RESTRICTED  
  
WT/TPR/W/ 160 
18 January 2019  
(19-0286) Page: 1/21 
Trade Policy Review Body    
 
* In Original language only/ En langue originale seulement /En el idioma original solamente . 
  
OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE I NTERNATIONAL TRADING SYSTEM 
DRAFT MINUTES  OF THE MEETING* HELD ON 11 DECEMBER 2018  
Delegations are invited to submit factual corrections, if any, on their own statement to the 
Secretariat ( Mrs Barbara Blanquart: barbara.blanquart@wto.org , or to  tprd@wto.org ) no later 
than 1 February 2019 . 
 
Organe d'examen des politiques commerciales  
 
TOUR D'HORIZON DE L 'ÉVOLUTION DE L 'ENVIRONNEMENT COMMERCIAL INTERNATIONAL  
PROJET DE COMPTE REN DU DE LA RÉUNION* TENUE LE  11 DÉCEMBRE 2018  
Les délégations sont invitées à soumettre  leurs éventuelles corrections factuelles concernant leurs 
propres déclarations au Secrétariat ( Mme Barbara Blanquart: barbara.blanquart@wto.org , ou 
tprd@wto.org ) le 1er février 2019  au plus tard.  
 
Órgano de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales  
 
REVISTA GENERAL DE LA EVOLUCIÓN DEL ENTORNO COMERCIAL INTERNACIONAL  
PROYECTO DE ACTA DE LA REUNIÓN* CELEBRADA EL DÍA  11 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2 018 
Las delegaciones pueden enviar a la Secretaría (Sr a. Barbara Blanquart: 
barbara.blanquart@wto.org , o tprd@wto.org ) a más tardar el 1° de febrero de 2019  las 
correcciones fácticas que deseen introducir en sus propias declaraciones.  
 
 
_______________  
 
  WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the int ernational Trading System  
 
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  OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE  
INTERNATIONAL TRADING ENVIRONMENT  
 
DRAFT  MINUTES OF THE MEETING  
11 December 2018  
Chairperson: H.E. Mr. Eloi Laourou (Benin)  
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS  BY THE CHAIRPERSON  
1. Good afternoon and welcome to this meeting of the TPRB, which was convened by Airgram 
WTO/AIR/TPR/78 on 12 November.  
2. The purpose of this meeting is for Members and Observers of the Trade Policy Review Body 
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 "tour d'horizon" of the overall state of global trade, of 
significant d evelopments in the implementation of trade policies by WTO Members, and an up -date 
on several trade policy issues affecting the trading system for the period between mid -October 2017 
and mid -October 2018. The Report was circulated in document WT/TPR/OV/21 on 27 November in 
English and the Corrigendum to the English only circulated on 7 December. In accordance with the 
Rules of Procedure for meetings of the TPRB, the Report was issued as an unrestricted document. It 
is worth noting that this Report builds on  the mid -year trade monitoring report submitted to this 
Body in July this year.  
4. At the outset, let me briefly recall the purpose of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism, which 
according to Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement, is to achieve greater transparenc y in, and 
understanding of, Members' trade and trade -related policies and measures. The TPRM is not intended 
to serve as a basis for the enforcement of obligations under WTO Agreements, for dispute -settlement 
purposes or to impose new policy commitments on  Members. These fundamental principles also 
apply to the annual overview of developments in the international trading environment. In other 
words, as the trade monitoring exercise is part of the TPRM, the Report before us today as well as 
discussions among st Members fall within the same, well -known parameters.  
5. I think it is also important to underline that the periodic reports by the Director -General - such 
as the Annual Report presented today – are first and foremost a transparency exercise. The 
monitoring  exercise is intended to be purely factual and has no legal effect on the rights and 
obligations of WTO Members. It is without prejudice to Members' negotiating positions and has no 
legal implication with respect to the conformity of any measure noted in t he Report with any WTO 
Agreement or any provision thereof.  
6. At the same time, the Trade Monitoring Reports seek to provide the WTO membership with 
regular updates on the state of global trade and to shed light on the latest trends in the 
implementation of new trade policy measures. The reports, as well as our meeting today, are 
fundamental components of a platform which promotes transparency in trade policy -making and 
allows for constructive peer review.  
7. I wish to recall also the Decision by Ministers at th e 8th Ministerial Conference which called 
on the TPRB to continue and strengthen the trade monitoring exercise. Specifically, Ministers 
expressed their commitment to comply with existing transparency obligations and reporting 
requirements needed for the pr eparation of the trade monitoring reports, and to continue to support 
and cooperate with the Secretariat in a constructive manner.  
8. As you know, the preparation of these Reports relies on Members' timely and specific inputs 
to the trade monitoring exercise  as well as their compliance with the notification requirements under WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the international Trading System  
 
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  the various WTO Agreements. For the current Report, 49% of the membership provided input, 
representing around 93% of world trade.  
9. The Secretariat continues to improve and streamline the information gathering process, 
including providing delegations with further guidance and suggestions in terms of the format in which 
they can submit information. This interactive approach is at the core of what essentially is a joint 
stakeholder process be tween the Secretariat and the membership. The Reports continue to evolve 
in terms of the coverage and analysis of trade -related issues and seek to take into account 
discussions among WTO Members, for example in the context of the 6th Appraisal of the TPRM in 
2016.  
10. You will recall that, with respect to trade monitoring, one outcome of the 2016 Appraisal was 
to give Members an opportunity at these TPRB meetings to provide brief reports on significant 
changes in their trade policies between reviews, in the ma nner as envisaged in Section D of Annex  3 
to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO. Although we have not received any written 
request from any delegation in this respect for today's meeting, I should emphasize that this does 
not preclude any delegat ion from providing a brief oral report or update on specific changes in their 
trade policies which they would like to share with the membership.  
11. Now, turning to the Report before us today, let me highlight a few main themes before inviting 
the Director -General to present the Report and share his views.  
12. Above all, it is difficult to imagine a timelier Report. Its assessment of trends in world trade 
and in global trade policy -making provides important substantive context at a time when uncertainty 
about the g lobal economy is growing. This Report's factual account of the number and trade coverage 
of import restrictive measures confirms the trend previewed in July's mid -year Report. In July, the 
Director -General warned about the dangers of protectionist rhetoric  turning into actual applied trade 
restrictions. The Report before us today confirms that words have indeed turned into action and the 
picture presented should be a source of great concern to all of us.  
13. I do not wish to enter into great detail about the su bstantive findings of the Director -General's 
Report as I am sure he will provide us with his usual excellent summary. However, I do believe this 
Report raises many issues that we collectively need to consider. For example, the fact that the trade 
coverage of the import -restrictive measures was estimated to be more than seven times larger than 
that recorded in the previous annual overview illustrates the very tangible effect of protectionist 
rhetoric turning into trade restriction. On the other hand, it is s ignificant, of course, that WTO 
Members continue to implement trade facilitating measures and these have indeed risen significantly 
over the past year. However, the trade coverage of trade -facilitating measures account for less than 
half of that of trade -restrictive measures. This is a worrisome reflection of the current tensions in 
the global trading environment.  
14. Allow me also to highlight the findings of the Report with respect to the compliance and 
timeliness of Members' notifications to the WTO. As you know, this Section of the Report is a unique 
feature of the end -of-year overview and it takes a detailed look at the state -of-play on notifications 
across the WTO system. As we all know, transparency in trade and in trade policy making allows 
economic agen ts to make informed decisions and markets to operate more efficiently. Notifications 
are the primary instrument for ensuring transparency in the multilateral trading system. They are 
submitted by each Member and reviewed by the relevant bodies of the WTO. The importance 
attached by WTO Members to this issue explains the very elaborate system of notifications and 
cross-notifications put in place under the terms of most Agreements.  
15. The Report states that, with a few exceptions, compliance with notification r equirements of 
the various WTO Agreements remains very uneven and this, I think we can all agree, undermines 
individual agreements and more generally the operation of the multilateral trading system. There is 
no doubt in my mind that this Report provides u seful background information for Members to further 
consider the reasons behind the current overall poor status of notifications compliance and how to 
improve it.  
16. Now, let me first give the floor to the Director General to introduce his Report. Subsequentl y, 
I will open the floor for comments from delegations.  WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the int ernational Trading System  
 
