RESTRICTED  
  
WT/TPR/W/ 121 
11 January 2017  
(17-0179) Page: 1/16 
Trade Policy Review Body    
 
* In Original language only/ En langue originale seulement /En el idioma original solamente . 
  OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL TRADING ENVIRONMENT  
DRAFT MINUTES  OF THE MEETING* HELD ON 9 DECEMBER 2016  
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 25 January 2017 . 
 
Organe d'examen des politiques commerciales  
 
TOUR D'HORIZON DE L 'ÉVOLUTION DE L 'ENVIRONNEMENT COMME RCIAL INTERNATIONAL  
PROJET DE COMPTE RENDU DE L A RÉUNION* TENUE LE  9 DÉCEMBRE 2016  
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 25 janvier 2017  au plus tard.  
 
Órgano de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales  
 
REVISTA  GENERAL DE LA EVOLUCIÓN DEL ENTORNO COMERCIAL INTER NACIONAL  
PROYECTO DE ACTA DE LA REUNIÓN* CELEBRADA EL DÍA  9 DE DICIEMBRE DE 20 16 
Las delegaciones pueden enviar a la Secretaría (Sr a. Barbara Blanquart: 
barbara.blanquart@wto.org , o tprd@wto.org ) a más tardar el 25 de enero de 2017  las 
correcciones fácticas que deseen introducir en sus propias declaraciones.  
 
_______________  
 
 
 WT/TPR/W/121  • Overview of Developments in the In ternational Trading Environment  
 
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  OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPM ENTS IN THE  
INTERNATIONAL TRADIN G ENVIRONMENT  
DRAFT  MINUTES OF THE MEETI NG 
9 DECEMBER 2016  
Chairperson: Ms. Irene Young (Hong Kong, China)  
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS  BY THE CHAIRPERSON  
1. Good afternoon and welcome to this meeting of the TPRB, which was convened by Airgram 
on 16 November.  
2. The purpose of this meeting is for Members and Obs ervers 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 Agr eement.  
3. As mentioned in the Airgram, today's discussion is assisted by the Director -General's Annual 
Report which sets out the major activities of the WTO and highlights significant policy issues and 
developments in the trading system over the past 12 mon ths. This report was circulated in 
document WT/TPR/OV/19 on 21 November in English. In accordance with the Rules of Procedure 
for meetings of the TPRB, the Report was issued as an unrestricted document.  
4. At the outset, let me briefly recall that the purpos e of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism, 
according to Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement, is to achieve greater transparency in, and 
understanding of, Members' trade and trade -related policies and measures. The TPRM is not 
intended to serve as a basis for t he enforcement of obligations under WTO Agreements, for 
dispute -settlement purposes or to impose new policy commitments on Members. These 
fundamental principles also fully apply to the annual overview of developments in the international 
trading environmen t. 
5. Furthermore, I would like to recall the Decision by Ministers at the 8th Ministerial Conference 
which called on the TPRB to continue and strengthen the trade monitoring exercise. In particular, 
Ministers expressed their commitment to comply with existin g transparency obligations and 
reporting requirements needed for the preparation of the trade monitoring reports, and to continue 
to support and cooperate with the Secretariat in a constructive manner. It was recognised that the 
regular monitoring of trade -related developments enhanced the relevance of the multilateral 
trading system.  
6. Specifically, the periodic reports by the Director -General - such as his Report on the Annual 
Overview presented today - provide Members with very useful information to keep up with the 
latest developments on a wide range of topics in international trade, including trends with respect 
to new trade policy measures implemented by the WTO membership in the past 12 months.  
7. Preparation of these reports depends on Members complying  with the notification 
requirements under the various WTO Agreements and providing timely input to the trade 
monitoring exercise. On the Secretariat's part, it is doing its best to streamline the information 
gathering process and ensure that delegations re ceive the latest information and analysis 
available. In the Sixth Appraisal of the TPRM, I am encouraged to hear that Members are 
committed to transparency and they also see value in trade monitoring work. I hope to see 
continuous improvements in these reg ards.  
8. Now, coming to the Report today, let me highlight a few main themes before inviting the 
Director General to elaborate.  WT/TPR/W/121  • Overview of Developments in the International Trading Environment  
 
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  9. In my view, the Report is, above all, a timely and sobering reminder of the challenges faced 
by the international economy and thei r consequences for world trade. It warns us that the world is 
likely to see the slowest pace of trade and output growth since 2009; that the stockpile of 
trade -restrictive measures introduced by WTO Members keeps rising; and that many of the 
measures that were supposed to be temporary and in response to the financial crisis instead linger 
on for years.  
10. It is good to know that Members still continue to adopt trade -liberalizing measures. Those 
providing for tariff reductions and facilitation of customs proced ures account for 76% of the 
measures introduced during the review period. Implementation of the expanded Information 
Technology Agreement (ITA) and preparation for the coming into force of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement (TFA), have certainly played a rol e. The first deliverables of these agreements are 
therefore, in my view, of great systemic value.  
11. The Report also provides some interesting reading when it comes to the number and nature 
of the Specific Trade Concerns raised in the SPS and TBT bodies, as w ell as the increase in trade 
concerns registered in other WTO bodies. Again, from a systemic point of view, I believe these are 
important developments which demonstrate the confidence that Members have in the work of 
regular bodies and their genuine desire  to resolve disputes through constructive dialogue before 
resorting to a formal settlement.  
12. Moving on to the discussions, let me first give the floor to the Director -General to introduce 
his Report, after which I shall open the floor for comments from dele gations.  
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS  BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL  
13. Good afternoon. I am very pleased to join you today, as we take stock of the major 
developments in the international trading system over the past 12 months.  
14. A key pillar of our work here at the WTO is  to help provide transparency and predictability to 
the trading system. I think that this Annual Overview is an important component of this. It allows 
us to take stock of what has happened in the trading landscape, and of course, to reflect on the 
steps ah ead. 
15. The report before you today looks at the implementation of trade -related measures across 
the WTO membership between mid -October 2015 and mid -October 2016. It was circulated to 
Members on 21 November, under my own responsibility.  
16. The report outlines a number of important trade -related developments, as well as an overall 
assessment of the main trends observed in trade measures recorded over this one year period. 
And it presents a comprehensive look at all these issues. It includes a wide range of perspec tives, 
including developments on recent trade policy reviews, on the Trade Facilitation Agreement, and 
the ITA expansion – to name just a few.  
17. In fact, for the first time, this report includes a separate chapter on recent discussions on 
intellectual prope rty. In addition to that, the report provides a snapshot of the trade concerns 
raised in WTO bodies over the past 12 months, including developments in trade remedies, SPS, 
TBT and services.  
18. As you can see, the report is quite comprehensive and tries to off er you a fairly horizontal 
view of developments in the trade landscape. Of course, these developments may have positive, 
negative or neutral impacts on global trade growth. However, the report does not aim to 
characterize the measures or actions listed the rein with any type of subjective analysis, and this is 
very important  
19. Therefore, any measure or action mentioned in the report must not be deemed to be 
protectionist (or not), WTO consistent (or inconsistent), legitimate (or illegitimate), necessary (or 
not), arbitrary (or not), and so on. There is no subjective inference regarding any of the measures 
or actions listed in the report. It is an objective and factual report; and nothing more.  WT/TPR/W/121  • Overview of Developments in the In ternational Trading Environment  
 
