WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
8 February  2019 
(19-0737) Page: 1/20 
Trade Policy Review Body   
 
  
OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE  
INTERNATIONAL TRADING ENVIRONMENT  
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 underta ke 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 disc ussion 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 developments in the implementation of trade policies by WTO Members, and an up -date 
on several t rade 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 transparency 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 amongst Members fall within the same, well -known parameters.  
5. I think it is also important to underli ne 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 
obligation s 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 the Report with any WTO 
Agreement or any provision thereof.  
6. At the same time, the Trade Monitor ing 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 component s of a platform which promotes transparency in trade policy -making and 
allows for constructive peer review.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  7. I wish to recall also the Decision by Ministers at the 8th Ministerial Conference which called 
on the TPRB to continue and strengthen the trade moni toring exercise. Specifically, Ministers 
expressed their commitment to comply with existing transparency obligations and reporting 
requirements needed for the preparation of the trade monitoring reports, and to continue to support 
and cooperate with the Se cretariat 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 
the various WTO Agreement s. 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 sugges tions 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 between the Secretariat and the membership. The Reports continue to evolve 
in terms of the covera ge 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 Appra isal 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 manner 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 delegation from providing a brief oral report or update on specific changes in their 
trade policie s 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 global 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 tha t 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 substantive 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 significant, of course, that WTO 
Members continue to implement trade facilitating measure s 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 globa l 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 agents 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 requirements of 
the various WTO Agreements remains very uneven and this, I think we can a ll agree, undermines WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  individual agreements and more generally the operation of the multilateral trading system. There is 
no doubt in my mind that this Report provides useful background information for Members to further 
consider the reasons behind the curr ent 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. Subsequently, 
I will open the floor for comments from delegations.  
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS  BY THE DIRE CTOR -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 Nov ember in d ocument 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 th e 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 implemented across the WTO 
membership between mid -October 2017 and mid -October 2018.  
21. It outl ines 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 comprehensive account of the state i n notifications by WTO 
Members.  
23. This exercise is about t ransparency, 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 
measure is protectionist or not. Nor does it question the explicit right of M embers 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 background on the process of preparing the  document.  
25. I would like , first of all,  to thank the de legations that have actively participated in this exercise 
by providing relevant information on time, and by ensuring the subsequent ver ification 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 ' understanding 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.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  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 coverage helps to give a better perspective of the impact of these 
measures  could be .  
33. The tr ade 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 monito ring 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 qualitative analysis  whatsoever .  
35. The trade coverage of the i mport -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 represents only half the coverage of trade -restrictive measu res 
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 slo w. 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 investigations 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.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  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 pro grammes.  
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 verificatio n 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 such 
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 measure s 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 i s everywhere. We call you, 
you don 't deny that the measure exists and that it has been put in place , but you ask n ot 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 p eriod were trade -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 of trade concerns besides SPS and TBT were 
also raised in WTO bo dies 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 demonstrates also the value of WTO 
committees as constructive platforms to have this kind of  engage ment. 
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 comment s 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 
difficul ties 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 overview of the issues raised in individual 
Trade Policy Reviews. An d on a positive note, it highlights the progress made in the implementation WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  of WTO 's Trade Facilitation Agreement and the ITA, and also recent develop ments in intellectual 
property.  
Conclusion  
62. So, these are some of the principal findings that I wanted to share with you today.  
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 wou ld 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. Thank 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 Report the various statistics. I have got them written down but I think, in 
the spirit of what the DG said just now in encourag ing us to engage on the issues that he raised, I 
will just skip these paragraphs, which were  basically to acknowledge the results of your findings in 
terms of the expansion of trade -restrictive measures and the concerns that Members have.  