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  INTRODUCTORY REMARKS  BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL  
17. Good afternoon. We are here to take stock of the recent major developments in the 
international trading system over the past 12 months.  
18. These developments  are presented in the Annual Report, which was circulated to Members on 
27 November in document WT/TPR/OV/21. As always, this Report is issued under my own 
responsibility.  
19. Transparency is essential to everything that we do at the WTO, at least it should be . It is 
central to maintain the predictability and stability of the multilateral trading system. This report and 
this annual overview are very important elements in these efforts.  
The report  
20. The Report takes stock of trade and trade -related measures imple mented across the WTO 
membership between mid -October 2017 and mid -October 2018.  
21. It outlines important trends in global trade policy making, and gives an overall assessment of 
the main developments observed over this period.  
22. The Report also presents a comp rehensive account of the state in notifications by WTO 
Members.  
23. This exercise is about transparency, objectivity and facts. It has no legal effect on the rights 
and obligations of WTO Members. It does not seek to pass any judgement on whether a trade 
measu re is protectionist or not. Nor does it question the explicit right of Members to adopt the trade 
measures that are covered by the Report.  
24. In a moment, I will outline some the key findings of the Report. But first, I would like to 
provide a brief backgroun d on the process of preparing the document.  
25. I would like, first of all, to thank the delegations that have actively participated in this exercise 
by providing relevant information on time, and by ensuring the subsequent verification of this 
information.  
26. Some 80 Members and 2 Observers contributed to this overview. This represents 49% of the 
membership, and it covers around 93% of world imports.  
27. This is positive, but, of course, we can still improve on the membership's participation. The 
other half did not  participate. There is an example of glass half -full, glass half -empty, wherever you 
want to see it. We can improve on that front. I strongly encourage all Members to do so in the future.  
28. Of course, the Secretariat remains available to help Members' under standing of this exercise 
and also to help facilitate their participation if that is the case.  
Key findings  
29. Let me now highlight a few of the key findings of the Report.  
30. It shows that 137 new trade -restrictive measures were put in place during the reviewed  
period. This represents a slightly higher rate than in the previous annual overview.  
31. Members also implemented 162 new measures that facilitate trade. Again, this also represents 
a higher rate than the previous annual overview.  
32. Looking at the trade coverag e helps to give a better perspective of the impact of these 
measures could be.  WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the international Trading System  
 
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  33. The trade coverage of the import -restrictive measures is estimated at 588 billion dollars. This 
is more than seven times larger than the figure for the previous annual overview . In fact, this is the 
largest coverage of such measures recorded by this trade monitoring exercise since it began. This 
should be of great concern to the WTO membership.  
34. But let me be clear, however, that the trade coverage number does not shed any light on the 
degree of restrictiveness of the measures adopted. It is a merely numerical exercise. Our report, 
therefore, does not measure the impact of the measures that were adopted. It simply quantifies the 
value of trade affected by the measures, with no qua litative analysis whatsoever.  
35. The trade coverage of the import -facilitating measures, again numerical not qualitative, was 
estimated at 295 billion dollars. This is almost 1.8 times higher than that recorded in the previous 
annual overview. However, it re presents only half the coverage of trade -restrictive measures 
recorded for the same period.  
36. Of course, these results are not quite surprising. We all have witnessed the tensions in the 
global trading environment over the past months.  
37. This proliferation of  trade restrictive measures and the uncertainty created by such actions 
could place economic recovery in jeopardy.  
38. Further escalation would carry potentially large risks for global trade, with knock -on effects 
for economic growth, jobs and consumer prices  around the world.  
39. World trade growth is beginning to slow. The latest World Trade Outlook Indicator released on 
26 November 2018 signalled a further loss of momentum in trade growth in the last quarter of 2018.  
40. The WTO Secretariat will continue to monitor these and other developments and report back 
to Members regularly.  
41. I urge Members to use all means at their disposal to de -escalate the situation. We may be 
beginning to see some progress, but as yet we clearly still have quite a way to go. We all need to 
engage in a 'solution finding mode' to dissipate these tensions.  
Other findings  
42. Let me know say a few words about some of the other findings of the Report.  
43. Trade remedy measures continue to be a very important trade policy tool for WTO Members.  
44. They accounted for about 63% of all trade measures captured. The main sectors targeted by 
trade remedy initiations relate to iron and steel, which represented just over 50% of trade remedy 
initiations.  
45. The trade coverage of initiations of trade remedy inves tigations was estimated at 93.6 billion 
dollars - more than 17 billion higher than the previous annual overview.  
46. The trade coverage of terminations of trade remedy actions was estimated at 18.3 billion 
dollars, 6 billion higher than the figure reported in  the last annual overview.  
47. I should again stress, particularly in the case of trade remedies, that the Report does not call 
into question the WTO consistency of any of the measures listed. Nor is the Report in a position to 
establish whether, where or when  any perceived distortive trade practices addressed by these 
measures have taken place.  
48. Now, let me turn to the Report's findings with respect to general economic support measures 
and subsidies.  
49. For this Report the Secretariat applied a more comprehensive  approach in covering general 
economic support measures and programmes.  WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the int ernational Trading System  
 
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  50. The result of this effort suggests that the nature of economic support measures has evolved 
considerably over the past decade. They now include a wider and more strategic applications  of 
subsidies.  
51. Here, the Secretariat requested the verification of 248 economic support measures taken by 
WTO Members. However, the response rate was quite low.  
52. In addition, a large number of Members, in response to the request for the verification of su ch 
measures, requested that these measures be omitted from the Report. As a result, it was again not 
possible to establish a balanced and comprehensive annex to the Report. Members may want to 
consider how this issue might be best addressed in the future. You have to decide what you want. 
Either you want these measures to be reported or not. Because that puts the Secretariat in a very 
strange position. We see the measures out there, it is in the press, it is everywhere. We call you, 
you don't deny that the measure exists and that it has been put in place, but you ask not to be 
included in the Report despite the fact that we say this has no legal value and will not be used in 
dispute settlement. I can understand, I sat on this side of the table as well but we  have to decide 
either you want that done or you don't. If you don't that is fine with us, I don't have a problem with 
that. The Secretariat is not going to do it. But we have to have guidance from you on whether you 
want these measures reported or not. So , I would encourage you to honestly have this conversation 
and decide, and tell us whether you want that or not. It would be unfair that the Secretariat do for 
those who don't request to be omitted and that they take out all the measures of those who asked  
to be omitted. I stress again that we are flexible, we do what you want but you have to give us some 
more clear and harmonious instruction.  
53. Now let me discuss trade in services. Here, most of the new measures implemented during 
the review period were trad e-facilitating rather than trade -restrictive. However, many of those 
appeared to be also trade -restrictive.  
54. The report shows the continued commitment of Members also to notify SPS and TBT measures. 
This is very positive.  
55. In fact, in both these Committees , Members have dedicated considerable time to discuss 
Specific Trade Concerns. This suggests an increasing use of the Committees by Members as forums 
in which trade concerns may be resolved non -litigiously.  
56. The report also shows that an increasing number o f trade concerns besides SPS and TBT were 
also raised in WTO bodies during the review period.  
57. Moreover, several trade concerns were raised in more than one WTO body, indicating that 
they involve technically complex and cross -cutting issues. This demonstra tes also the value of WTO 
committees as constructive platforms to have this kind of engagement.  
58. In addition, the report provides a comprehensive overview of the compliance and timeliness 
of Members' notifications to the WTO.  
59. It shows that Members could do a lot better on this front.  
60. I want to echo the Chair's comments here. Timely notifications constitute an essential element 
for transparency. We must continue to explore ways to improve compliance with notification 
obligations, including understanding why some Members have difficulties here. And some of those 
difficulties may be well legitimate. So, if we need to help in the efforts of compliance, the Secretariat 
is definitively ready to play its part.  
61. Finally, the Report also provides Members with an overv iew of the issues raised in individual 
Trade Policy Reviews. And on a positive note, it highlights the progress made in the implementation 
of WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement and the ITA, and also recent developments in intellectual 
property.  
Conclusion  
62. So, these are some of the principal findings that I wanted to share with you today.  WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the international Trading System  
 