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  20. In a moment, I will outline the key findings of the report. But fir st, as usual, I would like to 
give you a brief background on the process of preparing the document.  
Preparation of this report  
21. Information for this report was collected from inputs submitted by Members and Observers, 
as well as from other official and pub lic sources.  
22. I would like to thank the delegations that have participated in this exercise by providing 
relevant information on time, and by ensuring the subsequent verification of this information.   
23. For this Annual Overview, 84 Members and 4 Observers r eplied to my request for 
information. This is a record number of replies. But of course, there is always room for 
improvement. Transparency requires constant commitment and engagement. I encourage other 
Members to take part as well.  
24. Of course, the Secreta riat is available to help increase Members' understanding of this 
exercise and to help facilitate their participation.  
Economic context  
25. Before I turn to the substance of the report, I would like to say a few words about the 
broader economic context in whic h we are.  
26. In September, the WTO downgraded its forecasts for trade growth in 2016 from 2.8% to 
1.7%. If realized, this would mark the slowest pace of trade growth since the financial crisis. This 
is of course largely due to the lackluster performance of th e global economy – and not the other 
way around.  
27. To help monitor the situation, the WTO launched a new World Trade Outlook Indicator in 
July (WTOI). It was designed to provide real time, immediate information, indicating if trade is 
likely to slow or acce lerate in the near future.  
28. The last update of the WTOI was issued just last month. The indicator rose slightly, 
signalling a modest acceleration of trade into the fourth quarter. This is broadly consistent with the 
WTO's most recent forecast. The Secretari at will continuously evaluate the indicator and make 
adjustments as necessary. The next update of the WTOI is planned for February 2017.  
29. Looking ahead, we need to keep up the hard work to help facilitate trade. And of course, this 
includes avoiding measure s which can hamper and restrict trade flows.  
30. This brings me to the key findings of the report that is before you today.  
Key findings  
31. The document shows that 182 new trade -restrictive measures, excluding trade remedy 
measures, were put in place in the rep orting period. This amounts to an average of just over 
15 new measures per month.  
32. This represents a reduction in the monthly average compared to 2015, when we saw an 
average of 20 new measures per month – that was the highest level since 2011. However, th is 
does not mean that we are necessarily on a downward trend. Rather, it seems to be more like a 
return to the somewhat steady levels that we have witnessed since 2009.  
33. Of course, the numerical counting of measures does not give an indication of their rea l trade 
impact. But it does serve to illustrate the overall trend. And that is what we are trying to do.  
34. An important parameter to bear in mind is that, out of the 2,978 measures (including trade 
remedies) recorded by this exercise since it has started, on ly 740 have been removed.  WT/TPR/W/121  • Overview of Developments in the International Trading Environment  
 
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  35. Evidently, the last thing the global economy needs today is trade restrictive measures. They 
can have a further chilling effect on trade flows, with knock -on effects for economic growth and job 
creation.  
36. During the review period , WTO Members also applied 216 new measures aimed at 
facilitating trade.  
37. These include the first measures implemented in the context of the expanded Information 
Technology Agreement – so this is good news.  
38. The total figure represents an average of 18 new  trade-facilitating measures per month. This 
represents a slight decrease over the previous report, but nevertheless, it remains above the 
2009-2015 average.   
39. Looking at other findings of the report, the monthly average of trade -remedy investigations 
was the highest since 2009. In contrast, the monthly average of trade remedy terminations was 
the lowest since the beginning of the monitoring exercise. I think we have a higher number of 
trade remedy investigations. We are not judging here whether or not thes e are appropriate, 
whether they are responding to unfair trade or anything of that kind. It is just numbers.  
40. I should again stress, particularly in the case of trade remedies, that we are not questioning 
the consistency of those measures regarding WTO disc iplines.  
41. The report also indicates a decline in the number of general economic support measures 
implemented by WTO Members. But, we are very cautious about over interpreting this 
development as we face considerable challenges in getting Members to report on such measures. 
Also here, like in all other sections, the report does not prejudge WTO -consistency nor necessity or 
legitimacy of the listed economic support measures.  
42. In the area of trade in services, recent developments show that the sector is seeing further 
liberalization, especially through the strengthening and clarification of regulatory requirements.  
43. I also want to highlight the section of the report dedicated to providing Members with an 
overview of the issues raised in individual Trade Policy Re views over the past year. The high 
number of TPRs can place a significant burden of work on delegations, especially the smaller ones. 
Therefore, I am particularly pleased to note the increasing active participation of LDCs.  
44. This report also draws attentio n to the changing technological landscape and to the 
increasing significance of intellectual property in economic development. It shows that several 
WTO Members have adopted new national and regional policies related to IP and the digital 
economy.  
45. Finally , I wish to underline the continued commitment of Members to notifying SPS and TBT 
measures for transparency purposes. And we have made important progress here.  
46. SPS and TBT notifications are now accessible through the online alert system ePing. This 
allows users to receive email alerts on products and markets of interest to them.  
47. Each year, the WTO receives more than 3,500 TBT and SPS notifications proposing new 
measures that may affect international trade. By improving access to this information, ePing wi ll 
help avoid unnecessary disruptions caused by these measures.  
Conclusion  
48. These are some of the principal findings that I wanted to share with you today. I hope it can 
provide food for thought and some input for your discussions.  
49. So let me conclude by tha nking again everyone who has taken part in this important work. I 
urge others to get involved, and help strengthen this exercise.  WT/TPR/W/121  • Overview of Developments in the In ternational Trading Environment  
 