69. I want to pick a bit on the section on notifications because this year , in particular , could 
possibly  mark an important milestone in the Membership seriously engaging on how to improve on 
our record on notifications. As the Report ha s pointed out, the Membership's record remains very 
uneven  in this area . The Director -General and the Report have also reminded us why notification s 
are 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 would like to encourage Members to participate actively in the on -going and, I hope, 
deepening discussion on this issue of improving on Members ’ record of notifications. Except for 
maybe  a handful of countries, no country is perfect on this. There are  a lot of things that we can try 
to learn from each other. We should also try to  participate in this exercise  to contribute to improving 
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. The other point I wanted to pick up on is this issue about the general economic support 
measu res section of the Secretariat R eport and where the Director General highlighted again , in a 
quite powerful way, that it is really up to the Members to decide whether you want the Secretariat 
to report on these measures or not. That was the mandate that was given to the Secretariat. And 
the Secretariat ha s tried to do so but when the Secreta riat approached respective Members, the 
tendency is for Members to then request the Secretariat to leave out particular measures. So, I think 
the Director General has put a very important question to us  - do we want the Secretariat to continue 
to do this, only to have a situation where, most of the time, only a handful of Members agree to 
verify and not obstruct the publication of those measures. Because I think it is really not fair to put 
the Secretariat in such a position because they are, after all, act ing on our instructions. And I think 
the 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. I remember this was  also an issue that was discussed in WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  July. At that meeting, the European Union made some suggestions for consideration by the 
Membership on how to address this issue . For example,  the Secretariat  could perhaps  append to 
that particular annex a very factual report to say who you had approached, who had requested for  
the measures not to be reported on, and who had actually verified and allowed the measures to be 
published . I think this is something we need to ask ourselves  - are we serious , or are we not , about 
this trade monitoring exercise.  
MEXICO 
72. My delegation wishes to acknowledge the work of the Secretariat and to thank it for preparing 
this report, which maintains the high standards to which we are accustomed and constitutes an 
essential analytical tool for Members in respect of trends in the im plementation of trade and 
investment measures.  
73. The report begins to shed light on the effects of the trade tensions, which, as is rightly stated, 
may place economic growth, job creation and, of course, social well -being in jeopardy.  
74. Trade -restrictive measu res covered an amount equivalent to no less than USD 481 billion. 
Purely for context, this figure is higher than the total value of Mexico's exports in 2017, which was 
around USD 409 billion. We should also mention that the figure is seven times higher tha n the figure 
recorded in the previous period and the highest since records began.  
75. These measures are starting to have an impact on trade flows. According to the World Trade 
Outlook Indicator published on 26 November, world trade growth will continue to slo w down in the 
last quarter of 2018, meaning that the 3.9 % growth rate forecast for the year by the WTO Secretariat 
in September is unlikely to be achieved.  
76. We therefore find Members' insufficient participation, both in providing and in verifying 
informatio n, primarily information about support granted, deeply regrettable. According to the 
report, the Secretariat had identified support measures in a diverse range of sectors, including 
transportation, mining, energy and electricity. The value of these program mes, owing to their 
multiyear time spans, ranges from USD 100,000 to USD 50 billion.  
77. We understand that the aim of this exercise is not in any way to provide an assessment of the 
validity of the measures, but simply to list them so that all Members are abl e to review and analyse, 
in conditions of transparency, the effect that measures implemented by other Members might have 
on trade. We believe that the support granted does have an impact on trade, and for this reason, in 
our view, the exercise should encom pass support measures and include them in the report.  
78. As regards facilitation measures, we are somewhat relieved to note that, despite the backdrop 
of trade tensions, the implementation of such measures remains in line with the trend observed from 
2012 to 2017.  
79. With regard to foreign direct investment, we are concerned by the marked deceleration 
recorded in the review period, which is equivalent to a decline of almost 40 % relative to the previous 
period. Similarly, we are aware that some Members have change d their investment rules to 
incorporate national security -related provisions. We will therefore be keeping a close eye on these 
policies.  