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  63. I hope that this snapshot actually provides  some food for thought for your discussion this 
afternoon. Please talk particularly those things that I have asked you to. I would like to express my 
thanks again to all participants. I also want to thank the Secretariat again for their excellent work 
here.  
64. The message of the Report before us today is serious. We must work together now to 
overcome these challenges and ensure that trade continues to play a positive role in economies 
everywhere.  
65. In doing so, we must continue to strengthen this exercise and ensure that transparency 
remains a cornerstone of our work, here and in all the other Bodies of the WTO.  
66. Thank you for listening. I wish you a very productive meeting. I will be getting a report on the 
conversations here and I am looking forward to that. T hank you.  
STATEMENTS BY MEMBER S 
SINGAPORE  
67. Thank you very much Chair for convening this important meeting, and for your opening 
remarks. Our thanks also go to the Secretariat for this Report, and the Director -General for his 
introduction.  
68. We note from the R eport the various statistics. I have got them written down but I think, in 
the spirit of what the DG has said just now in encouraging us to engage on the issues that he had 
raised, I will just skip these paragraphs, where basically to acknowledge the resul ts of your findings 
in terms of the expansion of the trade -restrictive measures and the concerns that Members have.  
69. I want to perhaps pick a bit on the section on notifications because this year, in particular 
could maybe mark an important milestone in th e Membership seriously engaging on how to improve 
on our record on notifications. And as the Report had very usefully factually pointed out, the 
Membership's record indeed remains very uneven. The Director -General and the Report itself had 
reminded us why notification is so important and so central about what we are supposed to be doing 
and hoping to achieve through the WTO in terms of offering predictability, transparency, etc.  
70. I think what I would like to do basically on this point is to encourage Member s to participate 
actively in the on -going and, I hope, deepening discussion that we are going to have on this issue 
of improving on Members record of notifications. I think, on this issue, except for maybe handful of 
countries, no country is perfect on thi s. There are a lot of things that we can try to learn and 
participate in this exercise, so that we can contribute to what is improving on the current situation, 
in ways that we are all comfortable with and maybe also, more importantly, in ways that we are not 
comfortable with but which will help strengthen the system.  
71. And the other point I wanted to pick up on is this issue about the general economic support 
measures section of the Secretariat report and where the Director General highlighted again I 
thoug ht in a quite powerful way, and where he said that it is really up to the Members you decide 
whether you want the Secretariat to report on these measures or not. That was the mandate that 
was given to the Secretariat. The Secretariat had tried to do so and , when the Secretariat 
approached respective Members, the tendency is for Members to then request the Secretariat to 
leave out these particular measures. So, I think the Director General has put a very important 
question to us. Do we want the Secretariat t o continue to do this, only to have a situation where, 
most of the time, except for a handful of Members who will agree to verify and not obstruct the 
publication or the sharing of those measures, or not. Because I think it is really not fair to put the 
Secretariat in such a position because they are, after all, acting on our instructions. And I think 
Membership also needs to be a bit even -handed in how we give instructions, and how we expect to 
cooperate with the Secretariat on this. And I remember this to o was an issue that was discussed in 
July. It was the July addition, the mid -year Report. It was also highlighted at that point in time. And 
I seem to recall that the European Union had made some suggestions for consideration by the 
Membership as how to ad dress this issue and, again, if memory serves me right, what was suggested 
then, but which is still something to be decided and discussed by the Membership, is this point about 
maybe the Secretariat if you are still requested to continue with reporting on these measures and WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the int ernational Trading System  
 
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  seeking Members' verification, to then maybe append to that particular annex a very factual report 
to say who you had approached, who had maybe requested for the measures not to be reported on, 
and who had actually verified and allowed t he measures to proceed. That was the suggestion that 
was made. I don't remember having any further discussion after that but I think this is something 
we need to ask ourselves. Are we serious or are we not, about this trade monitoring exercise.  
MÉXICO  
72. Mi delegación quiere reconocer la labor y agradecer a la Secretaría por la elaboración de este 
informe, el cual se mantiene en los altos estándares a los que ya nos tiene acostumbrados y se 
constituye como una herramienta fundamental de diagnóstico para la Me mbresía respecto de las 
tendencias en la implementación de medidas de comercio e inversión.  
73. El reporte comienza a vislumbrar los efectos de las tensiones comerciales, lo cual, como bien 
se señala puede poner en jaque al crecimiento económico, la generación  de empleos y, por supuesto, 
el bienestar social.  
74. Las medidas restrictivas de comercio equivalieron a 481 mil millones de dólares, es una cifra 
que de ninguna manera es menor, y quizás sólo para ponerlo en contexto, ésta fue superior al total 
de las expor taciones de mi país en 2017 que fue del orden de 409 mil millones de dólares. No 
debemos dejar de mencionar que dicha cifra es 7 veces más grande que la del periodo anterior y la 
mayor desde que se hace este registro.  
75. Estas medidas comienzan a tener un imp acto en los flujos comerciales, de acuerdo con el 
Indicador de las Perspectivas de Comercio Mundial publicado el pasado 26 de noviembre, el 
crecimiento del comercio mundial seguirá atenuándose en el último trimestre de 2018, por lo que 
difícilmente lograre mos el crecimiento de 3,9% para este año pronosticado el pasado septiembre 
por la Secretaría de la OMC.  
76. Asimismo, vemos muy lamentable la insuficiente participación de los Miembros, tanto en 
proveer como en verificar la información, principalmente en lo qu e respecta a los apoyos otorgados. 
De acuerdo con el reporte, la Secretaría había identificado apoyos en un amplio rango de sectores, 
entre ellos, transporte, minería, energía y electricidad, los cuales, dado su carácter multianual, se 
encuentran en un ran go que versa entre entre 100 mil dólares y 50 mil millones de dólares.  
77. En este sentido, entendemos que, de ninguna forma, este ejercicio tiene la intención de 
calificar la validez de las medidas, pero sí de listarlas para que cada Miembro pueda llevar a ca bo 
una revisión, un diagnostico enmarcado por la transparencia, de los efectos que pueden tener en el 
comercio las medidas implementadas por algunos de los otros Miembros. Nos parece que los apoyos 
otorgados tienen un efecto en el comercio y, es por ello, que desde nuestra perspectiva este ejercicio 
debería incluirlos como parte del Informe.  
78. En cuanto a las medidas de facilitación, vemos con cierto alivio que, a pesar del entorno de 
tensiones comerciales, su implementación se mantenga en línea con la tenden cia de 2012 a 2017.  
79. Por lo que respecta a inversión extranjera directa, nos preocupa la fuerte desaceleración 
registrada en el periodo de examen, la cual equivale a una reducción de cerca del 40% con respecto 
al periodo anterior. De la misma forma, nos lla ma la atención que algunos Miembros hayan cambiado 
su régimen de inversión para incorporar disposiciones en materia de seguridad nacional. Por lo que 
estaremos atentos a estas políticas.  
80. Para concluir, Señor Presidente, a mi país le preocupa que el increme nto en las medidas 
restrictivas del comercio pueda contribuir al escalamiento de las tensiones comerciales y coloque al 
crecimiento económico mundial en serios problemas. Nos parece que es en este escenario, donde el 
compromiso de todos con un sistema mult ilateral de comercio sólido y basado en reglas es 
fundamental y, cuya salud en todos sus pilares, contribuya a diluir las tensiones comerciales.  
CHINA  
81. I would like to thank the DG for his introduction and the Secretariat for their great efforts in 
trying t o give the whole picture of the current situation.  WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the international Trading System  
 
