WT/TPR/OV/M/11  
28 March 2014  
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Trade Policy Review Body   
 
  OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE  
INTERNATIONAL TRADING ENVIRONMENT 
DRAFT MINUTES OF THE MEETING 
17 February 2014 
Chairperson: H.E. Mr Joakim Reiter (Sweden) 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON 
1. I would like to welcome you to this meeting of the TPRB, which was convened by Airgram 
WTO/AIR/4241 on 30 January 2014. The purpose of this meeting is for Members and Observers to undertake their annual overview of trade developments in the international trading environment which are having an impact on the multilateral trading system in accordance with Paragraph G of 
Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement. As mentioned in the Airgram, today's discussion is assisted 
by the Director-General's Overview of Developm ents in the International Trading Environment, 
including trade monitoring, which was circulated in document WT/TPR/OV/16 on 31 January 2014 
in English. In accordance with the Rules of Procedure for meetings of the TPRB, the 
Director-General's Report was issued as an unrestricted document.  
2. At the outset, let me briefly recall the purpose of the TPRM according to Annex 3 of the 
Marrakesh Agreement, i.e. to achieve greater tr ansparency in, and understanding of Members' 
trade and trade-related policies and measures. It 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 apply fully to the trade 
monitoring exercise. 
3. Secondly, I would like to say a few words on the timing of today's meeting. As many of you 
will know, the TPRB normally meets to discuss the Director-General's Overview at the end of the 
calendar year. However, as a result of intense preparations for Bali, and the Bali Ministerial itself, 
it was decided to post-pone the meeting until today. Thinking back, somewhat involuntarily, to our level of activity and number of late-night meetings in November and early December last year, I 
am sure most of you will agree this was a wise decision.  
4. Thirdly, and before turning the attention to the Director-General's Report before us today, I 
would like to recall the Decision by Ministers at the 8th Ministerial Conference which called on the TPRB to continue and strengthen the monitoring exercise. In particular, Ministers expressed their 
commitment to comply with existing transparency obligations and reporting requirements needed 
for the preparation of the report, and to continue to support and cooperate with the Secretariat in a constructive fashion. It was recognized that this regular monitoring of trade-related 
developments enhances the relevance of the multilateral trading system. Specifically, the periodic 
reports by the Director-General provide Members wi th very useful information to keep track of 
developments and to analyse emerging trends in the area of trade policy. The creation of the 
Trade Monitoring Database last year also provid es added transparency on the implementation of 
trade measures. 
5. With all of this in mind, I would like to draw your attention to the relatively poor response 
rate provided by Members to the Secretariat in pr eparation for this Report. Although some of this 
probably can be explained by the intensity of pr eparations for Bali, the process of providing and WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  verifying information are crucial to guaranteeing and preserving the high quality and accuracy of 
the monitoring reports.  
6. Finally, and before I give the floor to the Director-General, let me highlight the importance 
of the key messages coming out of the Report before us today. In a nutshell, it is a sobering, 
albeit not alarmist, account of some important trade policy developments last year. Certainly, we 
are successfully avoiding any flood of trade restrictive measures. But the new restrictive measures that were taken last year are adding to an alre ady sizeable stock of measures from past years. 
Collectively, we also continue to impose a greate r number of new trade restrictive measures than 
the number of new trade facilitating measures. And we still have been less successful in rolling-back existing restrictions than imposing new ones. None of these trends are good news and 
they undoubtedly will do us no good in stimul ating much-needed growth, development and jobs.  
7. Equally important, I think it is worth recalling that we are still far from out of the woods 
when it comes to protectionist pressures. While many countries have weathered the financial and economic crisis, even regaining substantial losses in output and trade from earlier years, some are 
experiencing double or triple dips. Others seem stuck with sluggish growth. And many are facing a 
worrisome scenario of job-less growth. Persistent high levels of unemployment unfortunately run the risk of providing fertile ground for more inward-oriented policy responses.  
8. Moreover, when we, Members, have been capable of moving our trade negotiating agenda 
forward during the last few years, it has primarily been at the bilateral or regional levels. As this Report highlights, whilst the success in Bali can hopefully provide a beginning of a new era of multilateral rule-making, the gap between the bila teral or regional tracks, on the one hand, and 
the multilateral track, on the other, is now greater than ever.   
9. I am convinced that delegations would like to  share their views and comment on these, and 
other, important findings in the same open and constructive fashion as for the interim Report in 
July 2013.  
10. My intention this morning is to proceed as follows: I shall first give the floor to the 
Director-General to introduce his Report and laun ch our debate. I shall then open the floor for 
comments from delegations, and at the end of the di scussions, I will invite the Director-General to 
offer his concluding remarks.   
11. As usual for our meetings in this body, in the interest of brevity and to give all delegations 
the opportunity to speak, I will seek to ensure that interventions do not exceed seven minutes. If 
any delegation has a longer written statement
1 and wishes to have it incorporated into the minutes 
of this meeting, please send them electronically to the Secretariat. That way we can also use the limited time available to us for a more free-flowing substantive discussion. 
12. I would now like to invite the Director-General to make his introductory remarks. 
Mr Roberto Azevêdo, you have the floor. 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL 
13. The Bali Package was an historic achievement, representing a significant boost for trade, 
growth and development around the world. But its true significance lies in what it allows us to do next – to conclude the Doha Development Agenda.  
14. As we prepare to seize this opportunity in 2014, it is timely to look back on the challenges 
which emerged in the international trading environment in 2013 and to consider how Members 
might respond to these changes. 
15. You have all received my Report on developments in the international trading environment 
which was circulated on 31 January 2014. It was posted on the WTO website on the same date, 
according to approved procedures concerning unrestricted documents. 
