round.
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At a special meeting on 14 May 2013, the General Council approved the appointment of Ambassador Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo (Brazil) as the next Director-General of the WTO. He began his term of office on 1 September 2013.
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On 9 September, in his inaugural speech, newly elected Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said: "My full priority will be to ensure that we have a successfully negotiated outcome in our 9th Ministerial Conference”.
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WTO welcomed two new members: Tajikistan and Yemen

On 2 March, Tajikistan became the 159th WTO member, after ratifying its accession package. The General Council had approved its accession on 10 December 2012.
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On 4 December, at the 9th Ministerial Conference in Bali, ministers agreed to accept Yemen as a new member The Yemeni Parliament will have until 2 June 2014 to ratify its accession package. Yemen will officially join the WTO 30 days after this ratification.
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In 2013, 24 governments were in the process of WTO accession.

Big gains for least-developed countries (LDCs) in 2013

Eight years more leeway on protecting intellectual property for LDCs: In June, WTO members agreed to extend until 1 July 2021 the deadline for least-developed countries to protect intellectual property under the WTO’s Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, with a further extension possible when the time comes.
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LDC gains at the 9th Ministerial Conference in December: The WTO’s Bali Ministerial Conference concluded with agreement on a package of issues boosting LDCs’ trade and supporting development:

Duty-free, quota-free access for LDCs to export to richer countries’ markets. Many countries have already implemented this, and the decision says countries that have not done so for at least 97% of products “shall seek to” improve the number of products covered.
Simplified preferential rules of origin for LDCs, making it easier for these countries to identify products as their own goods, and qualify for preferential treatment in importing countries.
A “services waiver”, allowing LDCs preferential access to richer countries’ services markets.
A “monitoring mechanism” consisting of meetings and other methods for monitoring special treatment given to developing countries.

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On 28 June, the WTO adopted a new work programme for LDCs. It focuses on improving market access for LDCs, trade-related technical assistance and capacity-building, diversification of LDCs’ exports and other issues relating to LDC participation in the multilateral trading system.
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LDCs’ exports of goods and services grew by 0.7% in 2012, according to a note issued by the WTO Secretariat on 10 September 2013. This is far below the annual average growth of 15.5% recorded between 2000 and 2012. Developing economies have now become the destination for more than half of all exports from least-developed countries (see WT/COMTD/LDC/W/58).

Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) established 11 panels in 2013

The DSB, where WTO members oversee trade disputes, established 11 panels in 2013, mostly on anti-dumping issues and import measures affecting goods. The DSB adopted four panel reports and two Appellate Body reports regarding X-ray equipment (DS425:), renewable energy (DS412 and DS426) and broiler products (DS427). The DSB held 14 meetings, a record number (see WT/DSB/61).
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15 trade policy reviews in 2013

The Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB), which reviews the trade policies and practices of all WTO members, reviewed fifteen members in 2013. By the end of the year, the TPRB had conducted 384 reviews since its formation in 1989. The trade policies and practices of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Viet Nam were reviewed for the first time in 2013.
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Public Forum — trade and innovation

The main theme of the Public Forum in October 2013 was trade and innovation but participants also had the opportunity to debate some of the key issues for discussion at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali in December. About 1,000 participants attended the Public Forum. International organizations, trade experts, academics, business representatives, non-governmental organizations and government representatives came together to discuss linkages between trade and innovation and the prospects for Bali.
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Protectionism

In the last six months of 2013, most G-20 members had put in place new trade restrictions or measures that have the potential to restrict trade, the WTO highlighted in its latest report on G-20 trade measures published on 18 December 2013. A total of 116 new trade restrictive measures were identified since the last WTO report, up from 109 measures recorded for the previous seven-month period.
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Trade growth

In September 2013, the WTO said world trade growth in 2013 and 2014 is likely to be slower than previously forecast. WTO economists predict 2013 growth of 2.5% (down from the 3.3% forecast in April) and 4.5% in 2014 (down from 5.0%), but conditions for improved trade are gradually falling into place.
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New publications

In July, the WTO launched its flagship annual publication, the World Trade Report, whose special theme was "Factors shaping the future of world trade". The Report analysed trends in international trade and how the international trade landscape may evolve in the future.
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For the first time, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the WTO, the three global intergovernmental organisations dealing with health, intellectual property and trade, pooled their expertise to publish a joint study of the policies needed to advance medical and health technologies and to ensure they reach the people who need them.
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WTO releases annual package of trade and tariff data

The WTO released on 24 October 2013 its annual package of trade and tariff data, including for the first time a publication dedicated to trade in services. Providing a comprehensive overview of trade developments in 2012, the package also includes the 2013 editions of Trade Profiles, World Tariff Profiles and International Trade Statistics, which has been expanded to include data measured in value-added terms.
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Aid for Trade — Connecting to Value Chains

The theme of this year’s Global Review of Aid for Trade was “Connecting to Value Chains”. The review, which took place on 8-10 July, focused on the development implications of the global expansion of production chains and examined how Aid for Trade has helped developing countries enter and move up value chains. This high-level event brought together trade and development professionals from public and private sectors, developing country partners, donor countries and regional organizations.
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The new WTO building is taking shape

A Chinese-style garden situated adjacent to the WTO’s headquarters was formally opened on 13 February 2013 at a ceremony conducted by former WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy and China’s Ambassador to the WTO, Yi Xiaozhun. This garden is a gift from China and represents the country’s long-lasting confidence in the multilateral trading system.
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The WTO inaugurated its new building and opened its doors to the Geneva public on 30 June 2013.
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