OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE
INTERNATIONAL
TRADING ENVIRONMENT
MINUTES OF THE
MEETING
7 December 2023
Chairperson: H.E. Mr
Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
1._
Welcome to this meeting of the
TPRB which was convened by Airgram _WTO/AIR/TPR/155 on 23 November 2023. I am pleased
to see so many of you attending in person as well as online.
2._
The purpose of this meeting is
for Members and Observers to undertake their annual overview of developments in
the international trading environment which are having an impact on the
multilateral trading system, as provided for in Paragraph G of Annex 3
of the Marrakesh Agreement.
3._
As mentioned in the Airgram,
today's discussion is assisted by the Director‑General's Annual Report which
provides a comprehensive overview of the overall state of global trade, of
significant developments in the implementation of trade policies by WTO Members
and Observers, and an update on several trade policy issues affecting the
trading system for the period between mid‑October 2022 and mid‑October 2023.
The Report was circulated in document _WT/TPR/OV/26 on 23 November 2023.
4._
The Trade Monitoring Report
makes it very clear that the principal purpose of the exercise is to further
enhance transparency. It is intended to be purely factual and has no legal
effect on the rights and obligations of WTO Members. Even though I know
you are all very familiar with the monitoring exercise, I think it is important
to emphasize this.
5._
Allow me also to take a moment
to recognize the work all of you put into securing important outcomes of the 7th Appraisal
of the TPRM concerning Trade Monitoring. These included specific suggestions to
facilitate Members' participation in the exercise through the use of IT and
digital solutions, a call for a redoubling of efforts to increase engagement
and participation in the exercise through greater outreach, and the suggestion
to reduce the frequency of the monitoring reports in normal times – an issue
which I believe the Director‑General will briefly address. Finally, you
highlighted the need for the TPRB to serve as a forum for information‑sharing
on trade policies and practices.
6._
These consensus outcomes, and
the discussions that preceded them, not only recognize the value of the Trade
Monitoring Exercise, but they demonstrate that Members place a premium on the
ability of this non‑legal peer‑review to contribute to transparency and
predictability in the multilateral trading system. I congratulate you on
delivering on these outcomes which will be before Ministers at MC13.
7._
Now, I do not wish to go into
detail with respect to the main substantive findings of the Report and the
Director‑General will shortly provide you with her main takeaways. However, I
do believe it is important to highlight that the Report provides evidence that
WTO Members introduced more trade‑facilitating than trade‑restrictive
measures during the review period, from mid‑October 2022 to mid‑October 2023.
During a period of great uncertainty for the world economy and global trade
this is encouraging. At the same time, the Report reminds us that that several
export restrictions continue to be implemented and that many remain in place.
Overall, the Report delivers a balanced message which is sensitive to real the
risks and challenges faced by the world today.
8._
I will now give the floor to
the Director‑General to introduce her Report. Following this, I will invite you
to share your own views and comments.
9._
Excellencies, ladies, and
gentlemen. I am pleased to join you today to take stock of recent trade policy
developments.
10._
Thank you, Ambassador Almoqbel (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
for your introductory remarks.
11._
You all will have seen my
Report which was circulated to Members on 23 November, in document _WT/TPR/OV/26 and its Addendum.
12._
Ambassador Almoqbel has already described how the Report was prepared.
13._
Allow me to share with you a
few key take‑aways from the Report, and to point to a few issues we have been
watching closely since the mid‑October close of the review period.
14._
The global economic environment
continues to be buffeted by multiple crises: the continuing war in Ukraine,
extreme weather linked to climate change, high food and energy prices, debt
distress and inflation, and lingering effects of the COVID‑19 pandemic, with
recent developments in the Middle East adding new downside risks for the
global economy.
15._
In October, our economists
estimated merchandise trade volume growth of 0.8% in 2023 (down from the April
estimate of 1.7%) and 3.3% in 2024 (nearly unchanged from 3.2% previously).
Risks to the forecast include a sharper than‑expected slowing of the Chinese
economy, resurgent inflation in many economies and rising geopolitical
tensions.
16._
The Trade Monitoring Report
shows that between mid‑October 2022 and mid‑October 2023, WTO Members
introduced more new trade‑facilitating measures than trade‑restrictive measures
on goods – 303 versus 193. Moreover, the value of trade covered by
the facilitating measures was estimated at USD 977.2 billion, well in
excess of that of the trade‑restrictive measures, which was at USD 337.1 billion.
(The previous year, the coverage of trade facilitating measures was higher, at
USD 1.16 trillion, and that of trade restrictive measures lower, at
USD 278 billion).