                                               
1 At the request of the Delegation of Pakistan, a statement by that Delegation is reproduced in the 
Annex. WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  16. The Report aims to provide Members with  an assessment of a range of trade and 
trade-related issues and trends during the period from mid-October 2012 to mid-November 2013.  
17. Put simply, it is a health-check on global trade – and I think the diagnosis is cautiously 
positive although there are still reasons to be  concerned about trade restrictive measures. We 
were not in great shape last year – and we have picked up a few bad habits which we need to 
shake off. But overall trade growth is beginning to recover and we have a healthier outlook for 2014.  
18. Before I go into the details on the report, I'd just like to give you some background on its 
preparation.  
19. As in the past, the information on the measures included in this Report has been collected 
from inputs submitted by Members and Observers, bu t also from other official and public sources.  
20. 56 Members have replied to the initial request for information on measures taken during the 
period under review.  
21. All country-specific information reflected in the annexes was then sent for verification to the 
delegation concerned. And if it was not possible to verify the information then this has been noted 
in the annexes. 
22. I would like to thank those delegations who have participated in this important exercise.  
23. Unfortunately, however, the number of Member s that have responded to the request for 
information on their new trade measures still remains small. In fact, it slightly declined from 38% of the Membership in 2012 to 35% in 2013.  
24. Although many were also very helpful in responding to the request for verification of the 
accuracy of the information contained in the annexes, the reply rate was still only around 50% - 
which again is slightly down from last year's report. 
25. The lack of sufficient information has sometimes been a criticism of the monitoring reports – 
particularly when it comes to behind-the-border measures, including general economic support 
measures. 
26. As a first step towards improved transparency, and following the proposal made by several 
Members at last year’s meeting which was welcomed by all delegations, the Report includes a 
comprehensive overview of the WTO notification ob ligations and the status of their implementation 
by Members. 
27. We should now consider what more we can do to improve the transparency of general 
economic support measures and the overall participation in the monitoring of such measures.   
28. Let me now turn to some of the substantive findings of the Report. 
29. The context is all important here. The backdrop  to the review period was one of slow and 
uneven growth in the global economy. We should bear this in mind when considering our findings. 
30. First, in terms of trade in goods, its volume expanded by less than 2.5% in 2013.  
31. Growth projections for 2014 are much impr oved, hovering somewhere between 4% and 
4.5% - but this is still below the historical average since 1990 which is 5.5%.  
32. We are, of course, keeping a close eye on recent developments in the global economy and 
their impact on these projections.  
33. The WTO will be releasing its preliminary trade statistics for 2013 and updated forecasts for 
2014 and 2015 in early April. WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  34. Regarding developments in trade measures, there are two specific categories: trade remedy 
actions; and other trade measures. 
35. Counting both categories together, the Report shows that overall 407 new restrictive 
measures were reported du ring the review period.  
36. This is compared to 308 in the same period a year earlier.  
37. These new restrictive measures affect about 1.3% of world merchandise imports – valued at 
240 billion dollars.  
38. Moreover, they add to the existing stock of rest rictions and other impediments to the flow of 
international trade. 
39. Looking specifically at trade remedy actions – which were mostly antidumping and safeguard 
measures – we saw 217 new trade remedy investigations. This covers around 0.2% of world 
imports, and compares to 138 terminations of either investigations or existing duties covering 
around 0.1% of world imports.  
40. As was the case in 2012, therefore, more tr ade remedy actions were initiated than were 
terminated in 2013. 
41. Trade remedy activity is therefore clearly on the rise, and Members should reflect on what 
the causes of that might be. 
42. The number of new other trade measures also increased from 164 in the previous year to 
190 during the period of review.  
43. The majority of such new measures were applie d to imports mostly in the form of import 
tariff increases and customs procedures, covering about 1.1% of world goods imports. 
44. Compared to the trend in new restrictive me asures, the number of new trade-facilitating 
measures reported by Members fell to 107 in 2013, that is well down from 162 a year earlier. These measures cover the equivalent of 1.4% of world merchandise imports – which is 
approximately 258 billion dollars.   
45. These measures, plus the number of terminations of trade remedy actions, represent little 
more than one-third of the total measures covered in the Report.  
46. This paints a somewhat unflattering picture of the ratio of trade restrictive measures to 
facilitation measures.  
47. The Individual Trade Policy Reviews undertaken in 2013 show that some WTO Members are 
making genuine efforts to resist domestic pressures to erect trade barriers.  
48. But we must acknowledge that the stock of current trade restrictions and distortions 
continues to accumulate.  
49. I strongly believe we have a collective responsibility to attend to the risk posed by the 
cumulative effect of new and existing trade restrictions. 
50. The Trade Facilitation Agreement passed in Bali takes on even greater significance against 
this backdrop – and it reinforces the importance of implementing that Agreement in a timely and 
efficient way. 
51. Let me also draw your attention to the issues of regional trade agreements.  
52. During the period covered by this Report, Members notified 23 new RTAs to the WTO, 
bringing the total number in force today to 250.   WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  53. Negotiations on new RTAs are also continuing, in some cases between parties that 
collectively account for very substantial shares of world trade and GDP.  
54. My view is that these initiatives are positive  and are to be welcomed – but they can only 
ever be one part of the wider picture. Agreements  such as these cannot be sufficient on their own 
to ensure gains which can be realized on a global scale. In fact, the proliferation of regulations and 
standards could multiply costs rather than reduce them. 
55. As we all know, the multilateral trading system was never the only option for international 
trade negotiations. It has always coexisted with, and benefitted from, other initiatives. They are 
not mutually exclusive alternatives.  
56. As the RTAs progress and result in deeper liberalization and rules-making, the WTO must 
follow with an update of its own disciplines, so as to ensure a sound foundation for a level playing 
field to all Members.  