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  50. I should also stress that I am fully aware of your discussions on ways to improve this trade 
monitoring exercise and to re -energize our discussions of these reports.  
51. I think this shows your continued commitment and interest in ensuring that transparency 
remains a cornerstone of our work.  
52. In the context of a challenging economic scenario, I think we should keep in mind the role of  
the multilateral trading system in providing a stable, predictable and transparent trading 
environment.  
53. So, as we look towards MC11 in Buenos Aires, we should seek to make decisive progress in 
eliminating the remaining trade -restrictive measures, while a lso delivering new negotiated 
outcomes.  
54. Thank you all for listening. I hope the report offers you good food for thought and I wish you 
a very productive meeting.  
STATEMENTS BY MEMBER S 
SINGAPORE  
55. I would like to thank the Secretariat for putting together thi s report and the Director General 
for his introduction. These are difficult times for global trade. Anti -trade rhetoric is increasingly 
prevalent, and Governments are pressured to look inwards and erect protectionist barriers.  
56. In this context, the WTO's tr ade monitoring role as a bulwark against protectionism cannot 
be overemphasised. The best safeguard we have against protectionism is a strong, 
well-functioning and inclusive multilateral trading system.  
57. We note with serious concern the growing stockpile of  trade restrictive measures, which has 
increased by almost 17% compared to the last annual overview. The slow removal rate of existing 
trade restrictive measures, despite the exhortations by our Leaders to standstill and rollback on 
these measures, is extr emely worrying. We call on Members to exercise the utmost restraint in the 
imposition of new trade restrictive measures, and also to swiftly remove existing ones.  
58. We note also that the monthly average of new trade remedy investigations recorded in this 
report was the highest since 2009. While initiating such investigations is well within each Member's 
rights, the chilling effect it has on trade is well -known. We call on Members to be more discerning 
in whether or not to initiate investigations, and urge the  Membership to work on rules that will aid 
transparency and ensure due process is adhered to in trade remedy actions.  
59. Finally, we are disappointed that despite attempts by some Members to table proposals in 
the 6th Appraisal of the Trade Policy Review Mech anism on revitalizing the biannual monitoring 
meetings, consensus could not be found. We hope that Members will nonetheless continue to work 
together and brainstorm on how to improve these meetings, and Singapore stands prepared to 
actively contribute and participate in such efforts.  
60. We thank the Secretariat nonetheless, for their untiring efforts in upholding the monitoring 
and transparency function of the WTO. In particular, we welcome the OECD's contribution of two 
topical boxes in this report, which we found informative, and added value to the overall report.  
61. The TPRM monitoring reports and meetings are important and precious resources and 
platforms to have a frank discussion on the state of global trade, the problems that we collectively 
face, and find solutions on how to make trade work for our people and the system. We are 
encouraged that for the first time, more than half of the Membership participated in this report 
(51%). Nevertheless, further outreach will be needed to ensure greater participation,  and to 
maximize the utility of such reports for the collective Membership.  WT/TPR/W/121  • Overview of Developments in the International Trading Environment  
 
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  HONG  KONG,  CHINA  
62. First, I would like to thank the Director General for presenting to us the overview of 
developments in the international trading environment in the past year. Thi s is a very useful 
report. We thank the Director General and his team for the hard work they have put into this 
exercise.  
63. It is encouraging to see that the response rate to Director General's request for information 
on measures taken during the period for compilation of this report accounts for 51% of the total 
Membership. It is the first time that participation exceeds half the WTO Membership. Active 
participation in this exercise is essential to maintaining the transparency of trade policy 
developments. W e appeal to Members to continue to support Director General's monitoring work.  
64. The findings revealed in the report, however, are less positive. During the period under 
review, WTO Members applied 182 new trade -restrictive measures and the overall stockpile  of 
restrictive measures continued to grow, up by 17% compared to the last annual report. Of the 
restrictive measures recorded since 2008, only 740 have been removed. The rollback of 
trade -restrictive measures remains slow, leaving 75% of all the restricti ve measures still in place.  
65. The period also recorded the highest monthly average of trade -remedy initiations of 
investigations since 2009 and the lowest monthly average of trade -remedy terminations.  
66. I think it is accurate to say there has been growing trad e protectionism around the world. 
Many delegations have spoken on this in the last week or son on different occasions. In this 
challenging time, we would encourage all WTO Members to exercise the greatest restraint possible 
in introducing new restrictive m easures and to step up actions to terminate existing ones. We 
firmly believe a more liberal, predictable and transparent trading environment would benefit us all.  
67. As a separate note, Hong Kong, China has been supporting discussion of electronic 
commerce in  the WTO. We are glad to see in the report that there are projects and initiatives by 
various organizations, including UNCTAD, the WTO and the European Centre for International 
Political Economy (ECIPE), concerning the measures affecting electronic commerc e and digital 
trade. We believe these work would provide a good basis for further discussion on electronic 
commerce among WTO Members.  
UNITED  STATES  
68. Thank you to the Secretariat for the considerable time and effort that goes into the 
compilation of this re port, which always provides an interesting and helpful summary of work over 
the course of our year. We appreciate always the Director General being with us to introduce the 
report and thanks Deputy Director General Yi for also being with us.  
69. To begin on a relatively positive note, and while also acknowledging slower global trade 
growth, in the United States we are benefitting from our longest streak of total job growth on 
record. Median household income is up and other indicators, including on poverty and t he costs of 
health care, also show good progress. So we are heartened to be ending the year on this positive 
note. 
70. To dive straight into the report, my Government would like to make two observations today. 
The first is on notifications and the second relat es to trade remedies.  
71. As the United States noted in the recent HODs meeting, the across -the-board effort at 
updating our understanding of global trade as it stands today goes hand in hand with our everyday 
efforts at transparency to which we all must give ample attention.  
72. From our standpoint, everyday efforts at transparency include the extensive notification 
requirements with which we all must contend.  
73. The section on notifications in the report for today's meeting gives us a good snapshot of 
where the Memb ership stands and it is not altogether on solid ground. Low levels of compliance in 
notification requirements in the areas of customs valuation, STEs, semi -annual dumping and WT/TPR/W/121  • Overview of Developments in the In ternational Trading Environment  
 
