WTO: UK to join government procurement pact in its own right in the new year

UK to join government procurement pact in its own right in the new year At a meeting of the Committee on Government Procurement on 7 October, parties to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) invited the United Kingdom to complete the remaining steps to join the Agreement in its own right following its departure from the European Union. They also applauded Brazil... Lees verder The United States launches safeguard investigation on fresh, chilled, or frozen blueberries On 7 October 2020, the United States notified the WTO's Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 6 October 2020 a safeguard investigation on fresh, chilled, or frozen blueberries. Lees verder The United Kingdom launches a review process of the safeguard measure on certain steel products On 8 October 2020, the United Kingdom notified the WTO's Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 1 October 2020 a review process ("transition review") of the safeguard measure on certain steel products. Lees verder WTO launches new import licensing platform Four years of work by the WTO Secretariat bore fruit with the launch on 9 October 2020 of the new import licensing database. The new platform gathers together import licensing information, analysis and reporting and streamlines notification procedures for WTO members. At a meeting of the Committee... Lees verder Negotiations on an investment facilitation agreement show high level of engagement The second round of formal negotiations for a multilateral agreement on investment facilitation for development, held on 8-9 October 2020, showed a high level of engagement by participating members who found significant common ground to advance in line with the agreed agenda. Participating members... Lees verder WTO members search for compromise as text-based negotiations on fishing subsidies continue WTO members took up another set of fisheries subsidies issues at the 5-9 October cluster of meetings of the Negotiating Group on Rules, as drafting work continued on an agreement to curb harmful state support for fishing. New textual suggestions were made and next steps to help members find the... Lees verder DDG Wolff: Open markets essential to global economic recovery Keeping international markets open to trade is an essential part of the agenda for economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff said on 8 October. In remarks delivered to the virtual GLOBSEC 2020 Bratislava Forum, DDG Wolff said the WTO's contribution to the... Lees verder Informal Trade Negotiations Committee and informal Heads of Delegation meeting Remarks by DDG Agah Lees verder Trade has a role to play in making the COVID-19 response more effective, says DDG Agah On behalf of the four Deputy Directors-General, DDG Agah addressed heads of WTO member delegations on 12 October and emphasised "the importance of open and predictable markets to foster a strong and inclusive recovery for all countries". In his remarks he highlighted the work done by the DDGs to... Lees verder WTO arbitrator issues decision in Boeing subsidy dispute On 13 October, a WTO arbitrator issued its decision on the level of countermeasures the European Union may request with respect to the United States in "United States — Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft — Second Complaint" (DS353). Lees verder