57. We must think about how the two processes can move forward together to reduce costs 
effectively and to curb protectionism. 
58. As I have said before, 2014 is a pivotal year for the WTO. It is the year that we will 
implement our first negotiated outcomes – and the year that the Doha Round is put back on track. 
59. So, in closing, I would like to highlight some of the key issues and challenges that we face in 
moving forward with our work in 2014. 
60. First, I have already made reference to the continued accumulation of trade restrictions and 
the new and significant developments in the area of RTAs. Both areas have significant ramifications for the evolution of the multilateral trading system and they merit priority attention 
by policymakers. 
61. Second, I think transparency is another area where we should have a frank discussion. 
Clearly, better transparency of trade and trade-related measures is a key factor affecting all 
aspects of the WTO's core functions.   
62. This Report shows that there is considerable scope for improvement in compliance with the 
many obligatory transparency mechanisms that exist and that underpin the effectiveness of the 
WTO rules generally.  
63. The sharing of information among Members is not just essential for the WTO's surveillance 
activities through the TPRB and the trade monitoring  exercise. It is also essential for: the proper 
implementation of WTO agreements; avoiding unnecessary trade disputes; and completing 
successful negotiations.  
64. Improving this aspect of the functioning of the WTO requires no new mandate; we simply 
have to be better at applying the existing rules. In this sense the Report is a call to action.  
65. Third, the positive outcome of Bali creates an  opportunity for you, the Members, to take 
steps to reinvigorate the multilateral trading system.  
66. Building on the commitment to multilateralism which Ministers showed in Bali, we should 
now consider how to create a better understanding of, and support for, the benefits of multilateral 
trade cooperation. 
67. And in doing so we must always bear in mind the many remaining traditional trade barriers 
and distortions that persist in the trading system, and the need to address them.  
68. So, Mr Chairman, that concludes my health-check.  
69. Thank you all for listening. I look forward to our discussion. WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS 
CANADA 70. I would like to thank the Chair for convening this meeting and the Director-General for his 
comprehensive annual Report. 
71. From our perspective, the Report offers four broad areas worthy of mention. 
72. First, regarding notifications: 
 Both the country-specific and global trade-monitoring activities of the Trade Policy Review 
Body are the basis for helping Members resi st protectionism. Transparency, and the 
resulting spotlight that allows trading partners - and traders - know what's right and not quite right, provides a natural check against bad policy; 
 Notifications also are the basis for corrective action. As the annual Report highlights, when 
notifications are reviewed in regular Committees, this helps to avoid disputes by providing a 
forum to highlight and address Members' specific trade concerns; 
 However, the timeliness and completeness of WTO notifications can still be improved, 
particularly as the percentage of Members providing input to this year's Report declined to 
34%; 
 Canada encourages Members to adhere to their transparency obligations and for the 
Secretariat to continue to explore ways to improve the timeliness and completeness of 
notifications, both to WTO regular bodies and to the TPRB. 
73. Second, Canada is concerned with the increasing number of trade restrictive measures: 
 One obvious area in need of attention is import restrictions, which account for approximately 
80% of new trade-related measures included in the Report (excluding trade remedy 
measures); 
 We are also concerned with a potential rise of non-tariff, behind-the-border barriers, such as 
SPS and TBT measures in agriculture; 
 We agree that it is not for this Report to judge the legitimacy of such measures, particularly 
as many support legitimate policy objectives related to the protection of human health and 
safety; 
 At the same time, we note that not all the SPS and TBT measures are benchmarked to 
international standards, suggesting that non-tariff, behind-the-border barriers could be an interesting area for further discussion and possible negotiation. 
74. Third, the section on Aid for Trade is worth highlighting: 
 The section underscores the importance of trade- related capacity-building to the growth and 
development of recipient countries, in the cont ext of the global expansion of value chains; 
 It rightly notes that aide for trade is not just about customs capacity, or trade policy 
expertise. It identifies as barriers transportation costs and related infrastructure, access to (trade) finance, customs procedures, labour skills, inadequate standards infrastructure and 
the regulatory and business environment as all being relevant; 
 As we have sought to emphasize in various discussions, this reminds us that the 
"development" agenda is not just about special provisions in trade agreements. It is about creating the enabling conditions for developing countries, and least-developed countries in 
particular, to benefit from participation in trade; 
 And this is an agenda that must be pursued in  collaboration with our partners in the UN, at 
the development banks, and with bilateral donors; 
 We look forward to the development of a new Aid for Trade work programme this year. 
75. Fourth and finally, we particularly welcome the changes to the Executive Summary in this 
year's report: WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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   The Summary is in fact not a summary at all. Rather it provides a narrative placing 
Members' trade and related measures in the broader context of the evolving multilateral 
trading landscape, which includes the successful outcome in Bali; 
 In this way, the Summary provides important guidance for our work this year, including with 
respect to the implementation of the Trade Fa cilitation Agreement and the development of a 
post-Bali work programme. I encourage my colleagues to send at least this section on to senior levels in capitals. 
76. In conclusion, I would like to stress Canada's strong support for the WTO's trade monitoring 
and surveillance activities. 
77. This year's Report is particularly useful as it underscores the relationship between our 
day-to-day work, trade protectionism, and broa der developments in the international trading 
system. 
78. I look forward to hearing other Members' views on this Report, and more specifically on the 
usefulness of the elements contained to our work this year. 
79. Most of all, I look forward to a more positive review next year. 
ARGENTINA 80. Gracias Sr. Presidente y gracias al Director General por la presentación de este Informe. 
También agradecemos a la Secretaría por el trabajo continuo en la elaboración de estos 
documentos. Este informe es un valioso instrumento que nos permite apreciar la evolución de la política comercial y las tendencias del comercio mundial. 