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  countervailing duty reports, subsidies including fisheries subsidies and in force  RTAs are 
particularly troubling from our perspective and affect our ability to assess the system as a whole.  
74. Here again, we would like to note that we see a difference between those Members that may 
be overdue on their notifications by a few months due to  technical or data issues, and those that 
have simply chosen not to notify for years, despite repeated requests.  
75. We therefore continue to encourage all of the Members who have yet to make their 
respective notifications to review their individual situations  and submit full notifications in a timely 
manner. As we enter into a Ministerial year, the updated information included in notifications will 
be needed in order for Members to consider potential positive outcomes.  
76. Turning from notifications to trade remed ies, as the report notes, the monthly average of 
trade remedy investigations by Members recorded for this exercise was found to be the highest 
since 2009. However, we are concerned that there is no link made between trade remedy 
measures, which are WTO com pliant, and underlying market -distorting measures that can lead to 
their increase.  
77. For example, the problem of significant global excess capacity is at the crux of the range of 
commercial challenges facing industrial sectors such as steel and aluminum. It is also evident that 
many Governments have provided subsidies and other support to expand, without giving adequate 
consideration to market considerations or adverse trade effects.  
78. One remedy for industries which may be injured as a result of subsidized or dumped imports 
is to seek relief from their Governments in line with international trade rules. The availability and 
appropriate use of measures to address unfair trade practices plays an important role in 
maintaining support for open markets and increased  trade. The proper use of WTO -sanctioned 
remedies also provides a WTO Member -agreed means of remedying injury caused by unfair trade.  
MÉXICO  
79. México agradece al Director General y a su equipo por su informe, como siempre de 
excelente calidad. Este ejercicio  de monitoreo adquiere particular relevancia en esta "nueva era" 
en la que, lamentablemente, las corrientes proteccionistas podrían tomar aún mayor fuerza.  
80. Vuelve a ser motivo de preocupación para México que el acervo de medidas restrictivas al 
comercio, monitoreado desde el 2008, se siga incrementado – habiendo éstas aumentado un 17% 
respecto al periodo de revisión anual previo.  
81. En el periodo que abarca este informe (octubre 2105 -octubre 2016) se introdujeron 
182 medidas restrictivas al comercio, lo que representa, en promedio, 15 medidas por mes (siendo 
en su mayor parte aranceles a la importación, procedimientos aduaneros y restricciones 
cuantitativas  a la importación y exportación).  
82. Afortunadamente, durante ese periodo también se registraron algunas medidas facilitadoras 
del comercio, instrumentadas por algunos Miembros, que contribuyen a traer cierto balance a esta 
evaluación, por lo menos desde un punto de vista cuantitativo.1  
83. Nos congratulamos también de que las medidas de apoyo económico hayan di sminuido 
durante este periodo, siendo el sector financiero el que sigue beneficiándose mayormente de estas 
ayudas, así como los sectores de la agricultura, la construcción, el sector médico y farmacéutico.  
84. Observamos también que en el comercio de servicios , la mayoría de las medidas, salvo muy 
pocas excepciones, son liberalizadoras. Varios Miembros han mejorados sus condiciones de acceso 
a los inversionistas extranjeros2, mientras que otros han instrumentado nuevas medidas 
                                                
1 Se registraron 216 medidas facilitadoras del comercio, la mayoría cons istentes en reducciones 
arancelarias y medidas sobre procedimientos aduaneros. Algunas aplicadas en el contexto de la expansión del 
ITA. 
2 Australia, Bahréin, China, India, Indonesia y Ucrania.  WT/TPR/W/121  • Overview of Developments in the International Trading Environment  
 