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  82. We acknowledge the Secretariat's striving to ensure the trade monitoring reports are factual 
and objective. However, as DG said in his introduction that the facts there are serious. We note with 
great con cern the largest coverage of the import -restrictive measures recorded by the trade 
monitoring exercise, which is more than seven times larger than the figure for the previous annual 
overview and increasing trade remedies measures also with higher value tha n before.  
83. Furthermore, we are seriously concerned that trade protection measures taken in the name 
of national security are placing the multilateral rule -based trade system into danger of being torn 
apart. According a recent estimation by the Bank of Engl and, a global trade war – in which everyone 
raises tariffs on everyone else by around 10 percentage points – would slow worldwide GDP growth 
by around 2.5 per cent over three years. That would be a serious economic loss in the context of a 
$90 trillion glo bal economy and could affect almost every family on earth.   
84. What concerns us here is not only the commercial impact of the measures, which will cause 
damage to international trade, but also its significant impact on the rule -based multilateral trading 
system. What the world suffered in the 1930s tells us that erect ion of trade barriers does just the 
opposite to national security; while what we learned from 2008 tells us that maintaining an open 
trading system and taking collective action will enhance security, stability and development. The law 
of jungle will hurt e veryone.  
85. At this critical moment, we call all members to refrain from taking unilateral actions, but to 
follow the WTO rules with a view to safeguarding the normal international trade flows and upholding 
the rule -based multilateral trading system.  
86. In ter ms of notification, we agree with DG's assessment of the importance to strengthen the 
organization's transparency and enhance members' ability to fulfil their commitments. We 
recognized that the capacity constraint is the main course to hinder developing m embers' 
performance in fulfilling their notification obligations. We are of the view that capacity building 
through WTO's technical assistance and training plan should be the priority in our efforts to enhance 
transparency.  
EUROPEAN  UNION  
87. The EU thanks the  Director -General and the Secretariat for the release of the report. As 
always, it is well prepared and comprehensive.  
88. The report includes some positive developments during the review: a significant rise of trade 
facilitation measures, an increase in the number of Members that ratified the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement (to 84%), progress on the negotiations on fisheries subsidies, other ongoing work on the 
Buenos Aires Joint Statement initiatives.  
89. Nevertheless Chair, both you and the Director -General have h ighlighted protectionist 
tendencies which are of concern for everyone.  
90. The increase in trade -restrictive measures has accelerated (11 new measures on average per 
month compared to 9 during the previous period) and the trade coverage of trade -restrictive 
measures is 7 times higher than last year;  
91. Whereas the trade coverage of import -facilitating measures is only half of that of trade 
restrictive measures.  
92. The EU agrees with the Director -General that this rise of trade restrictive measures in times 
of trad e tensions puts the global trade system at risk. It is indeed our collective responsibility to 
de-escalate the situation and to make the global trading system work, and the EU is trying its utmost 
to do its share.  
93. In this context, I would like to draw atte ntion to the section on notifications in the report. It 
rightly observes that the low level of compliance with notification obligations in several key areas 
undermines the functioning of the multilateral trading system. Subsidies (where the share of 
Member s not making any notification has increased substantially over the years) and State Trading 
Enterprises (where the declining trend in total notifications has accentuated over the past few years) WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the int ernational Trading System  
 
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  are the most evident cases in point. It is against this backg round that the EU is eager to work with 
Members on its proposal on notification compliance it has made with other Members in the Council 
for Trade in Goods.  
94. Further, we regret that the Secretariat was once again unable to include an annex about 
economic s upport measures in the Report, mainly because of the low response rate of Members to 
the requests for information and verification of measures. We hear the DG's and Secretariat's call 
for guidance, including on the question what constitutes a "general econ omic support measure" for 
the purpose of this Report, and we appreciate its relentless efforts to prepare an annex on these 
measures.  
95. As Members will recall – and they do recall as noted by Ambassador of Singapore just now - 
the EU has made two suggestions  regarding this problem at the informal TPRB meeting of 25 July, 
which were supported by several Members. First, we proposed that non -verified support measures 
should be included in the Report with a remark: "no response to verification request received". 
Second, we suggested that Members requesting the deletion of a measure should be ready to explain 
the reasons for such request to other Members, in a restricted and informal format, if preferred.  
96. Indeed, as the Secretariat has cast the net wider in the in formation gathering process that led 
to the present Report, it may be necessary to discuss whether certain measures should be 
incorporated in the Report or not. We are ready to engage further in this discussion, as suggested 
by the DG. The question arises,  for example, on export credit programmes under the OECD 
arrangement, which are provided on transaction -based conditions offered on market terms and 
already well documented with extensive transparency requirements. If other Members, not covered 
by the OECD  arrangement, find that the export credits should be reported as general economic 
support measures, the EU would agree to report them too.  
97. We call on Members to give this important transparency exercise the attention it deserves and 
provide the Secretaria t with robust enough input so that it can produce an annex on economic 
support measures for the summer edition of the Report.  
COSTA  RICA 
98. Costa Rica wishes to congratulate and thank the Secretariat on the presentation of the WTO 
Trade Monitoring Report, for  the period covering October 2017 through October 2018.  
99. Although the analysis shows an increase in protectionist measures and a decrease in trade 
growth, the increase in trade facilitating measures shines a light in this somber scenario. We 
therefore choos e to be optimistic in the eve of a new year.  
100.  We also welcome the continuous support that Members grant to the different WTO bodies, 
and we note that the trust of the membership in the dispute settlement system and the Appellate 
Body prevails, regardless of  the difficult time it is going through.  
101.  As Members of the multilateral trading system and having profited from its benefits, Costa  Rica 
cannot turn a blind eye in this defining moment. We have seen how the lack of compliance in 
notification obligations ha s reached levels in which the mere systemic functioning of the Organization 
can be affected. Transparency is one of the WTO's main pillars, and a public good we must all protect. 
Through the compliance of the notification obligations, we strengthen the Org anization's negotiating 
and monitoring muscles, and reduce the risk of trade frictions and conflict.  
102.  With this is mind, Costa Rica co -sponsored along with other Members, a proposal focused on 
transparency and compliance of the notification requirements (JO B/GC/204 and JOB/CTG/14). The 
spirit that motivated us to subscribe this proposal relied on three main elements. First, the 
reactivation of the Working Group on Notification Obligations and Procedures. We believe it can serve 
as a forum for discussion on r ecommendations to improve compliance, to understand the nature and 
scope of situations of non -compliance, and above all, identify solutions to address them. Second, 
we strongly support the technical assistance and capacity -building function of the Secretar iat that 
helps developing members in the compliance of the notification obligations. We note, though, that 
there is room for improvement, thus we must achieve high participation of members within the 
Working Group. Third, we believe in the collective engag ement of Members to address these WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the international Trading System  
 