81. En tal sentido, vemos con preocupación la desaceleración económica y su consecuente 
impacto en los flujos comerciales, habiendo llevado a la Secretaría a ajustar a la baja su pronóstico 
respecto al comercio, el cual se ha visto particularmente sostenido por el incremento de las importaciones en los países en desarrollo. Es decir, y como bien señala el informe, sin la fuerte 
contribución de los países en desarrollo, el crecimiento del comercio mundial hubiera sido más 
negativo. Es un dato para reflexionar. Es de esperar que la situación cambie y que no sean solo los países en desarrollo los que movilicen el comercio, sino que las importaciones también comiencen 
a aumentar en los países desarrollados. 
82. El otro tema que quisiéramos destacar es el referido a la poca o escasa colaboración que 
estaría recibiendo la Secretaría para la elaboración de estos informes, en particular en lo concerniente a las medidas detrás de la frontera. El propio documento indica que mientras este 
ejercicio estaría permitiendo recoger información sobre la mayoría de las medidas en frontera, no 
sucede lo mismo con las medidas detrás de la frontera, como subsidios y ayuda estatal o medidas generales de apoyo económico. Es un tema que esperamos que mejore para los próximos 
informes, ya que muchos de estos programas de apoyo suelen ser también distorsionantes del 
comercio y de gran preocupación para los países en desarrollo, que no están en condiciones de hacer frente a los mismos o contrarrestar sus efectos. 
83. También nos preocupa, y ya lo hemos expresado durante el proceso de elaboración de este 
documento, que el mismo contenga medidas no confirmadas por los gobiernos o las delegaciones, basándose solamente en medios de prensa. Esta fuente, como ustedes saben, muchas veces no es creíble o tienen otros intereses de por medio, y en esta organización hemos tenido algún ejemplo 
reciente al respecto. Sugerimos, por ello, no tenerlas en cuenta, salvo que la información allí 
reflejada fuera confirmada por el propio gobierno. 
84. Asimismo, en el párrafo 3.56, página 41 del documento (versión en inglés), se hace 
referencia, también basándose en información sumi nistrada por medios de prensa, mencionándose 
incluso el título del artículo, bastante sensacionalista por cierto, a una disposición de Argentina que se aplica en cumplimiento de compromisos internacionales asumidos por nuestro país y cuya 
discusión además está sometida al ámbito del MERCOSUR. Por ello, nuestra delegación había 
pedido oportunamente su eliminación, considerando que no corresponde su inclusión en este Informe. No obstante, sigue figurando allí.  WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  85. Por último, tenemos una pregunta respecto a las cifras mencionadas en el documento. No 
vemos una conexión entre el número de medidas mencionadas en los Anexos y las cifras que se indican en el cuerpo del Informe, aunque el Direct or General en su intervención algo explicó. Se 
habla, por ejemplo, de 407 nuevas medidas restrictivas del comercio durante el período aquí 
cubierto, pero no hay ningún anexo con esas 407 medidas restrictivas. Hemos hecho todas las 
combinaciones posibles, sumando las medidas listadas en los distintos anexos pero no hemos podido llegar a ese número de 407 medidas. Nos gustaría saber cómo se llega a esa cifra.  
86. Muchas gracias Sr. Presidente y nuevamente agradecemos a la Secretaría y al Director 
General por el esfuerzo desplegado en la elaboración de este informe. 
REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA 87. Gracias Sr. Presidente, en primer lugar, dese amos agradecer al Sr. Director General y al 
equipo de la secretaría por este informe, el cual es muy completo, a la vez que refleja una 
situación económica  que sigue siendo preocupante.  Notamos que la ansiada recuperación todavía no llega, y el crecimiento económico mundial ha sido muy bajo, debido entre otras cosas, a la 
recesión en la zona euro, a la imprevisibilidad del impacto del desmantelamiento de la política 
monetaria de Estados Unidos, y a la desaceleración de las economías emergentes.  El informe indica que el comercio mundial de mercancías creció menos del 2.5% en 2013, y las previsiones 
para el 2014 son de entre el 4 y 4.5 %, cifras que continúan por debajo del promedio anual de los 
últimos 20 años.   
88. La economía de Estados Unidos creció 2.8% en el tercer trimestre del pasado año, sin 
embargo la tasa de desempleo sigue siendo muy alta  del 7.3% en octubre pasado.  En la zona 
euro, esta tasa también se mantiene a niveles realmente elevados alcanzando la cifra de 12% con 
una economía muy débil creciendo en apenas 0.4% con magros niveles de consumo e inversión.  Con respecto a las economías emergentes, China y Brasil mostraron tasas de crecimiento 
económicos importantes de 9.1% en el tercer trim estre en China y 6% en el segundo trimestre en 
Brasil, pero India registró un crecimiento de solo 2,3%.  En general aunque ya se verificaba una 
reactivación del crecimiento económico a nivel mundial, las fuertes fluctuaciones de las monedas 
de los emergentes en las últimas semanas, debido a la reacción de los mercados de capital frente 
a las expectativas de tasas de interés más elevadas en las economías desarrolladas por el endurecimiento de la política monetaria de la Reserva Federal, podría  generar sentimientos negativos en los mercados de las economías en desarrollo y desarrolladas que debiliten la lenta 
recuperación de las inversiones, el consumo y el comercio. En momentos en que el crecimiento a 
nivel mundial sigue siendo débil, desigual, y la situación del empleo sigue siendo muy difícil, se deben de hacer esfuerzos en los países del G-20 para coordinar las políticas monetarias, luego del 
éxito del pasado cuando esa coordinación evitó una más prolongada y profunda recesión. 