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  facilitadores del comercio en los servicios de distribución, financieros, marítimo, comunicaciones y 
movimiento de personas naturales.  
85. No obstante lo anterior, y a pesar de que una parte de las medidas restrictivas al comercio 
monitoreadas desde el 2008 se han eliminado (740, es decir, sol o un 25%), la mayoría han 
adquirido un carácter permanente . A mediados de octubre de 2010, habían sólo 464 medidas 
restrictivas; actualmente, 2,238 medidas están en vigor, esto significa que el número de medidas 
se ha multiplicado casi por 5 en sólo 6 años .   
86. Esto es realmente desafortunado y penoso, sobre todo considerando que la mayoría de los 
Miembros que las mantienen son miembros también del G20, donde existe un compromiso de 
roll-back – el cual, como se puede constatar, no ha sido honorado.  
87. Las proyec ciones sobre el crecimiento del comercio mundial  para 2016 se han tenido que 
ajustar nuevamente a la baja (reducción del crecimiento del comercio de mercancías de 2,8% a 
1,7%), mientras que el crecimiento del GDP mundial para este año se estima de sólo 2,2 %.  
88. Estas cifras marcarían el crecimiento más lento en el comercio y la economía globales desde 
la crisis financiera de 2009. Un hecho todavía que es más alarmante, es que 2016 sería el primer 
año desde la Gran Crisis en que el comercio global crecería a u na tasa menor que la economía 
mundial.  
89. No sobra enfatizar que, ante el contexto internacional actual, complejo e incierto, más que 
nunca, los miembros de la OMC nos debemos mantener vigilantes y prestos a hacer todo lo que 
esté en nuestras manos para mante ner nuestros mercados abiertos, eliminar las medidas 
restrictivas existentes y abstenernos de aplicar nuevas.  
90. En relación con esto, agradecemos al DG por la aclaración que ha hecho hace un momento, 
en el sentido de que su informe es "neutral" y no está pr ejuzgando si las medidas monitoreadas y 
registradas en el mismo son o no proteccionistas, o si son o no consistentes con la OMC. Esto es 
sumamente para México, porque nos preocuparía mucho que a medidas tales como los remedios 
comerciales – en particular, las medidas compensatorias y anti -dumping – lleguen a ser 
consideradas como proteccionistas; cuando, en realidad, son otras medidas y prácticas, como el 
dumping y los subsidios, por ejemplo, las que podrían ser definidas como tales, pero que muy 
probableme nte no estamos cubriendo óptimamente en este informe.   
91. Señora Presidente, el nuevo escenario económico y político internacional engendra 
importantes desafíos para esta Organización. La incertidumbre prevaleciente de la economía 
mundial a la que hemos hech o referencia, la volatilidad financiera, un aumento de la retórica anti -
comercio, y un populismo creciente en algunos de los países que son actores destacados en el 
comercio internacional, hace fundamental redirigir colectivamente nuestros esfuerzos a resi stir el 
proteccionismo.  
92. Sin duda, debemos velar por preservar y promover un sistema multilateral de comercio aún 
más fuerte, predecible, transparente e inclusivo, además de hacer todo lo que esté a nuestro 
alcance para, tal como lo sugiere el informe, asegurar que los beneficios del comercio se expandan 
más ampliamente y se tenga mejor compresión de los mismos.  
93. Apoyamos plenamente el llamado del Director General a trabajar juntos para este cometido, 
así como las sugerencias planteadas por Singapur (y Esta dos Unidos) para reforzar la labor de los 
miembros en este ejercicio de monitoreo. Damos también la bienvenida a la inclusión de este tema 
en la agenda del G20 para 2017.  
EUROPEAN  UNION  
94. The EU would like to thank the Director General and the WTO Secretaria t for its report – this 
comprehensive piece is the result of real and good work.  
95. The analysis of the work carried out in the WTO - through its various bodies - is very useful. 
It provides a comprehensive view of the different types of barriers to trade an d investment that WT/TPR/W/121  • Overview of Developments in the In ternational Trading Environment  
 
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  operators face on the ground, and it goes beyond the listing of measures adopted by the Members 
during the review period.  
96. The EU would wish to underline some interesting elements in the report under four key 
headings.  
Inclusiveness  
97. First, the last paragraph of the key findings of the report states that "WTO Members must 
work together to ensure that the benefits of trade are spread more widely and are better 
understood. A failure to make the case for inclusive trade could pave the way to increased 
protectionism in the future". The EU cannot agree more.  
98. Over the last years, we have witnessed an unprecedented debate about trade, with growing 
concerns on the impact of trade and globalisation and a perception that trade agreements have 
negati ve effects on  - for example - consumer and labour rights.  
99. To address such concerns – Members need to recognise that globalisation has to be 
embedded in a broader economic policy strategy. We need to exploit the growth potential of open 
markets while at t he same time addressing inequalities, and protecting those who lose out from 
international competition and technological change.  
100.  This is what the EU tries to do with a number of initiatives that are on -going. The objectives 
of the Communication "Trade for  All" are that trade policy: (1) delivers economic results to 
everyone (citizens, SMEs); (2) is elaborated in a more transparent way; and (3) takes into account 
the EU values by expanding measures to support sustainable development, fair trade and human 
rights. 
Protectionism  
101.  Secondly, the report addresses protectionism; we note that the stock of trade barriers has 
continued to grow, which is worrying. The pace of removal of these barriers continues to be far 
from sufficient.  
102.  We would like to seize this op portunity to call in particular the G -20 members to abide by 
their renewed pledge - made this year in Shanghai and until end of 2018 – on both standstill and 
rollback of protectionist measures.  
103.  Let me be a bit more specific on some protectionist measures:  notably on the growing trend 
to make use of domestic preference in public procurement.  
104.  Non-discrimination and equal treatment are at the very core of the WTO and GPA. The GPA 
is an important instrument for promoting trade and good governance in governmen t procurement 
markets and to contribute to the elimination of measures such as local content requirements.  
105.  Imposing new restrictions or expanding the scope or level of existing "buy national" or "buy 
local" rules would therefore be contrary to the aim and  spirit of the GPA. We therefore encourage 
WTO Members to refrain from the introduction or continuation of such domestic preference 
policies.  
Trade facilitation  
106.  Thirdly, let me turn now to the measures that facilitate trade. We note the important 
potentia l impact of ITA. A first estimation is that ITA tariff reductions would cover about 2.5% of 
total imports. We will monitor the implementation and the impact of the expanded ITA.  
107.  We also have strong expectations regarding the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which will 
enter into force hopefully very soon. In this regard, notification of Category B and especially 
Category C commitments will now be crucial to unlock the important amounts of technical 
assistance that Members – including the EU – have earmarked f or TF.  WT/TPR/W/121  • Overview of Developments in the International Trading Environment  
 