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  noncompliance situations and to consider them as exceptions to the norm, therefore we encourage 
the presentation of information of any outstanding obligation to understand where assistance is 
required.  
103.  Chair, we would like  to see more Members support this proposal. We appreciate all the inputs 
and comments we have received so far, and hope that together, we can work and tune it to the 
challenges the WTO faces. We trust it can be an instrument to reinforce the Organization's  pillar of 
trade monitoring.  
HONG  KONG,  CHINA  
104.  We thank the Director -General and his team for preparing this high -quality annual report on 
the developments in the international trading environment.  
105.  The report reveals that 137 new trade -restrictive measures were applied during the review 
period. It is alarming to see that the trade coverage of the import -restrictive measures is seven 
times larger than that recorded in the previous annual overview.  
106.  While WTO Members implemented 162 trade facilitating measures during the review period, 
and the average of 14 measures per month represents an increase compared with the average of 
11 in the previous annual overview, the trade coverage of the import -facilitating measures is only 
half of the trade -restrictive measures . 
107.  We are actually not  surprised by such figures, as they simply reflect the escalation of trade 
tensions among major economies. Hong Kong, China is very much concerned with the proliferation 
of trade -restrictive actions and the uncertainty that this would bring to the global t rading 
environment. We urge all Members to exercise restraint and act within the WTO framework.  
108.  Concerning anti -dumping, we are glad to see that there is a decrease in such initiations, and 
a sharp increase in terminations of trade remedy actions in the cu rrent period. However, we still 
consider that the persistent large number of anti -dumping investigations initiated in recent years, 
and the rising trend of the initiation of countervailing investigations since 2015 (as reflected in 
Chart  3.6), coupled with  the consistently large ratio of extension of trade remedy measures resulting 
from reviews (as reflected in Table 3.9), may suggest a pattern of continued and customised use of 
trade remedy measures for protectionist purpose. We call on Members to exercise  caution and 
restraint when considering the use of these actions to avoid creating unnecessary restrictions to 
trade.  
109.  Turning to transparency. Given the importance of transparency to the multilateral trading 
system, we are disappointed that only 80 Members  replied to the Director General's initial request 
for information and requests for verification. We also note that in many cases the Secretariat 
received only partial responses. We are also disappointed that an annex on general economic support 
measures i s again not available as a result of the lack of response from Members. The compliance 
with notification requirements of the various WTO Agreements remains uneven.  
110.  We would encourage Members to actively participate in the discussions currently taking place  
at WTO to enhance compliance of notification requirements. For Members which have reservations 
or constraints in responding to Director -General's call for information, we would encourage them to 
share their views on the matter. And, in respect of the prop osal and ideas put forward by the EU at 
the last meeting and again in this meeting, I wish to indicate that Hong Kong, China is ready to 
engage in a discussion. We hope all of us could work together constructively to consider ways to 
improve the situation.  
UNITED  STATES  
111.  Thanks Chair and the Director General for introducing the Report today and to the Secretariat 
for its efforts to compile the information based upon what appears to be a reasonably strong 
participation from Members at least in terms of trade coverage. This positive outlook in terms of 
participation is obviously diminished by what we have heard this afternoon in terms of this problem 
of request for omission, absence of information related to economic support programmes and we 
certainly agree wi th the Director General that we, as Members, need to look into what this implies WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the int ernational Trading System  
 
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  for the value of this monitoring exercise and we thank the European Union for reminding us of some 
specific ideas that may help us.   
112.  The U.S. remains grateful that the Report  continues to clearly stipulate, in the context of 
discussing trade remedies, that such measures are fully permitted under WTO rules as a legitimate 
response to unfair trade practices.  
113.  We have taken note of the Report's emphasis on an increase in trade -restrictive measures 
during this reporting period, as highlighted by the Director General both yesterday and again in the 
HoD meeting today.  
114.  We have also taken note of statements of concern made in this meeting with regard to these 
developments.  
115.  The U.S. ackn owledges that tariff increases imposed by our Government, together with 
various counter -measures implemented by other WTO Members, constitute part of the landscape 
underlying the data presented in this Report.  
116.  It is important to note, however, that tariffs  are undoubtedly a particularly easy trade 
instrument to measure.  
117.  It is much more challenging to identify, measure, and calculate the full trade impact of a wide 
variety of "behind the border" policies and restrictions that affect all of us, and that indee d cannot 
be separated from the responses that my Government has chosen to pursue.   
118.  And it is these policies, and not responses by the United States or other Members to address 
these trade distorting policies, that are a threat to the international trading  system.  
119.  We appreciate the efforts of the Secretariat to collect information on these more opaque 
barriers, but this will remain a significant challenge.  
120.  That challenge is, in many cases, amplified by the enormous problem facing this Organization 
of lack o f transparency through the notifications procedures of our various agreements. This 
substantial shortcoming has been clearly identified by the United States and those Members working 
with us as co -sponsors of a proposal, in the CTG, intended to remedy this  situation. We look forward 
to continuing to work with other Members to advance progress on this proposal.  
121.  The United States appreciates particular focus given to this issue of notifications both by you, 
Mr. Chairman in your introduction and by the Directo r-General in his statement this afternoon.  
THE SEPARATE  CUSTOMS  TERRITORY  OF TAIWAN,  PENGHU,  KINMEN  AND  MATSU  
122.  We appreciate the efforts of the Secretariat in producing this Overview of Developments in 
the International Trading Environment for 2018 (WT/TPR/ OV/21), and the G20 Trade Measures 
Report as well, issued in November.  
123.  As anticipated by the DG and mentioned in the briefing, we are particularly concerned about 
the huge number of new trade -restrictive measures applied by G20 and WTO Members over the 
review period. At this time, when the WTO itself is coming up to a new turning point, there should 
be a willingness among Members to facilitate trade more effectively, and to refrain from 
protectionism going forward.  
124.  Other concerns highlighted by the Report a re the low participation and response rate by 
Members to the request for verification of the information regarding general economic support 
measures, and the lack of compliance with notification obligations across WTO bodies. Also, Members 
should pay speci al attention to avoiding the trade -restrictive effect of measures on trade in services 
adopted on national security grounds, including policies affecting Internet and other 
network -enabled services.  
125.  Some trends noted in the Report, however, are welcome. On e is that Members continue to 
raise trade concerns in a wider range of WTO bodies, though many were persistent problems. Also, WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the international Trading System  
 
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  we are pleased to see the expansion of the ITA and the progress on implementation of the TFA, both 
of which contribute greatly to  trade facilitation.  
126.  It is also noted that more Members requested consultations in new disputes, which suggests 
that the WTO dispute settlement system is still seen as a useful way to resolve trade disputes. My 
delegation fully supports the WTO for continu ing to conduct trade monitoring activity in a transparent 
and predictable way. We urge more Members to participate in this, and to work together towards 
improving the functioning of the WTO.  
CHILE  
127.  Permítame en primer lugar felicitar a la Secretaría del Órg ano de Examen de las Políticas 
Comerciales por el excelente y exhaustivo informe sobre la evolución del entorno comercial 
internacional. Este documento constituye, sin duda, un valioso aporte para conocer las tendencias 
que está adoptando el comercio inter nacional actualmente, permitiéndonos avizorar las condiciones 
en las que deberemos actuar y, eventualmente, visualizar las medidas necesarias para enfrentar esa 
nueva realidad.  
128.  Lamentablemente la información entregada nos da cuenta de una realidad preocupante. Como 
allí se señala, las cifras muestran que han aumentado significativamente la cobertura de las medidas 
restrictivas del comercio. Ello ha impactado el crecimiento del comercio mundial el cual se ralentizó 
durante el período examinado a medi da que se multiplicaron las tensiones comerciales y se 
endurecieron las condiciones financieras mundiales. Por otra parte, la proliferación de medidas con 
efectos de restricción del comercio y la incertidumbre creada por tales medidas podría poner en 
peligro la recuperación económica.  
129.  Sin duda que tales noticias resultan muy malas para todos los Miembros, pero particularmente 
negativas para aquellos Miembros cuya economía se sostiene de manera importante en el comercio 
internacional. Ello sería aún más comp licado si se agudizan las tensiones comerciales y aumente la 
volatilidad financiera.  
130.  Por otra parte, vemos con interés la información entregada en cuanto a que los Miembros de 
la OMC aplicaron también 162 medidas destinadas a facilitar el comercio. Ello s ignifica una luz de 
confianza en el nebuloso panorama que parecemos tener por delante.  
131.  En cuanto a la compleja situación que se vive en el sistema de solución de diferencias, y 
específicamente en lo que se refiere al nombramiento de los miembros del Órgano  de Apelación, nos 
llama la atención que los Miembros siguen recurriendo a ese sistema como medio para resolver sus 
diferencias comerciales. Ello no sería más que una demostración de la necesidad que tienen los 
Miembros por el correcto funcionamiento de es te sistema. Como lo hemos señalado en múltiples 
ocasiones e instancias, resulta de suma importancia que seamos capaces de resolver el actual 
impasse.  
132.  Finalmente, quisiera llamar la atención respecto del bajo nivel de participación y de respuesta 
de los Miembros de la OMC a la solicitud de esa información y su verificación, según señala el 
informe. En este sentido, reiteramos una vez más nuestro compromiso sistémico con la 
transparencia y revisión por pares basada en hechos, por lo que invitamos a todos l os Miembros a 
contribuir activamente en la entrega de los antecedentes solicitados por la Secretaría con el fin de 
mejorar la calidad de la información que se nos está entregando.  
RUSSIAN  FEDERATION  
133.  Russia welcomes the release of the Report. We appreciate the personal role of the Director 
General and the Secretariat as well as the contribution of Members to this monitoring exercise.  
134.  In spite of the fine weather that we witness today, the report unveils that gloomy clouds are 
gathering over the world trade l andscape.  
135.  We do not want to be trivial and to analyse whether it is good or not that 11 new measures 
appeared monthly on the average or that the World trade will grow by 3.4% which is lower than in 
the previous forecast. We will identify a few strategic is sues. WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the int ernational Trading System  
 