89. El informe refleja también que son las importaciones de los países en desarrollo las que han 
alentado y contribuido mayormente a que los flujos comerciales mundiales se mantengan en 
niveles positivos. Mientras que la contribución de los países desarrollados fue negativa de manera 
uniforme. En este sentido, los Gobiernos de los  países desarrollados en los que la crisis es más patente deben continuar redoblando esfuerzos para superarla sin tomar medidas proteccionistas, pues las mismas solo van a recrudecer la situación e incluso pueden contagiar a las economías en 
desarrollo en particular las más pequeñas y vulnerables que están muy vinculadas a la de los 
países desarrollados.   
90. Preocupa que el informe indique que entre oc tubre 2012 y noviembre 2013, se registraron 
407 nuevas medidas de restricción comercial y remedios comerciales, comparados con 308 
medidas en el año anterior.  De esta 407 medidas, 355 son remedios comerciales, en particular medidas anti-dumping y salvaguardias.  En este sentido, debemos aclarar que coincidimos con lo 
que indica el informe de que sería conveniente qu e los miembros reflexionemos sobre la causa del 
aumento de la aplicación de medidas de remedios comerciales, ya que a nuestro entender, las mismas están orientadas a corregir distorsiones en los flujos de comercio, y deberíamos ver qué está pasando en esta área.  Estamos de acuerdo en que los Miembros deben poner atención a los 
efectos acumulados de las medidas restrictivas comerciales nuevas y las que ya estaban siendo 
aplicadas, y en que los miembros del G-20, que se comprometieron desde el inicio de la crisis a la no aplicación de medidas de restricciones del flujo del comercio, tienen una responsabilidad mayor 
en este sentido, para crear confianza en el sistema multilateral, y tomar iniciativas de WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  liberalización del comercio, incluso como una forma de palear la crisis económica mundial que 
todavía sigue azotando a cientos de millones personas. 
91. Asimismo, estamos de acuerdo con lo indicado en el informe, en relación al éxito de la 
Novena Conferencia Ministerial de Bali, el cual, creemos,  debe dar un nuevo empuje al Sistema 
Multilateral de Comercio, y a que diseñemos un programa de trabajo que nos permita concluir las 
negociaciones de  la Ronda Doha centrado en el desarrollo y la agricultura.   
92. Finalmente, Sr. Presidente, coincidimos también con el informe de que la transparencia es 
un pilar de los trabajos de la OMC y que se debe mejorar.  El informe explica que se redujo el 
número de países que facilitan la información comercial necesaria para el ejercicio de monitoreo en este  Órgano.  Además se explica que este ejercicio no registra adecuadamente las medidas internas que pueden afectar el comercio, tales como los subsidios, las ayudas estatales,  las 
medidas generales de apoyo económico, las compras estatales y las regulaciones domésticas que 
afectan el comercio de bienes y servicios.  Creemos que sería importante que los Miembros faciliten información sobre estas medidas, en particular el G-20, y que las mismas sean analizadas, 
es probable que al hacerlo encontremos alguna explicación al aumento de medidas de remedios 
comerciales que se ha verificado. 
KOREA 
93. I would like to join the previous speakers in extending our sincere appreciation to Director 
General Azevêdo and the Secretariat for their hard  work in preparing this guiding Report.   
94. The Director General's Report and presentation well captures the overview of developments 
in the international trading environments. The positive outcome of MC-9 creates a momentum to 
reinvigorate the multilateral trading system. The proliferations of RTAs and Mega-FTAs has great 
ramification on the Multilateral Trading system and we should monitor to make them complementary and mutually supportive. The Report also notes that the number of trade 
restrictive measures increased from 303 to 407 between October 2012 and November 2013, which 
affect about 1.3% of world merchandise import. These measures fall short of an outbreak of 
protectionisms, but we should vigilantly monitor to stop and reverse this trend.  
95. More specifically, we would like to make two points. From October 2012 to November 2013 
as many as 254 anti-dumping investigations were initiated, which is 30 more than a year before. While we certainly recognize that trade remedy measures are legitimate rights of WTO Member 
under the WTO Agreement, we cannot disregard their protectionist dimensions. In this regard, we 
would like to urge Members to take a more cautious approach to trade remedy measures. 
96. Second, I wish to refer to the Report that only small number of Members responded to the 
request to provide information on their new trade measures, in fact, declining from 38% of the 
membership in 2012 to 35% in 2013. This is particularly the case with behind-border measures 
such as general economic support measures. To address this issue, it could be useful to explore conceptual issues regarding what constitutes "general economic support measures". The absence 
of such clarification may have contributed to Members’ insufficient reporting, making any 
assessment potentially partial and possibly inaccurate. 
97. As Director General pointed out, protectionist pressures are bound to remain in a context of 
slow and uneven economic recovery with persistent high levels of unemployment. During times 
such as this, it is all the more important to reinforce the monitoring mechanisms of the multilateral 
trading system by ensuring transparency, one of th e key functions of the WTO. Korea will continue 
to work closely and constructively with other Member to further strengthen the monitoring and 
surveillance mechanisms of the multilateral trading system. 
MÉXICO 98. México agradece al Director General y a su equipo por el informe tan completo que se nos 
presenta el día de hoy. El informe contiene mejorías metodológicas importantes, en línea con las 
recomendaciones emitidas por los Miembros en las más recientes revisiones del OEPC. WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  99. Es preocupante, no obstante, que el número de Miembros que participan en este ejercicio de 
monitoreo continúe siendo muy limitado. De hecho, esa participación ha disminuido respecto al informe anterior, en cuanto al número de Miembros que respondieron a la solicitud inicial de información del DG y de verificación de información por parte de la Secretaría, pero también en 
virtud de la respuesta de algunos Miembros en forma de contra-solicitud de que no se incluyan sus 
medidas en el informe. 