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  108.  As you know, the EU committed over 400 million euros to this exercise. We commend the 
work of the Trade Facilitation Facility. The EU provided 600.000 euros to help ensure that 
developing countries receive proper assistance and eventual matchmaking  in their efforts to 
ensure Technical assistance.  
Transparency  
109.  Finally, transparency that - as the DG noted - requires constant commitment and 
engagement. We are happy to note that over half of WTO Members have now contributed to this 
report and that 28 of  those are EU Member States.  
110.  We support the recent initiative taken by New Zealand to use this avenue and the CTG to 
monitor closely the degree of compliance of Members regarding their notification obligations.  
111.  We note another finding of the WTO Secretari at stating that "Europe has a prominent share 
of all RTAs (21%)". We consider that this figure should be put in context as a large number of 
RTAs continue not to be notified (83) if I trust the WTO Secretariat figures.  
112.  The EU would like to invite Members t o make all efforts to improve their notification records 
in this regard and not only in the sectors where the WTO Secretariat stresses particular 
deficiencies (such as, for example, export subsidies and domestic support for agriculture, STEs, 
general suppo rt measures).  
113.  In conclusion, the EU would also like to express appreciation for your leadership, Chair, in 
the discussions on how to improve the monitoring function of the TPRM that took place in the 
framework of the 6th appraisal of TPRM. While the EU wo uld have liked to achieve a little bit more 
in this exercise, we overall see the conclusions as a good result.   
SWITZERLAND  
114.  First, let me join others in thanking the Director General and the WTO Secretariat for having 
produced yet another report on trade -related developments. Once more, the document before us 
offers a comprehensive snapshot of the global trading environment we are currently operating in.  
115.  We want to commend the Secretariat for a consistent effort which year after year puts 
together a series  of invaluable insights and analyses which on many occasions serve us as a 
reference point as we develop our respective trade policies both in capital and here in Geneva. The 
reason why we believe that it is important to continue this type of exercise is a lso based on the 
persistent quality of the work done by the staff of the Secretariat.  
116.  We are not sure that, we, as Members, match the Secretariat's commitment. Yes, it is true: 
as has been pointed out by the report, Member participation in the preparation of the report for 
the first time has risen just above one half of WTO Membership. This is a positive development, 
but we can all do better than that.  
117.  We appreciate indeed the publication in the annex of the table spelling out Members' 
contributions. This t able will encourage Members to cooperate more fully n subsequent reports.  
118.  Now turning to the substance of the report, we note with some concern that expectations 
with respect to growth in world trade and output have been dampened. More worryingly, world 
trade is now growing more slowly than world GDP. It goes without saying that if this negative 
relationship continues, it will behove the WTO to take a closer look at this insipient collapse of a 
hitherto comforting assumption, namely that if an economy gener ates growth, trade will expand 
even more in its wake.  
119.  Many interlinking forces may be at work here. And it is nearly impossible to discern a single, 
all determining factor for this development at this point. Maybe one starting point would be to 
have a clos er look at the changing face of global value chains. This year's annual report by the 
Secretary General has in some way done this already by focusing on one particular aspect of 
GVCs, that is to say their employment creation. But more work in this field ne eds to be 
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  120.  One thing seems certain, though. No matter how legitimate trade remedies may be, the 
ever growing stock of trade -restrictive measures does little to imbue sluggish trade growth with a 
bit more dynamism. On reading the Secretariat's re port, one gets the impression that these 
measures seem to concentrate in a specific product sector. In some instances, they seem to 
concentrate on the same product originating from several sources. Moreover, it seems that trade 
remedies were mostly resorte d to by G20 countries.  
121.  Like in the past, we would like to recall the repeated commitment by the G20 to resist 
protectionism. It would also appear that a rollback of the stock of trade -restrictive measures 
should be feasible on account of the fact that thes e measures do not span the entire product 
spectrum of international trade but in many instances focus on one specific product group. The 
problem can be isolated.  
122.  On a positive note, the report records an above -average increase in trade -facilitating 
measure s. This is an encouraging sign. It is also a reminder of the importance Members attach to 
the multilateral trading system, of which the WTO remains the bedrock. A further strengthening of 
the WTO both as a monitoring and negotiation body for trade liberali zation is in the interest of all 
Members.  
RUSSIAN  FEDERATION  
123.  The Russian delegation thanks the Director General and the WTO Secretariat for the Annual 
Report on Developments in the International Trading Environment. We appreciate the hard work 
done, as usu al, professionally and in depth. This monitoring exercise for us remains of utmost 
importance as it contributes greatly to transparency of the Multilateral Trading System (MTS).  
124.  This time we are pleased to note the growing number of the WTO economies invol ved in the 
Overview preparation process, which for the first time overcame the figure of 51% of the total 
WTO Membership. But unfortunately, this seems to be the only positive news up to now.  
125.  We share the key findings of the Report adding the reasons for m ounting concerns against 
the backdrop of ongoing accumulation of trade -restrictive measures, lagging pace of trade 
facilitating practices, worsening world trade forecasts, the rise in trade -remedy investigations.  
126.  In such an environment, the initiatives to counter or refrain from protectionism become 
more and more pressing. The antiprotectionist efforts by international fora such as G20 and the 
APEC are very much important and Russia is proud to be a part of them. However, we understand 
that this campaign is  still plurilateral by nature while to fight trade distortion globally a multilateral 
approach is needed.  
127.  We recognize the central role of the multilateral trading system here which stands today as 
the only universal mechanism for securing free trade stand ards. Russia will continue to contribute 
further on to the multilateralism in trade as well as to the enhancement of the MTS as the main 
stronghold on the way of creeping protectionism.  
REPUBLIC  OF KOREA  
128.  I would like to join the previous speakers in extend ing our sincere appreciation to the 
Director General and the Secretariat for their hard work in preparing this guiding Report.  
129.  The DG's Report and presentation well captures the overview of developments in the 
international trading environments. It is inde ed quite good to see that WTO Members adopted less 
trade -restrictive measures, in a monthly basis, during the review period, compared to in the last 
review period from mid -October 2014 and mid -October 2015.  
130.  However, the Report also draws our attention to t he fact that the overall stock of restrictive 
measures is continuing to increase due to the addition of new restrictive measures combined with 
a slow removal rate. Considering the anti -trade sentiment, which is on the rise throughout the 
world and which ma y lead to the increase in the number of newly introduced protectionist 
measures in coming years, we should vigilantly monitor any changes of trade policies taken by 
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  131.  Last but not least, we a re seriously concerned by the fact that the number of initiations of 
trade remedy investigations was the highest since 2009 while the number of termination of trade 
remedy measures was the lowest. In particular, as the DG's Report pointed out, the concern 
among WTO Members regarding the use of safeguard measures, particularly in the steel sector is 
growing. While we certainly recognize that trade remedy measures are legitimate rights of WTO 
Members under the WTO Agreement, we cannot disregard the trade rest rictive dimensions or the 
chilling effect on international trade. In this regard, we would like to urge Members to take more 
cautious and prudent approaches to trade remedy measures.  
132.  In closing, we share the view that it is important to reinforce the monit oring mechanisms of 
the multilateral trading system by ensuring transparency, one of the key functions of the WTO. As 
WTO Member countries vigorously discussed the ways of strengthening further the monitoring 
mechanisms in the recent 6th TPRM Appraisal, we  must continue not only refraining from 
introducing new trade -restrictive measures but also continue seeking the better ways to 
reinforcing the monitoring mechanisms. Believing that a vibrant multilateral trading system is the 
best insurance policy to over come protectionism, Korea will continue to work closely and 
constructively with other Members in this endeavour to further strengthen the monitoring and 
surveillance mechanism of the multilateral trading system.  
JAPAN  
133.  First of all, Japan appreciates the Di rector General's and his team's hard work for this annual 
report. It helps us to understand the current situation regarding trade and trade -related measures 
and provides us with a variety of important views on our fight against protectionism.  
134.  In my remarks , I would like to touch upon the following two points: the current trend of 
trade and trade -related measures and the improvement of monitoring.  
135.  Firstly, I would like to comment on the current trend of trade and trade -related measures. 
According to the Secr etariat, 182 trade restrictive measures were introduced in this reporting 
period. The average number of trade restrictive measures introduced per month decreased from 
20 in the previous reporting period to 15 in the current period. This is good news.  
136.  Howev er, on the other hand, only 740 trade restrictive measures have been eliminated since 
2008, which resulted in an increase in the total number of restrictive measures. Japan feels it 
necessary to emphasize the difficulty in eliminating once -adopted restrict ive measures. We 
encourage all Members to recognize this difficulty and carefully consider the implications of 
adopting restrictive measures.  
137.  Let me make some comments on trade remedy measures. The average number of 
investigations initiated per month has r eached its highest since 2009. Although investigations do 
not necessarily lead to the actual imposition of measures, they can be leading indicators to foresee 
future trends. The abuse of trade remedy measures can have a negative impact on world trade; 
therefore, these measures should be implemented with transparency and in accordance with the 
relevant WTO agreement.  
138.  On the other hand, 216 trade -liberalizing measures were introduced in the reporting period. 
Japan believes the ITA expansion commitments are re flected in this number. Although this number 
is a little lower than that in the previous period, it is higher than the average from 2009 to 2010, 
which Japan positively evaluates. We will have to maintain and strengthen this trend in order to 
enhance trade  liberalization and further expand world trade.  
139.  With regard to the preparation of the current report, Japan positively evaluates that more 
than half of the Members responded to the request for verification from the Secretariat. However, 
one thing we should  mention about contributions from the Members is that there is a region where 
the response rate is quite low. We hope that more Members will be involved in the process of 
making annual reports in order to make this report more comprehensive and credible. W e believe 
those efforts will eventually enhance the transparency of our trade policies.  
140.  Before concluding, let me touch upon the issue of improvement of this TPRB monitoring 
mechanism. Given the importance of this mechanism, we should strive for its improv ement. In this WT/TPR/W/121  • Overview of Developments in the In ternational Trading Environment  
 