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  136.  First. The main trade restricting measure is a misty future of the Appellate Body. It is naturally, 
that this measure can't be included into the structure of the Report. Still it possesses a systemic, 
strategic influence on trade restriction.  
137.   Second . The volume of trade covered by newly introduced trade restricting measures 
rocketed by 7 times. No extensive comments — all is clear.  
138.  What about trade -facilitating measures — their amount increased either, from 11 to 14 per 
month. Dear friends, we would like to report that during the reviewed period, Russia introduced 
4 measures restricting trade and 31 trade facilitating measure. They were included into the Report. 
Hence, out of a total 162 trade facilitating measures mentioned in the Report, Russia intr oduced 31. 
Listing of these measures takes 5 entire pages of the Report, namely pages 151 -155. Moscow stands 
for fair trade. According to OECD Russia belongs to 11 states, which fulfil the WTO requirements 
most accurately.  
139.  However, general world tendency o n trade restriction is evident and emerges as a reason for 
our deep concern. One can't but add that there are trade restricting measures, which are forbidden 
by the WTO rules. There are measures allowed by the WTO rules, but nevertheless restricting trade.  
There are also trade restricting measures which are beyond the WTOs framework. All of them are 
actively used by strong trading players. The Members which acceded to the WTO most recently, 
including Russia, are in the most discriminatory conditions. We fac e quotas determined before and 
restricting market access, antidumping measures, standards, the volumes of import subsidization 
which newly acceded members have never dreamt of. Is this a fair trade?  
140.  That is why we do have reasons for a deep concern on the increase of new trade restricting 
measures.  
141.  Russia stands for transparency. That is why when we hear the proposals on the WTO reform 
relating to the transparency or to the Appellate Body preservation — we stand for them. But 
inevitable questions arise, whe n we hear the term "trade rules" in the reform context. Since today, 
at this meeting, we review trade restricting measures, wouldn't the trade rules reform lead to new 
restrictions that will be legalized and will be considered fair as a result of the refor m? 
142.  That is why anxious thoughts arise when we develop the subject of today's report.  
143.  Along with that, undoubtedly the Report is a very valuable input to our work. We acknowledge 
great amount of dedicated work that has been put by the Secretariat into this large and thorough 
document, containing as much as 133 pages plus annexes.  
SWITZERLAND  
144.  Special thanks must also be addressed to the Director General and the Secretariat for having 
compiled yet another outstanding monitoring report — a report, which once mo re contains a wealth 
of information.  
145.  Moreover, it is a report, which was issued at a very propitious moment indeed.  
146.  Rarely have trade measures grabbed the headlines of the world's news media in such fashion 
as to express widespread worry about where global  trade is heading.  
147.  The trade monitoring report seems to vindicate these concerns in many ways. It does so by 
being very much matter -of-fact. Its dispassionate language allows us to take an impartial glance at 
what is happening.  
148.  What we see is that the impo sition of trade -restrictive measures is on the rise once more — 
this after an encouraging period during which their number had actually decreased.  
149.  Yet, what is disturbing is not this unfortunate reversal of a hitherto positive development. 
There have been higher numbers of new trade restrictive measures in the past.  WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the international Trading System  
 
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  150.  The number of recently initiated anti -dumping investigations does not necessarily suggest 
there will be an excessive imposition of concrete measures in the near future.  
151.  With a bit of luck, count ervailing duty initiations may actually have peaked last year.  
152.  Conventional safeguard initiations have even been declining, although this downward trend 
could be levelling off this year.  
153.  Other forces must be at play here. As we look at the very useful tables annexed to the report, 
we observe that quite a few of these newly introduced restrictive measures do not fall under the 
category of the more traditional or classic trade remedies.  
154.  A substantial amount of them is subsumed under the catch -all category  of "other trade -related 
measures". Which by no means diminishes their importance. On the contrary, they appear to have 
the greatest impact.  
155.  What is striking is the fact that the actual trade coverage of these new measures seems 
unprecedented. This tells u s that many of the more recent trade restrictions are of a distinct quality. 
Because of this, they are bound to entail wider and more adverse ramifications than usual.  
156.  Innocuous though they may sound, these other trade -related measures will of course conti nue 
to keep us occupied.  
157.  On the positive side, we take note of the fact that measures aimed at facilitating trade have 
increased. On top of that, the trade coverage of these steps is substantial. This encouraging 
development — amongst other things - bears  testimony to the utility and importance of the 
rules-based multilateral trading system.  
158.  We very much welcome the report's emphasis on how digitalization will transform the way 
global commerce is conducted. This is a development whose significance is under estimated by many. 
Digital technology harbours tremendous potential. In a more distant future, it may induce us to take 
a fresh look at the more habitual aspects of international trade — from rules of origin to non -tariff 
barriers, from trade in goods and services to the protection of intellectual property rights and the 
free flow of data.  
159.  Let me finish by underlining the importance of what is commonly labelled as "general economic 
support measures". These support measures are known for their complexity. B ut they are also apt 
to engender injurious distortions in trade. This is an issue which must be taken very seriously. More 
must be known about these measures. We must therefore strive to create more transparency in this 
field. Appropriate measures will hav e to be found.  
160.  This is such a decisive issue that we feel that much of the future of this Organization could 
depend on how it is being dealt with. Our rules -based system may only flourish if more is done to 
work towards to the establishment of the right co mpetitive conditions.  
AUSTRALIA  
161.  Australia supports the important role of the Trade Monitoring Reports, produced by the WTO, 
in helping to provide transparency and understanding of the policy actions of WTO Members.  
162.  For business, transparency is critical. T ools such as the Trade Monitoring Reports help to 
ensure equitable access to fair, timely, factual and objective information among Members.  
163.  Recently in Ottawa some of a number of our Ministers said we should "strengthen the 
monitoring and transparency of members' trade policies which play a central role in ensuring WTO 
members understand the policy actions taken by their partners in a timely manner."  
164.  At Buenos Aires G20 Leaders recognized the need to improve the functioning of the WTO.  WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the int ernational Trading System  
 