100.  Coincidimos con la Secretaría en que "la falta de activa participación de los Gobiernos en el 
suministro de información relevante y en el proceso de verificación, hace cualquier evaluación de 
las tendencias generales no solo parcial, sino posiblemente equivocada". Esto es causa de preocupación para mi delegación y nos alerta a ser cautelosos en las conclusiones que se puedan derivar del informe, no obstante que es una base muy valiosa para evaluar el entorno comercial 
internacional. 
101.  Al mismo tiempo, reafirma la necesidad de que todos los Miembros cumplamos debidamente 
las obligaciones de transparencia y el compromiso que confirmamos en la 8ª Conferencia 
Ministerial de colaborar con la Secretaría de manera constructiva en la elaboración de los informes. 
102.  Entrando en substancia, es alentador observar que la proyección para la expansión del 
volumen del comercio de mercancías en el 2014, entre 4% y 4,5%, es sustancialmente mayor al 
crecimiento observado en 2013. Sin embargo, está todavía por debajo de la tendencia de largo 
plazo del comercio mundial. 
103.  Por ello, sigue siendo preocupante que algunos países continúen manteniendo medias que 
restringen el comercio o implementando nuevas, y que el número de "nuevas medidas restrictivas" 
siga yendo en aumento respecto a los períodos anteriores. Es lamentable que a pesar de las 
numerosas señales políticas y del reiterado compromiso adquirido al más alto nivel por los países del G-20 de mantener los mercados abiertos y de dar marcha atrás a cualquier medida 
proteccionista que pueda haber surgido como consecuencia de la crisis económica, sean sobre todo 
Miembros pertenecientes a este grupo quienes registran el mayor número de nuevas medidas. 
104.  Resulta decepcionante también que el número de las medidas de facilitación del comercio 
sea tan limitado y francamente menor que el número de medidas restrictivas. Se nos reporta que 
80 de las medidas de facilitación en el período que nos ocupa fueron reducciones arancelarias, algunas implementadas sobre bases temporales. Esperaríamos que esas medidas temporales se vuelvan definitivas, y que una vez que el Acuerdo sobre Facilitación del Comercio entre en vigor, 
más y más medidas de facilitación que impliquen la mejora y simplificación de procedimientos 
aduanales serán notificadas. 
105.  Es de destacar, no obstante, que de las 407 "nuevas medidas" que no facilitan el comercio 
reportadas por la Secretaría para el período de octubre 2012 a noviembre 2013, 355 son acciones 
sobre remedios comerciales, y que de esas 355 acciones, 217 corresponden a inicios de investigación. Debemos ser muy cautos en cómo tratamos esta información. 
106.  Si bien estamos abiertos a debatir las causales entre las medidas de remedios comerciales y 
el proteccionismo comercial, lo que sí es claro es que no todos los inicios de investigación resultan en la imposición de medidas compensatorias. Por ejemplo, en el informe se menciona a México entre los Miembros que reportaron un incremento  en el número de investigaciones antidumping 
iniciadas, de 3 a 7, respecto al período anterior. Sin embargo, debe aclararse que no fueron sino 5 
inicios de investigación, dado que 2 de tales acciones fueron comprobaciones anti-elusión. 
107.  Esto refleja que existen ciertos problemas conceptuales en el informe. Haremos llegar más 
observaciones por escrito a la Secretaría. Aunque sí es de destacar aquí que, en suma, para el 
caso de México hubo no 7 sino 5 inicios de investigación antidumping en el período que nos ocupa, de los cuales al día de hoy, solo 1 ha llegado a resolución preliminar y los restantes ni siquiera a 
esa etapa. 
108.  Si bien esto muestra que puede haber en el informe una sobre-estimación del 
proteccionismo, también hay que tener en cuenta que, como bien explica la Secretaría, existe una laguna de información en este informe tocante a medidas aplicadas dentro de las fronteras, como 
subsidios, ayuda estatal, medidas generales de apoyo económico, y reglamentaciones domésticas WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  que afectan el comercio de bienes y servicios, por los problemas de falta de participación de los 
Miembros en este ejercicio a los que me he referido antes. Sin duda, el área de las medidas no arancelarias debe ser mejor cubierta por el mecanismo de vigilancia. 
109.  Nos complace que entre las mejoras que se han introducido el informe, está la consideración 
de información derivada de los exámenes de las políticas comerciales (TPRs). México fue uno de 
los Miembros que celebró su examen durante 2013. En el informe se menciona que varias delegaciones felicitaron a México por su programa de liberalización unilateral, mediante el cual se 
ha reducido el arancel promedio de 11,2% en 2007 a 6,2% en 2012. Debo destacar que México 
redujo el arancel promedio del sector industrial de 10,4% a sólo 4,3%, y en el sector agrícola llevó a cabo en 2013 una disminución arancelaria de4.5 puntos porcentuales. 
110.  El programa para la simplificación del comercio exterior de México comprende una gran 
variedad de medidas de facilitación comercial, con las cuales podremos dar cumplimiento a 
prácticamente la totalidad de medidas comprendidas en el Acuerdo sobre Facilitación del Comercio a partir de su entrada en vigor. 
111.  En el informe también se menciona que durant e su TPR, México recibió recomendaciones por 
parte de algunos Miembros de reducir restricciones a la inversión extranjera directa en sectores tales como la energía y las telecomunicaciones. Al respecto, debo enfatizar que en 2013, el 
Congreso mexicano aprobó un paquete de reformas estructurales, las más trascendentales en 
materia económica y de desarrollo social de la historia del país, que incluyen las áreas de telecomunicaciones, energética, financiera, fiscal y de competencia económica, entre otras. 
