| Investment facilitation negotiators reaffirm aim of concluding text-based talks this year | | Participants in the investment facilitation for development (IFD) negotiations on 22 September reiterated their strong commitment to the objective of concluding the text negotiations on an agreement by the end of the year. The co-coordinators reported on the main take-aways from their informal bilateral consultations with interested participants held on 5-6 September 2022 and introduced the seventh revision of the "Easter Text" — the document used as the basis for the negotiations — which was circulated on 7 September. | | Lees verder |
| Chair urges members to find common ground on development negotiations after MC12 impetus | | WTO members were urged on 23 September to use the success of the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) as impetus to work together and find common ground on the issue of special treatment for developing countries. The Chair of the Committee on Trade and Development's negotiating body, Ambassador Kadra Ahmed Hassan of Djibouti, emphasized the need for "renewed political will" from members after the success of MC12. | | Lees verder |
| DDG Paugam: "Clear that sustainability is at the heart of trading models of the future" | | In opening remarks delivered to the Graduate Institute's "Geneva Trade Week" on 26 September, Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam underlined the importance of combining classical trade policy and environmental sustainability to formulate the sustainable trade policy of the future. "The good news is that this has really started to happen in the WTO," he said. "And our members are now taking determined action." His remarks are below. | | Lees verder |
| DG Okonjo-Iweala thanks outgoing Chair, urges members to build on fish subsidies deal | | At an informal meeting of the Negotiating Group on Rules on 26 September, WTO members bid farewell to Ambassador Santiago Wills, the outgoing Chair. Director-General Okonjo-Iweala praised Ambassador Wills for his leadership and service over the past few years in leading negotiations on fisheries subsidies to a successful outcome at the 12th Ministerial Conference in June. "You have been so positive, so determined not to give up, and there's been so much hope in your approach," she said. "So, I really want to thank you and the members." | | Lees verder |
| Winners of Small Business Champions Competition announced | | The winners and runners-up of the 2022 edition of the Small Business Champions Competition were announced today (26 September) at a virtual event organized by the Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Launched on World MSMEs Day on 25 June 2022, the competition aims to find ways of helping small businesses reduce their carbon footprint and benefit from innovations regarding sustainability. | | Lees verder |
| WTO, FIFA team up to use trade and football as drivers of economic and social development | | The WTO and FIFA have agreed to work together to examine how international trade and football can serve as catalysts for economic growth and social inclusion. The collaboration, spelled out in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, seeks to foster synergies in relation to the economic dimension of sport and empowerment, especially for least-developed countries (LDCs) and women. Cooperation within the context of the WTO's cotton programme is also a central element of the agreement. | | Lees verder |
| Public Forum 2022 opens with DG Okonjo-Iweala warning against "business as usual" | | The WTO's 2022 Public Forum opened on 27 September with Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warning that the world faces multiple crises which will require new ways of thinking about trade and how the WTO works. The Director-General delivered her remarks at the opening of the Forum, the theme of which is "Towards a sustainable and inclusive recovery: ambition to action." | | Lees verder |
| Put landmark Fisheries Subsidies Agreement into motion, governments urged at Public Forum | | WTO members must seize the opportunity to take a major step forward for ocean sustainability by setting into motion the implementation of the historic Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, speakers said in a Public Forum session held on 28 September. Work needs to be urgently undertaken for members to align their policies at home to implement the Agreement while also preparing for further negotiations in Geneva. | | Lees verder |
| High-level panel explores the need to leverage technology to promote inclusive growth | | New technologies can help businesses play a bigger part in world trade but more needs to be done to tackle the digital divide, said a high-level panel at the 2022 Public Forum on 28 September. Coordinated action on this issue is more important than ever as the world grapples with an unprecedented series of crises encompassing the pandemic, supply chain restructuring, food insecurity, the energy shortage and economic recession, the panel highlighted. | | Lees verder |
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