80. In conclusion, Mr Chairman, my country is concerned that the increase in trade -restrictive 
measures could serve to exa cerbate trade tensions and place global economic growth in serious 
difficulties. We believe that this scenario makes a universal commitment to a robust, rules -based 
multilateral trading system essential: a system that is healthy in all of its pillars helps  to diffuse 
trade tensions.  
CHINA  
81. I would like to thank the DG for his introduction and the Secretariat for their great efforts in 
trying to give the whole picture of the current situation.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  82. We acknowledge the Secretariat 's striving to ensure the trade mon itoring reports are factual 
and objective. However, as DG said in his introduction that the facts there are serious. We note with 
great concern 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 than before.  
83. Furthermore, we are seriously concerned that trade protection measures taken in the name 
of national secur ity are placing the multilateral rule -based trade system into danger of being torn 
apart. According a recent estimation by the Bank of England, a global trade war – in which everyone 
raises tariffs on everyone else by around 10 percentage points – would sl ow 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 global 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 erection 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 everyone.  
85. At this critical moment, we call all members t o 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 terms 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 members ' 
performance in fulfilling their notification obl igations. We are of the view that capacity building 
through WTO 's technical assistance and training pla n should be the priority in our  effort s 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 highlighted 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 trade 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 attention to the section on notifications in th e 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 
Members 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/OV/M/ 16 
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  are the most evident cases in point. It is against this background 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 support measures in the R eport, mainly becau se 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 economic support measure " for 
the purpose of th is 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 TPR B meeting of 25 July, 
which were supported by several Members. First, we proposed that non -verified support meas ures 
should be included in the R eport with a remark: "no response to verification request received ". 
Second, we suggested that Members requestin g 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 information gathering p rocess that led 
to the  present R eport, it may be necessary to discuss whether certain measures  should be 
incorporated in the R eport  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 u nder 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 Secretariat with robust enough input so that it can p roduce an annex on economic 
support measures  for the summer edition of the R eport.  
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 O ctober 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 choose 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 pr ofited 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 has reached levels in which the me re systemic  functioning of the O rganization 
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 obli gations, we strengthen the O rganization 's negotiating 
and monitoring musc les, and reduce the risk of trade frictions and conflict.  
102.  With this is mind, Costa Rica  co-sponsored along with other M embers, a proposal focused on 
transparency and compliance of the notification requirements (JOB/GC/204 and JOB/CTG/14). The 
spirit that m otivated 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 recommendations to improve compliance, to un derstand 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 Secretariat that 
helps developing members in the co mpliance 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 i n the collective engagement of M embers to address these WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  noncompli ance 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 M embers 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 t o reinforce the O rganization 's pillar of 
trade monitoring.  
HONG  KONG,  CHINA 
104.  We thank the Director -Genera l 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 i s alarming to see that the trade cove rage 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 o f 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 fig ures, as they simply reflect the escalation of trade 
tensions among major economies. H ong Kong, China is very much concerned with the proliferation 
of trade -restrictive actions and the uncertainty that this would bring to the global trading 
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 current 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 larg e 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 Direct or 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 is 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 com pliance 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 proposal and ideas put for ward 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 positiv e 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 with the Director Genera l that we, as Members, need to look into what this implies  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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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 R eport 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 R eport 's emphasis on an increase in trade -restrictive measures 
during this reporting period, as highlighted by the D irector 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. acknowledges that tariff i ncreases imposed by o ur Government, together with 
various counter -measures implemented by other WTO Members, constitute part of the landscape 
underl ying the data presented in this R eport.  
116.  It is important to note, however, that tariffs are undoubtedly a par ticularly 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 indeed cannot 
be separated from the responses tha t my G overnment 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 th e enormous problem facing this O rganization 
of lack of transparency through  the notifications procedu res 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, int ended to remedy this situation.  We look fo rward 
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 Director -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 G 20 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 th is 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 are the low partic ipation 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 special attention to a voiding the trade -restrictive effect of measures on trade in services 
adopted on national security grounds, including policies affec ting Internet and other 
network -enabled services.  