112.  México seguirá cumpliendo con su compromiso de no utilizar medidas proteccionistas, 
demostrando así su responsabilidad con el sistema multilateral de comercio y en aras de la 
recuperación económica mundial. 
113.  Mi delegación ha venido apoyando los esfuerzos del Director General en la elaboración de 
este informe y lo seguirá haciendo. Éste se ha co nvertido en una pieza clave para monitorear el 
entorno comercial internacional. No obstante, seguimos pensando que no debemos conformarnos únicamente con estimar el porcentaje de las importaciones afectadas por las medidas comerciales. 
Es necesario evaluar su impacto económico y sus efectos sobre los flujos comerciales y, 
particularmente, en las cadenas de valor. 
114.  Concluyo mi intervención reiterando el agradecimiento de mi delegación al Director General 
y a la Secretaría por el excelente informe. 
CHINA 
115.  Thank you, Mr Chairman, for convening this meeting in timely manner. I thank Director 
General for the comprehensive health check report. We support his ideas for the work of 2014. 
Joining others, we also thank the Secretariat for producing and presenting the Report. China 
believes that this monitoring exercise serves the collective interests of the entire Membership. Meanwhile, I believe it also helps other global governance bodies better understand the 
international trading environment and address the i ssues and challenges in the process of global 
economic recovery. Therefore, China stands ready to further support the efforts by the secretariat 
in this regards.  
116.  A salient feature of this Report is that new trade restriction measures add to the existing 
high stock of restrictions and other impediments to the flow of international trade. At this critical 
juncture with fragile economic situation in the world, it is important for us to make the right response to the rising temptation of protectionism. China is in favour of the suggestion of this 
Report that the G-20 members have a particular responsibility to lead by examples in resisting 
domestic pressures to erect trade barriers and in creating the confidence that is needed for the success of further liberalization initiatives under the WTO. 
117.  China is the biggest victim of protectionism and trade restrictive measures. As described in 
this report, China still remains the Member most affected by anti-dumping initiations during the last two years. China urges relevant Members to redouble their efforts to resist protectionist pressures and refrain from abusing trade remedy measures. WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  118.  On our side, as our President XI Jinping has pointed out, "China will unwaveringly adhere to 
its reform and opening-up process. The more developed China is the more open China will be". Therefore, in 2014 China will further the open ness of its economy in an all-round manner, 
including on investment and services such as financial and education. Some of those efforts are 
being implemented through the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, as this Report reflected.  
119.  Finally, at the time when the world faces seve re challenges, it is vital that trade keeps 
playing its stabilizing and insurance role. For this purpose, we believe the WTO has a big role to 
play and a long way to go. 
SWITZERLAND 120.  My Delegation would like first to thank the Director-General for his presentation and the 
WTO Secretariat for having produced this new annual Report on trade-related developments 
which, once again presents a comprehensive picture of the situation, problems and challenges we 
are currently facing in the area of international trade and trade policy. We welcome the continuation of this mechanism, which clearly contributes to improving transparency in the 
multilateral trading system and is now a core activity of the WTO. 
121.  Despite the importance given by Ministers to the TPRB work on monitoring trade and 
trade-related measures, we note with great disappointment that only 35% of the Membership 
replied to the Director-General's request for information. This makes it difficult for the Secretariat 
to produce an unbiased overview of trade-related developments if a large majority of Members retain information on their own measures. More discipline in this respect is therefore required so that the results of this exercise become more me aningful. We therefore welcome the fact that the 
Secretariat included again in its Report a list of those Members and observers who actively 
participated in this exercise. We very much encourage the Secretariat to continue publishing in future such a list of cooperating Members to en tice others to become also more transparent. 
122.  The problem here is the same as with notifications. Still, only a minority of Members is 
providing complete and timely notifications an d thus fulfil their transparency requirements. 
123.  On the substance of the Report, Switzerland notes with disappointment that despite some 
recent encouraging economic developments, the growth of volume in merchandise trade remained 
quite sluggish in 2013. Even as we are witnessing th e beginning of a recovery of world trade, it is 
likely to remain both slow and uneven this year. As the Secretariat rightly notes, it is therefore high time for Members to reflect on what  the causes of this sluggishness may be. 
124.  With the global economic outlook remaining subdued, resisting protectionist trends and 
reversing protectionist measures in place must remain a top priority. The WTO served its Members well as a bulwark against widespread protectionism during and in the aftermath of the financial 
and economic crisis. New import restrictions have been shown to harm the global economy. The 
same holds true for export restrictions. By monitoring these and other measures potentially detrimental to trade, the WTO assumes a crucial role  in world trade and contributes significantly to 
containing protectionist pressures. A further strengthening of this role is therefore in the collective 
interest of all WTO Members. 
125.  This being said, slow trade growth is not only the result of trade restrictions which breach 
WTO rules. We strongly believe that there is also a direct link between unsatisfactory trade growth 
and the continued accumulation of trade remedi es, notably antidumping measures. Switzerland 
notes with great concern that a number of Members, in particular the G-20, resort increasingly to antidumping measures. Even though some of th ese measures might be in compliance with WTO 
obligations, they are nonetheless dangerous as they tend to restrict trade and can generate tit for 
tat reactions from trading partners. It is indeed quite significant to observe that it is precisely those countries which are the greatest users of these instruments which have also become the 
most frequent target of antidumping measures initiated by their partners. 
126.  Trade remedies also tend to hamper normal structural adjustment in the countries using 
them, and are thus detrimental to the longer-t erm economic development and growth of the 
sectors so protected. Furthermore, it is important to emphasize that in today's world of global 
value chains and fragmented production processes, exports increasingly depend on imports. Trade WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  remedies, like other barriers to imports, thus inevitably translate into higher costs precisely for the 
exporters of those Members applying trade remedies , and, in turn, this affects negatively their 
international competitiveness. 