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  sense, Japan welcomes the vigorous discussions we have had on revitalization of the monitoring 
meeting through the Sixth Appraisal. As everyone knows, we have almost finished the Sixth 
Appraisal thanks to the splendid leadership and guidance  of the Chair. So, from next year, we 
should pay close attention to the implementation of the conclusions including those about 
monitoring meetings.  
CHINA  
141.  China would like to thank the DG and the Secretariat for the compilation of this 
comprehensive report . 
142.  As the report has pointed out, the world merchandise trade volume growth in 2016 is 
predicted to be merely 1.7%, which will be much slower than the 2.5% growth rate this year, and 
would mark the slowest pace of trade growth since the financial crisis.  
143.  History has taught us repeatedly the same lesson that when global economy is experiencing 
a tough period, protectionism will start wriggling.  
144.  Bearing this in mind, the G20 leaders announced their commitments to refrain from taking 
new protectionist measures and roll back existing ones since the outset of the global financial 
crisis. During the G20 Summit in Hangzhou this September, G20 leaders reiterated their opposition 
to protectionism on trade and investment in all its forms.  
145.  Yet China is concerned that th e number of new trade -restrictive measures being introduced 
still remains worryingly high. During this monitoring period, the number of new trade -restrictive 
measures introduced by WTO Members is about 15 per month, which remained above the average 
level s ince 2009. The large number of new trade -restrictive measures shows a clear sign of the 
relapse of trade protectionism.  
146.  China is also concerned about the growing number of trade remedy measures. As the report 
pointed out, the number of trade remedy measure s initiated by WTO Members reached 18.5 per 
month during this monitoring period, which was the highest record since 2009.  
147.  The abuse of trade remedies measures, in terms of both quantities of cases and 
investigation methodologies, could constitute a form of  trade protectionism. We should bear in 
mind that the abusive use of trade remedies measures would harm the interests of not only the 
exporters or exporting Members, but also all other parties in the upper and lower streams of the 
global value chain.  
148.  Anoth er important lesson history has taught us is that protectionism will lead us to nowhere, 
but undermining our joint efforts to reinvigorate the global economy.  
149.  China will stick to our commitments in this course, and urge other Members, especially large 
developed Members to do the same.  
NORWAY  
150.  In a time with strong anti -trade sentiments, threats of protectionism and pessimism about 
the development of global trade – this detailed overview of the trade environment is more 
important than usual. Still, only half of the Membership provided input to it. We should all seek to 
provide timely information to the Secretariat so that they can prepare the best possible report.  
151.  One of the "key findings" in the report is related to the growing anti -trade rhetoric: "WTO 
Membe rs must also work together to ensure that the benefits of trade are spread more widely and 
are better understood. A failure to make the case for inclusive trade could pave the way to 
increased protectionism in the future".  
152.  This is certainly true, and this "finding" seems to be a response to the anger over lost jobs 
and growing income inequality. The point should be made that national policies must respond to 
the challenges of globalization. Rather than blaming trade for income inequality, Members should WT/TPR/W/121  • Overview of Developments in the International Trading Environment  
 