125.  Some trends noted in the Report, however, are welcome. One is that Members  continue to 
raise trade concerns in a wider range of WTO bodies, though many were persistent problems. Also , WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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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 facilitati on. 
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 continuing to conduct tr ade 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.  I would like to begin by commending the Secretariat of the Trade Policy Revi ew Body for its 
excellent and exhaustive report on developments in the international trading system. The report is 
undoubtedly a valuable aid to understanding the current trends in international trade, enabling us 
to predict the conditions in which we will  have to operate and to foresee the measures that might 
be necessary to address this new reality.  
128.  Unfortunately, the information attests to a troubling reality. As indicated in the report, the 
figures show that the coverage of trade -restrictive measures ha s increased significantly. This has 
impacted on world trade growth, which slowed during the review period as trade tensions multiplied 
and global financial conditions tightened. The proliferation of measures that have a restrictive effect 
on trade and the uncertainly created by such measures could even place economic recovery in 
jeopardy.  
129.  There is no doubt that this is very bad news for all Members, but it is particularly bad news 
for those Members whose economy is largely dependent on international trade. The situation would 
become even more difficult if trade tensions were to sharpen and financial volatility were to increase.  
130.  On the other hand, we were interested to learn that WTO Members also applied 
162 trade-facilitating measures. This news constitutes a ray of hope on the nebulous horizon that 
appears to lie before us.  
131.  As regards the difficulties that the dispute settlement system is experiencing, specifically in 
connection with the appointment of new Appellate Body members, we note that Members continu e 
to use this system as a means to resolve their trade disputes. This observation surely demonstrates 
that Members need a fully functioning system. As we have stated on many occasions and before a 
number of bodies, it is of paramount importance that we are  able to resolve the current deadlock.  
132.  Lastly, I would like to draw attention to the low participation and response rate of 
WTO Members to requests for information and the verification of such information, as mentioned in 
the report. In this connection, we  reiterate once more our systemic commitment to transparency 
and facts -based peer review, and, accordingly, we urge all Members to contribute actively to the 
provision of the information requested by the Secretariat with a view to improving the quality of 
information that is being provided to us.  
RUSSIAN  FEDERATION  
133.  Russia welcomes the release of the Report. We appreciate the personal role of the D irector 
General  and the Secretariat as well as the contribution of M embers 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 landscape.  
135.  We do not want to be trivial and to analyse  whether it is good or not that 1 1 new measures 
appeared monthly on the average or th at the World trade will grow by 3.4% which is lower than in 
the previous forecast. We  will identify a few strategic issues.  
136.  First. The main trade restricting measure is a misty future of the Appellate  Body. It is naturally, 
that this measure can 't be incl uded into the structure of the R eport. Still it possesses a systemic, 
strategic influence on trade restriction.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  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 measur e. They wer e included into the R eport. 
Hence , out of a total 162 trade facilita ting measures mentioned in the R eport , Russia introduced 31. 
Listing of these measures takes 5 entire p ages of the R eport, namely pages 151 -155. Moscow stands 
for fair trade. Accord ing to OECD Russia belongs to 1 1 states, which fulfil the WTO requirements 
most accurately.  
139.  However , general world tendency on 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. T he Members which acceded  to the WTO most recently, 
including Russia, are in the most discriminatory conditions. We face quotas determined before and 
restricting market access, antidumping measures, standards, the volumes of import subsidization 
which n ewly 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, when we hear the term "trade rules " in the reform context. Since today, 
at this meeting, we review tra de 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 reform?  
142.  That is why anxious thoughts arise when we develop the subject of today 's report.  
143.  Along with that, undoubtedly the R eport is a very val uable 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 Direct or General and the Secretariat for having 
compiled yet another outstanding monitoring report — a report, which once more contains a wealth 
of information.  