17._
The fact WTO Members have
been taking more practical steps to facilitate imports is welcome and
illustrates how reducing trade barriers and delays is a valuable tool for
pushing back against inflationary pressures.
18._
That said, the pace of
implementation of new export restrictions has increased since 2020, first with
regard to medical products in the context of the COVID‑19 pandemic, and
subsequently vis‑à‑vis food, animal feed, and fertilizer with the war in
Ukraine.
19._ The
Secretariat's ongoing monitoring shows that as of 1 December 2023,
out of the 127 export restrictive measures on food, feed, and fertilizers
introduced since the start of the war in Ukraine in late February 2022, 75
are still in place, covering roughly USD 29.6 billion of trade (up
from USD 24.5 billion in mid‑May 2023).
20._
This means 52 restrictions
have been phased out, which is a welcome step in the right direction. But it
also means that we still have quite a few remaining. Let me once again urge
Members to re‑examine and roll back these export restrictions, which contribute
to making food prices more volatile – and therefore to making life harder for
poor people around the world.
21._
Going back to the Report, it also looked at
new services trade measures. The 123 new measures introduced by WTO Members,
most of them trade‑facilitating liberalization or regulatory reforms, were
lower than the figures for the previous two years.
22._
In addition, the review period
saw governments introduce various new support measures, including programmes
aimed at reducing negative environmental impacts, such as promoting
decarbonization, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.
23._
Looking back at pandemic‑related
trade measures, Members continued to phase them out, particularly the trade‑restrictive
ones. As of mid‑October 2023, 29 pandemic‑related trade restrictions
remained in place, covering USD 15.6 billion (down from USD 134.6 billion
in the previous annual Report). Here too, I urge Members to end these remaining
restrictions, as we work to make medical supplies more accessible – and to make
medical supply chains more resilient – around the world.
24._ At a time when slow growth and persistent inflation are on the minds
of policymakers just about everywhere, I would also like to call your attention
to the stockpile of import restrictions that have accumulated, slowly but
steadily, since the Trade Monitoring Exercise began in 2009. For 2023, the
value of trade affected by import restrictions in force was estimated at USD 2.5 trillion
(USD 2,480 billion), representing nearly 10% (9.9%) of total world
imports. Rolling back these measures would reduce trade frictions and
contribute to the efficient functioning of global commerce. Members can act,
individually and collectively, to reduce this stockpile.
25._
Looking back to over several
decades, and more recently at the post‑pandemic recovery, trade has been a
strong force for prosperity and resilience across the membership. We have a
responsibility to ensure that this continues. At the same time, too many people
and Members have not shared adequately in this prosperity. Bringing them from
the margins to the mainstream of global trade – what we are calling "re‑globalization"
– would make the world economy simultaneously more inclusive and more
resilient. That is why we must keep working to reform and strengthen the
multilateral trading system and the WTO. This means building on our collective
successes at MC12 by delivering more results at MC13 in Abu Dhabi in
February, two working months from now.
26._
The Senior Officials' meeting
in October provided an important opportunity to advance preparations ahead
MC13. I hear a genuine sense of determination from delegates here that all
Members must work collectively to ensure the success of MC13. The challenge now
is to put that sense into action.
27._
Before closing, allow me to also address a couple of procedural issues in
the context of Trade Monitoring.
28._
First, let me reiterate that
the Trade Monitoring Exercise is only as strong as Members want it to be.
Participation is crucial and you recognized this at the 7th Appraisal
of the TPRM in July. I thank all those that have participated and urge all
delegations to help us strengthen this transparency exercise. As requested by
you, the Secretariat will continue to develop a trade monitoring platform which
places efficiency, inclusivity, and transparency at its core. In addition, we
will continue with the monitoring outreach programme and the information
sessions on the new IT platform for submission and verification of measures.
29._
Second, I have taken note of
and discussed with my team the suggestion emanating from the 7th Appraisal
of reducing the "frequency of the Monitoring Report to an annual report in
normal times, while maintaining flexibility to adjust their frequency in times
of crisis, as appropriate".
30._
Crises have been all too
frequent since I took office, but I believe that there is scope to experiment
with replacing the current twice‑yearly reports with one WTO‑wide Monitoring
Report at the end of the year. The Secretariat will have to keep asking Members
to submit and verify trade measures throughout the year – you can't have
continuous information gathering without that – and the new online platform
will facilitate Members' efforts in that regard. This should, in turn, allow
the Secretariat and Members to step up collaboration, and provide ad hoc
updates or crisis monitoring, in line with changing circumstances.
31._
Unfortunately, I will not be
able to stay with you this afternoon, but DDG Paugam will be here, and I
look forward to hearing about your exchanges and suggestions.