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  make sure that Governments re -distribute the income trade generates and provide the social 
safety -nets and assistance to workers that need to qualify for new jobs.  
153.  There is also the claim from some that trade agreements can be biased, non -transparent in 
their development, favouring private interests at the cost of the public interests such as health and 
environmental standards, etc. The WTO and its Members must provide a response to that, too.  
154.  The report shows a continued increase in the stock of trade -restric tive measures, and anti -
dumping measures in particular have increased. This is worrying, even if there is a relatively small 
group of Members that represent the vast majority of cases – whether as initiator or affected 
party.  
155.  The report refers to a downwar d revision of global merchandise trade growth, from 2.8% to 
1.7%. With the share of services growing steadily, both in the economy as such and in trade, why 
do we still focus on merchandise? Is it a question of data quality?  
156.  Positive developments are also reflected in the report:  
 ITA Expansion Agreement, growing Membership, implementation of tariff cuts on track, 10% 
of merchandise trade.  
 E-commerce continues to grow strongly, new proposals and initiatives brought forward.  
 The Trade Facilitation Agreement, 85% of the instruments required for the agreement to 
enter into force now registered.  
 Aid for Trade, disbursement up but commitments down.  
 The Government Procurement Agreement continues to help improve governance in that 
market.  
157.  In conclusion, global trade  relations as described in the report shows that our work in the 
WTO is more important than ever, and that we should strive to deliver progress at MC11.  
COLOMBIA  
158.  Quisiera agradecer a la Secretaría por la elaboración de este documento y la presentación 
realizada por el Director General, que permite que examinemos semestralmente del entorno 
comercial internacional e incidencia del desarrollo de nuestras políticas comerciales en el Sistema 
multilateral de comercio.  
159.  La transparencia es un elemento esencial del trabajo multilateral y este informe es una 
contribución significativa en este sentido. Alentamos a los Miembros, especialmente del mundo en 
desarrollo, a fortalecer estos ejercicios, solo de esta manera garantizamos la inclusividad y la 
extensión de los be neficios derivados del comercio. Si bien hemos mejorado el número de 
Miembros que atienden el llamado del Director General, aún podemos optimizar este reporte.  
160.  Buscando no ser repetitivo, nos sumamos a los comentarios específicos sobre el documento 
manifes tado por la mayoría de las delegaciones que me antecedieron en la palabra.  
161.  En entorno económico mundial con un crecimiento inferior a lo esperado en el comercio y la 
producción, anudado a los bajos precios de los principales productos básicos, el Brexit, l a 
recuperación lenta del comercio de mercancías y el auge de los discursos antiglobalización han 
tenido un claro impacto en las medidas aplicadas por los Miembros durante el período de examen.  
162.  Resaltamos que si bien se están adoptando medidas facilitadoras  del comercio, el inventario 
total de medidas comerciales restrictivas sigue siendo muy alto, 2.978, eliminándose solo 740 para 
este período. Esto es especialmente preocupante dada la incertidumbre económica mundial que 
sigue y la reciente revisión a la ba ja de las previsiones comerciales de la OMC.  
163.  Entre las medidas facilitadoras del comercio, destacamos principalmente las reducciones 
arancelarias como resultado de la ampliación del ITA, del cual Colombia hace parte y que 
esperamos su completa implementaci ón y reporte a este ejercicio a inicios del próximo año. 
Destacamos igualmente el aumento de las medidas facilitadoras relativas a los procedimientos 
aduaneros, que como se ha venido evidenciado en los 26 exámenes de política comercial WT/TPR/W/121  • Overview of Developments in the In ternational Trading Environment  
 
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  realizados entre oct ubre 2015 y octubre 2016, han sido objeto de importantes avances y esfuerzos 
gubernamentales, especialmente en los países en desarrollo.  
164.  En cuanto a las medidas correctivas, de 347, casi tres cuartas partes corresponden a 
medidas antidumping. Se ha acentua do la tendencia de otros informes previos, en el cual se 
registran más iniciaciones que terminaciones en la aplicación de medidas antidumping, 
salvaguardias y medidas compensatorias. Si bien son instrumentos contemplados en el sistema 
multilateral, nos pre ocupa los efectos que tienen en la previsibilidad de los flujos comerciales, el 
crecimiento económico y la creación de empleo.  
165.  Quisiéramos destacar el trabajo llevado a cabo en los diferentes Comités de la OMC, donde 
la revisión de las notificaciones y el proceso de preguntas y respuestas facilitan el dialogo y 
comprensión específica de los tipos de políticas y medidas que vienen presentando los Miembros. 
El compromiso de notificación previa a la adopción de medidas sanitarias y fitosanitarias y de 
obstácul os técnicos del comercio, han permitido que de manera transparente se participe en los 
procesos de toma de decisiones en línea con los compromisos multilaterales y buscando que no 
sean más restrictivas que lo necesario. Es de destacar la disminución del nú mero de medidas de 
apoyo económico en la agricultura, la silvicultura, la construcción y el sector médico y 
farmacéutico, así como el aumento de las medidas liberalizadoras para el comercio de servicios.  
166.  Este informe es claramente un llamado para seguir tr abajando a nivel multilateral para 
contrarrestar los efectos negativos de las corrientes antiglobalización, esperando que los beneficios 
del comercio se difundan más ampliamente, asegurando un comercio menos distorsionado y más 
inclusivo. Este ejercicio cl aramente muestra la necesidad de que el sistema multilateral atienda, 
mediante las negociaciones, los principales problemas del comercio mundial de bienes y servicios, 
teniendo reglas de juego cada vez más acordes a esta realidad comercial.  
CHAIRPERSON'S C LOSING REMARKS  
167.  With no further interventions I would now like to conclude the meeting. Thank you very 
much for your participation, thank you for sharing with us your views.  
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