145.  Moreover, it is a report, which was issued at a very propitious moment indeed.  
146.  Rarely have trade meas ures 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 imposition of trade -restrictive measures is on the rise once more — 
this after an encouraging period during which their number had actually de creased.  
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.  
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, countervailing duty initiations may actually have peaked last year.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  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 imp act. 
155.  What is striking is the fact that the actual trade coverage of these new measures seems 
unprecedented. This tells us that many of the more recent trade restrictions are of a distinct quality. 
Because of this, they are bound to entail wider and more ad verse ramifications than usual.  
156.  Innocuous though they may sound, these other trade -related measures will of course continue 
to keep us occupied.  
157.  On the positive side, we take note of the fact that measures aimed at facilitating trade have 
increased. On to p 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 h ow digitalization will transform the way 
global commerce is conducted. This is a development whose significance is underestimated 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 wh at is commonly labelled as "general economic 
support measures ". These support measures are known for their complexity. But 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 have to be found.  
160.  This is such a decisive issue that we feel t hat much of the future of this O rganization could 
depend on how it is being d ealt with. Our rules -based system may only flourish if more is done to 
work towards to the establishment of the right competitive conditions.  
AUSTRALIA  
161.  Australia supports the important role of the Trade Monitoring Reports, produced by the WTO, 
in helping t o provide transparency and understanding of the policy actions of WTO Members.  
162.  For business, transparency is critical. Tools such as the Trade Monitoring Reports help to 
ensure equitable access to fair, timely, factual and objective information among Membe rs.  
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 tim ely manner. " 
164.  At Buenos Aires G20 Leaders recogniz ed the need to improve the functioning of the WTO.  
165.  In line with such statements, and the comments earlier by the Director -General, there is a 
need to put the shoulder to the wheel and for Members to commit t o support the Trade Monitoring 
Reports.  
166.  One particular issue is that of the low participation and response rate of Members regarding 
general economic support measures. We would be interested to hear of ideas on how to improve WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  this. Having a strong commitme nt to the trade monitoring report process is clearly a fundamental 
first step.  
COLOMBIA  
167.  We would first like to thank the Secretariat for having prepared this report, and for the efforts 
made to collect information from Members and to systematize it within a document that provides us 
with comparable data.  
168.  The report contains information that is very pertinent for all Members and attests to the 
importance of the commitment to transparency within this Organization. As long as all Members 
participate actively, by providing clear and timely information, we will all have access to high -quality 
analysis that facilitates decision -making on public policy matters.  
169.  My delegation is committed to the various activities led by the Trade Policy Review Body, and 
recognizes the value of these collective analysis exercises. We not only submitted information for 
the preparation of this report but also submitted our own trade policy review in June of this year.  
170.  We welcome the 162 measures to boost and facilitate trade  that were recorded.  
171.  However, the report identifies 137 restrictive measures, which, as the Director -General 
mentioned, affect the performance of the global economy and jeopardize recovery, and have an 
especially marked impact on developing countries.  
172.  As has been observed on other occasions, this exercise also reinforces the importance of 
increasing our commitment to transparency and the submission of notifications. The declining trend 
in total notifications submitted continues, and this is a signal that M embers must turn their attention 
to this area.  
173.  Furthermore, we share the concerns raised about the fact that in some cases Members have 
requested that information on specific domestic support measures adopted in the review period be 
excluded. Colombia beli eves that the Secretariat should continue working to identify these measures, 
since they have a very significant impact on trade performance. The information could be presented 
in a factual manner in an annex to the report.  
174.  The report that the Director -General has presented today has close links to two other recently 
published reports: The World Trade Outlook Indicator and the report on G20 trade measures.  
175.  These reports emphasize that international trade is facing significant difficulties, which are 
being a ccentuated by the increasing use of trade -restrictive measures by the top 20 global 
economies.  
176.  The expansive trend in trade flows has been slowing in recent quarters, and the outlook for 
the next few months is not encouraging, with a loss of momentum expec ted for all indicators 
monitored.  