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  165.  In line with such st atements, and the comments earlier by the Director -General, there is a 
need to put the shoulder to the wheel and for Members to commit to support the Trade Monitoring 
Reports.  
166.  One particular issue is that of the low participation and response rate of Membe rs regarding 
general economic support measures. We would be interested to hear of ideas on how to improve 
this. Having a strong commitment to the trade monitoring report process is clearly a fundamental 
first step.  
COLOMBIA  
167.  En primer lugar, expresamos nues tro agradecimiento a la Secretaría por la preparación de 
este informe, y los esfuerzos realizados en recoger la información de los miembros y sistematizarla 
en una publicación que nos permite tener datos comparables.  
168.  Se trata de un reporte que aporta info rmación muy relevante para todos los Miembros y que 
evidencia la importancia del compromiso de transparencia al interior de esta Organización. En la 
medida que todos los Miembros participemos activamente aportando información clara y de manera 
oportuna, to dos podremos acceder a análisis de calidad que faciliten la toma de decisiones de política 
pública.   
169.  Mi Delegación ha estado comprometida con las diversas actividades que adelanta el Órgano 
de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales, y reconoce el valor de es tos ejercicios colectivos de análisis, 
no solo presentando la información para la elaboración de este reporte, sino también en la 
presentación de nuestro propio examen de política comercial en junio de este año.  
170.  Damos la bienvenida a las 162 políticas reg istradas tendientes a facilitar y dinamizar el 
comercio.  
171.  Sin embargo, el reporte identifica 137 medidas restrictivas, que tal como lo mencionó el 
Director General, afectan el desempeño económico global y ponen en riesgo la recuperación, lo que 
tiene un im pacto significativo especialmente para los países en desarrollo  
172.  De igual manera, tal como se ha puesto en evidencia en otros escenarios, este ejercicio reitera 
la importancia de un mayor compromiso con la transparencia y la presentación de las notificacio nes. 
El desempeño en el área de notificaciones sigue teniendo una tendencia baja y esto es una señal 
que los Miembros debemos atender.  
173.  Mas aún, compartimos la preocupación de que, en algunos casos los Miembros hayan 
solicitado que se retire información so bre medidas específicas sobre apoyo interno que se han 
adoptado en el periodo de tiempo objeto de análisis. Colombia respalda que la Secretaría siga 
trabajando en la identificación de estas medidas pues su impacto en el desempeño comercial es de 
gran relev ancia. La presentación de esta información se podría hacer de manera fáctica en un anexo 
en el reporte.  
174.  El informe hoy presentado por el director general tiene importantes vínculos con otros dos 
reportes recientemente publicados: El indicador de las persp ectivas del comercio mundial y el 
informe sobre las medidas comerciales adoptadas por el G20.  
175.  Estos reportes ponen de relieve que el desempeño del comercio internacional enfrenta 
dificultades importantes, que se acentúan por la creciente adopción de medida s restrictivas por parte 
de las principales 20 economías.  
176.  La tendencia de crecimiento de los flujos comerciales ha venido disminuyendo a lo largo de 
los últimos trimestres, y las perspectivas que se identifican para los próximos meses no son 
alentadoras registrando una pérdida de impulso en todos los indicadores analizados.  
177.  Estos reportes son un llamado a fortalecer el compromiso con la transparencia y con la 
adopción de medidas orientadas a facilitar el comercio.  
178.  Agradecemos nuevamente a la Secretaría por este importante ejercicio.  WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the international Trading System  
 
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  KINGDOM  OF SAUDI  ARABIA  
179.  The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would like to thank the Chair and the Director General for their 
very insightful and comprehensive statement. We also would like to express our appreciation for the 
hard work of the TPRM Division especially for Mr. Peter Pedersen an d his team.  
180.  The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would like to reiterate its support to the trade monitoring 
process, as it enhances transparency of trade policy development around the world and updates 
WTO Members about the implementation of trade -facilitating mea sures to further liberalize trade as 
well as trade -restrictive measures in times of economic crisis when protectionist pressures tend to 
be increased.  
181.  We would like to confirm our commitment to the exercise, transparency and peer review based 
on facts. We also would like to highlight that the Kingdom was one of the top five, notifying 
measures. In the field of the general economic support, the Kingdom has undertaken several 
facilitating measures in different fields.  
182.  Mr. Chair, I know that in this house the flow of cross -border trade and trade policy are the 
focus. On the other hand, the IMF is in charge of the capital flow and the exchange rate measures 
and the same Members in the IMF also in the WTO. I would like to just read a comparison because 
I believe the IMF has gaining the strength from the surveillance exercise. Article IV states that the 
Fund should exercise firm surveillance over the exchange rate arrangements of Members. Then the 
IMF should oversee the international monetary system in order to ens ure its effective operation.  
183.  I think there is a clear issue about the transparency and also about the information that we 
release in the right time. That is why I think focusing on the TPR Mechanism is an important element 
for the sustainability of this sy stem down the road.  
NORWAY  
184.  Norway would like to thank the Director -General for this important report.  
185.  As pointed out by you, Chair, this exercise is anchored in the TPRB mandate. It is an important 
part of our regular work, and it is the responsibility of all members to submit timely information 
when requested by the secretariat in its preparations of the report.  
186.  Furthermore, when members are asked to double check the accuracy of information has 
collected, we should all provide written responses within the deadline set by the secretariat.  
187.  Regarding the question posed by the DG, Norway will continue to support the inclusion of 
general economic support, and we are open to discuss alternative ways of dealing with the challenges 
on this particular point. But as a minimum level of transparency, we think that it would not be too 
much to expect that members provide an explanation to why they have determined that certain 
information should not be included in the report.  
188.  The annual reports on developments in the inter national trading system are vital contributions 
to trade policy transparency and provide members with valuable insight into the facts on the ground.  
189.  Norway is deeply concerned by on -going developments and the risks that these developments 
pose to the WTO, the multilateral trading system and global economic stability. Unfortunately, the 
findings in the report add to the bleak outlook.  
190.  The report's most disturbing finding is the significant increase in coverage of trade restrictive 
measures. A trade coverage amounting to USD 588.3 billion – more than  
191.  seven times larger than that recorded in the previous annual overview - is deeply worrying. 
Further escalation of trade tensions comes with large and tangible risks for international trade and 
global economic grow th. 
192.  The report points to the fact that the level of dispute settlement activity remains high and that 
members continue to resort to the dispute settlement system as a means of resolving trade disputes. WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the int ernational Trading System  
 
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  This fact underlines the need to break the deadlock ov er The Appellate Body appointments as a 
matter of the highest priority.  
193.  The report also emphasises that compliance with notification requirements remains uneven, 
and that lack of capacity is one of the main reason for this. Norway agrees that this issue mu st be 
addressed collectively by the membership, and that increased efforts are needed.  
194.  We share the view that the current track record of members' compliance with their notification 
obligations is not good enough. Transparency is essential for building tru st and laying the ground 
for bringing the multilateral trading system forward. For our part, we are working actively in the 
Committee on Agriculture to strengthen notification compliance of members.  
195.  On the positive side, we are glad to note that members co ntinue to adopt and implement 
trade -facilitating measures at a relatively steady pace and that there is progress on the 
implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement and the ITA Expansion.  
196.  In conclusion, we are grateful to the secretariat for your eff orts to provide the membership 
with an updated overview of the state of affairs. It is now up to us as members to make use of this 
information in order to make sure that the situation does not deteriorate further, but rather inspires 
us to channel even mor e energy into our joint effort to improve this organisation, in order to ensure 
that the WTO is an instrument that works to the benefit of all members.  
BRAZIL  
197.  Brazil congratulates the Secretariat for the work undertaken in preparing the Trade Monitoring 
Report. This is a very robust report that provides a comprehensive oversight of trade policies of WTO 
members and so it allows us to have a clearer picture of the current trade landscape. We cannot 
stress enough the need to have more and better information i n a time of pronounced uncertainties 
in the global economy. To the wider community, this report is the most visible product of the 
monitoring and transparency pillar of the organization.  
198.  Concerning the section on general economic support measures, Brazil h as reviewed and 
confirmed all the measures that were identified by the secretariat and that were implemented during 
the period covered by this report. In some of our cases, support measures involved national agencies 
that are not necessarily familiar with the work of the WTO and with monitoring routines. It was 
sometimes challenging to get an adequate response from them in the limited time that we had to 
review and to confirm the measures identified by the secretariat. Nevertheless, given our 
commitment to this exercise, we fortunately managed to do so.  
199.  To conclude, I would like to say that Brazil has always engaged constructively with the 
monitoring exercise and will continue to do so. Thank you.  
AFGHANISTAN  
200.  At the outset my delegation congratulates Director General and the Secretariat for preparation 
and presentation of the Report today. Meanwhile, we join others by expressing our concerns with 
regards to the increase in the trade restrictive measures during this review period and urges 
Members to restrain themselves of applying of this and other trade restrictive measures.  
201.  I am very disappointed by noticing that Afghanistan has not contributed in the report. We 
wish we could be given the chance to provide th e required information.  
202.  However, Afghanistan as an LDC and latest Member of this Organization, attaches great 
importance to its obligations towards WTO based on its accession protocol especially full filing 
transparency and notification obligations. I am happy to report that since its membership in 
July 2016, Afghanistan has already notified 17 notifications in different areas including TFA, Rule of 
origin, SPS, TBT, export subsidies, enactment of new legislation, etc.  
203.  Afghanistan believes in the open and  free trade and we have the lowest tariffs in our region. 
For example, in 2017, our average applied tariff rate across all goods was 6.69 whereas the simple WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the international Trading System  
 