177.  These reports are a call to strengthen our commitment to transparency and to the adoption 
of trade -facilitating measures.  
178.  We repeat our thanks to the Secretariat for carrying out this important exercise.  
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 P eders en and 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 measures to further liberalize trade as WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  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 or der to ensure 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 system 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 w ork, and it is the responsi bility 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 accu racy of information  has 
collected, we should a ll provide written responses w ithin 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 wi th the challenges 
on this particular poin t. 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 international 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 escalati on of trade tensions comes wi th large and tangible risks for international trade and 
global economic  growth.  
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. 
This fact underlines the need to break th e deadlock over The Appellate Body appointments  as a 
matter of the highest priority.  
193.  The report als o emphasises that compliance with noti fication requirements remains uneven, 
and that lack of capacity is one of the main reason for this. Norway agrees that this issue must 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 noti fication 
obligations  is not good enough. Transparency is essential for  building trust and laying the ground WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  for bringing the multilateral trading system forward. For our part, we are working activ ely in the 
Committee on Agricul ture to strengthen noti fication compliance of members.  
195.  On the posi tive side, we are glad to note th at members  continue to adopt and implement 
trade -facilitating measures at a relatively steady pace and that there is progress  on the 
implementation  of the Trade Facilitation Agreemen t and the ITA Expansion.  
196.  In conclusion, we are grateful to the secretariat  for your effor ts 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 cha nnel even more 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 in 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 measu res, Brazil has 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 f amiliar 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 congratu lates Director General and the Secretariat for preparation 
and presentation of the Report today. Me anwhile, we join  others by expressing our concerns with 
regards to the increase in the trade restrictive measures durin g 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 the required information.  
202.  However, Af ghanistan as an LDC and latest Member of this O rganization, 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 membe rship 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 t ariffs in our region. 
For example , in 2017 , our average applied tariff rate across all goods was 6.69 whereas the simple 
average bound rate in WTO across all goods stands at 13.6%. Afghanistan levies no excise taxes on 
imports and strives to facilitate mor e and more cross border trades.  
204.  Thanks to our recent years efforts by streamlining the doing busines s administrative 
procedures and  rules including cross border trade, Afghanistan recognized as top reformer in the 
recent 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?  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  206.  The first reason might be the capacity constraints that causes low level of notification 
compli ance by LDCs.  
207.  The other reason, as the report mentions, the request for the proving the in formation was 
sent only to 120 M embers so maybe they were excluded in that phase. In that case , I would suggest 
that S ecretariat incl udes 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 report . 
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 mult ilateral 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 period. 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 in creased 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. Also, the trade coverage of trade rem edy 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 actions 
could bring about potentially l arge 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 system, we have to be further 
engaged i n 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 the current practice of discussing Sp ecific 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 
measures in general. According to the repo rt, 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 under 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 encourage Members who have not yet con cluded 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, M SMEs 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 an open, fair and secure 
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 progress of discussions so far and would l ike 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 and 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 Members and Observers in its preparation.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  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 ba sis for deliberation.  
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 contin ued to implement 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 
comp rehensive report 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 monitoring 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 technic al assistance 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 importan ce of transparency 
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 point ed 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 consist ent 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.  
DEPUT Y DIRECTOR GENERAL Y I CLOSING REMARKS  
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. Than k you and I wish you a nice evening.  
CHAIRPERSON 'S CLOSING REMARKS   
223.  I thank DDG Yi for his words. It is very important to 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 improve d transparency and predictability are essential elemen ts of a healthy and 
well-functioning multilateral trading system.  
225.  The ability of the trad e monitoring exe rcise to deliver factual and up -to-date information 
depends to a very large extent on the input of Members , initially in terms of providing and 
subsequently in terms of verifying information.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 16 
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  226.  As it was noted earlier, for the current R eport , 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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