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  average bound rate in WTO across all goods stands at 13.6%. Afghanistan levies no excise taxes on 
imports and strives to facilitate more and more cross border trades.  
204.  Thanks to our recent years efforts by streamlining the doing business administrative 
procedures and rules including cross border trade, Afghanistan recognized as top reformer in the 
recen t WB doing business indicator Report 2019 jumping 16 level from 183 to 167 ranking.  
205.  As we notice LDCs are not covered by the reports and now this fact brings me to the question 
that why is that?  
206.  The first reason might be the capacity constraints that cau ses low level of notification 
compliance by LDCs.  
207.  The other reason, as the report mentions, the request for the proving the information was 
sent only to 120 Members so maybe they were excluded in that phase. In that case, I would suggest 
that Secretariat includes LCDs and provides capacity -building and technical assistance to address 
the capacity constraints of LDCs for better and timely compliance of LDCs notification obligations, in 
particular, to contribute in the future report of this kind future repor t. 
JAPAN  
208.  First of all, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation for the dedicated work carried out 
by the Director General and his team to develop this comprehensive report. It helps us formulate a 
common basis for understanding the outlook for, as  well as the status quo of, the multilateral trading 
system, which is facing significant challenges under the current trade tension.  
209.  According to the report, we can observe an increase in the trade coverage of trade -facilitating 
measures in this review per iod. The trade coverage of trade -facilitating measures is 1.8 times higher 
than that of the previous period. We very much welcome this situation as a sign of Members' intent 
to move towards increased trade liberalization. On the other hand, trade coverage of trade -
restrictive measures has increased sharply to a level that is more than seven times higher than that 
of the previous period. As a result, the trade coverage of the import -restrictive measures is almost 
twice that of import -facilitating measures. A lso, the trade coverage of trade remedy initiations, such 
as of Anti -Dumping and Countervailing Duties, introduced during this period is 1.2 times higher than 
that of the previous period. As further escalation of such proliferation of trade -restrictive act ions 
could bring about potentially large risks for the multilateral trading system, it is definitely in WTO 
Members' best interests to work together using all means to address this situation.  
210.  In order to maintain and strengthen the multilateral trading sys tem, we have to be further 
engaged in notification activities for enhancing transparency and predictability. In this regard, we 
truly appreciate WTO Members' efforts towards promoting notifications regarding SPS - and TBT -
related measures. We also welcome t he current practice of discussing Specific Trade Concerns 
(STCs) in the SPS and TBT Committees, as it facilitates non -litigious resolution in an efficient 
manner. Having said that, we have some concerns about notifications regarding economic support 
measur es in general. According to the report, compliance with the notification requirements of the 
various WTO agreements remains uneven among Members. We should not jeopardize the values 
and functions of the multilateral trading system with a lack of compliance . To this end, Japan, 
together with the other co -sponsors, circulated a communication during the CTG meeting in 
November, which proposes that the General Council adopt a set of procedures to enhance 
transparency and strengthen notification requirements und er WTO agreements.  
211.  Additionally, in order to further facilitate global trade — especially in the current digital age — 
we strongly encourage Members to participate in the original Information Technology Agreement 
(ITA) and its expansion in 2015. We also en courage Members who have not yet concluded the 
ratification processes of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) to expedite their implementation 
procedures.  
212.  Furthermore, we would like to mention Members' dedicated efforts on new issues, such as 
electronic commerce, investment facilitation, MSMEs and women's economic empowerment, as well 
as on negotiations on fisheries subsidies, following the discussions in MCI 1 in Buenos Aires. 
Specifically, in the current digital age, we are convinced that facilitating a n open, fair and secure WT/TPR/W/160  • Overview of Developments in the int ernational Trading System  
 
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  environment for electronic commerce is crucial for encouraging participation of MSMEs and women 
in the multilateral trading system. As a co -convener of the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic 
Commerce, Japan welcomes the progre ss of discussions so far and would like to further facilitate 
the initiative in an open, transparent and inclusive manner.  
213.  Finally, we appreciate that 93 WTO Members and Observers have participated in the 
preparation of this report. In order to maintain an d strengthen the multilateral trading system, we 
have to harness the full potential of the WTO's monitoring function. To this end, Japan remains 
committed to contributing to the development of this report and encourages further engagement by 
the WTO Member s and Observers in its preparation.  
NIGERIA  
214.  Thank you Chair for convening this meeting, for your remarks and for the conduct of this 
meeting. We commend the Director General and the Secretariat for producing an excellent report 
as usual as a basis for deli beration.  
215.  My delegation would like to highlight the following: that it is important to underscore that the 
Report reviews a number of important trends in global trade policy making. In particular, the Report 
noted that, while WTO Members continued to imple ment trade -facilitating measures during the 
review period, the increase recorded in trade -restrictive measures is of great concern to our 
delegation.  
216.  We believe that the objective of the Report is twofold. First and foremost, a factual and 
comprehensive re port that is very valuable. Second, the opportunity to provide to a Member to 
improve on the performance and records particularly where gaps exist.  
217.  Finally, Nigeria attaches importance to transparency, which has a systemic importance. It 
allows the monitor ing of Members' trade measures and practices, and of the impact on the 
multilateral trading system. We note the statement by the Director General that the compliance of 
notification obligations remains uneven. However, almost all of the Members of the WTO are affected 
in one way or the other.  
218.  We support the call for continued technical assistance and capacity -building measures for 
developing countries, especially LDCs, to comply with their notification obligations. We believe 
delivery of technical assistanc e should significantly lead to improvement on notification performance.  
219.  On the Nigerian part, our notification is virtually up to date except for oversight and capacity 
constraints. We observe that there is unanimous convergence on the importance of transp arency 
and the need to improve our notification obligations across the board. We also note the impressive 
performance on notifications, particularly in respect to TBT and SPS notifications, including the 
effective use of the committees as pointed out also by the Director General.  
220.  Nigeria stands ready to work in collaboration with Members to address and identify 
shortcomings in the Report generally and relative to our capacity. We are still in the process of 
establishing a trade mechanism consistent with our  WTO obligations in order to safeguard our 
economy.  
221.  While we are forward -looking in our approach, we must not lose sight of regional and 
international trends, especially on trade. Global dynamics are shifting and changing at a rapid rate.  
DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL YI CLOSING R EMARKS  
222.  Actually, I  don't have any comments. I just want to take this opportunity to thank all the 
delegations for your participation in this afternoon's meeting and for your serious engagement on 
this Monitoring exercise. We highly value your inputs and contribution to the Monitoring Report and 
we have taken all of your interventions. We will make sure that we will pass all the statements to 
the DG. Thank you and I wish you a nice evening.  
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  CHAIRPERSON'S CLOSIN G REMARKS  
223.  I thank DDG Yi for his words. It is very important t o be listened to because you are the 
Secretariat and you follow daily the activities of the Members and we shall continue working 
together.  
224.  I hope that you have found our extended views today useful. I think also that we can all agree 
that improved transp arency and predictability are essential elements of a healthy and 
well-functioning multilateral trading system.  
225.  The ability of the trade monitoring exercise to deliver factual and up -to-date information 
depends to a very large extent on the input of Member s, initially in terms of providing and 
subsequently in terms of verifying information.  
226.  As it was noted earlier, for the current Report, 49% of the Membership participated, which 
represents around 93% of world imports. Your timely contribution to the trade  monitoring reports 
are of paramount importance to ensure and preserve the high quality and accuracy of the reports 
submitted to you, and further strengthen the constructive stakeholder relationship between the 
Secretariat and Members, which is fundamental  to this exercise.  
227.  Let me conclude by thanking all delegations for joining us today and for contributing to the 
discussion.  
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