127.  Further initiatives should be taken to find solutions to the current slow growth and economic 
difficulties of our globalized world. Boosting trade can contribute to economic growth and 
employment, and removing obstacles to trade can enhance countries' ability to participate in global value chains. Therefore, pursuing progressive trade liberalization should feature high on the 
WTO agenda. But the rules of the multilateral tradin g system also need to be further strengthened 
and developed to adapt the WTO to the realities of  the 21st century. Among the latter, Switzerland 
considers that we will need to address again also, at some point, the issue of the potential abuse of antidumping measures by reviving the rules ne gotiations in the context of the post-Bali work 
programme. Last, but not least, we need to better  understand the role and functioning of global 
value chains in international trade. 
128.  Before I conclude, Mr Chairman, I would like to invite once again Members to contribute to 
the strengthening of the WTO trade-monitoring  process through full cooperation with the 
Secretariat with regard to their trade and trade-related measures as well as with more complete and timely notifications. A further improvement in the quality of these trade monitoring reports will 
only be possible with the full participation of each of us. Switzerland remains for its part fully 
committed to this exercise and will continue to cooperate fully with the WTO Secretariat to provide maximum transparency on its own trade and trade-related policies. 
UGANDA 
129.  On behalf of the LDCs Group we thank the Director General for his comprehensive Report 
regarding developments in the international trading environment. We commend him for this transparency mechanism that continues to play a fundamental role in informing Members on the 
different aspects of the multilateral trading environment.  
130.  This Report is timely in nature. As appropriately highlighted, different people interpret 
results differently but what is important is that like in a mirror everyone sees his image in it. It is 
therefore important that as a move along in this post Bali period, Members should ensure that 
both developing and LDCs derive fruitful resu lts with economic value from the Bali outcome 
decisions. 
131.  We therefore urge Members to take pro-active steps in ensuring that the LDC decisions are 
implemented in a meaningful way with a view to  promote the economic growth and development 
of the weakest and most vulnerable Members of the multilateral trading system. 
UNITED STATES 
132.  The United States would like to join others in expressing thanks to the Director General and 
the Secretariat for continuing their efforts to monitor trade and trade-related measures and for producing this extensive and informative Report. 
133.  In focusing in part on the trade facilitation measures Members have taken over the past 
year, this Report underscores for us that the first order of business at the WTO must be to finish what we started by staying through to the results at Bali and implementing the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement. 
134.  The United States is also open-minded as we begin to work together to try to identify future 
opportunities for progress post Bali. It is a fact, however, that the extent to which we would be able to make progress in certain areas would depend in part on whether or not we can overcome 
gaps in information and gather updated data. 
135.  In this regard, we agree with the Report that a progress is still needed in agriculture to 
reduce the number of outstanding notifications in domestic support and export subsidies. There 
are information gaps regarding the situation of Members on tariffs. WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  136.  We also agree with the Report that the regular work of the WTO could benefit from more 
attention to the operation of the many transparency mechanisms that exist and that underpin the effectiveness of WTO rules in general. None of this day-to-day committed work is headline-grabbing but it is vital in helping determine our ability to move forward and maintain 
momentum from Bali. 
137.  The United States remains eager to partner in the Committees with Members of any size and 
affiliation to pursue specific trade restrictive measures. We remain particularly concerned about 
the rising incidence amongst some Members of info rmal measures that are not even put on paper 
or that Members deny exist such as export restrictions. In that vein, localisation barriers to trade remain of significant concern as well. 
138.  Finally, a significant attention is devoted in the Report to RTAs. We would like to underscore 
our hope that those Members who have not notified their agreements do so expeditiously. And 
while we welcome Members driven discussions on the relationship and impact of the growing 
number of RTAs on the multilateral trading system, we want to highlight the importance of 
compliance with the rules governing RTAs. If Members are seeking to focus on best practices in 
the areas of RTAs, we would hope to start with this basic tendency. 
JAPAN 
139.  First of all, Japan extends our appreciation to the Director General's Report on the overview 
of the developments in the international trading environment. It is very informative and useful to understand the current trend of world trade and trade restricted measures for our reflections. 
140.  I would like to make comments on the following five specific points. 
141.  First, the success of MC9 has contributed to re storing the credibility of the Multilateral 
Trading System. Given the increasing level of integration of world economy promoted by the establishment of Global and Regional Value Ch ains, the nature of trade has changed and has 
become a far deeper foundation of the global economy. Continued efforts are necessary to 
maintain the trend of trade liberalization and to resist protectionism. In this context, the agreement on trade facilitation is a key development for reducing the cost of trade and for the 
strengthening of the Multilateral Trading System. Th e efforts need to be encouraged to make this 
agreement to enter into force as soon as possible.  
142.  Second, TPRB monitoring has always been an effective way to address protectionism. Japan 
supports and continues to contribute to the monitoring efforts. According to the Director General’s 
report, however, the number of Members who contri buted this time was 56, which represents only 
35% of the entire membership. Moreover the partic ipation appears to have been reduced from the 
Report of last time, where 60 Members had contributed. The expansion of contribution by 
Members needs to be further encouraged to make the Report more credible. 
143.  Third, Japan has concern on the proliferation of protectionism. According to the report, 
407 trade restrictive measures were introduced during the monitoring period, which is a significant 
increase from the 308 measures for the previous period. We are concerned, in particular, that 
trade remedies appear to be on an increasing trend. Trade remedies must be consistent with the WTO rules and need to be carefully watched. Any abuse of such measures must be prevented and, in case they have been invoked, they must be brought into conformity with the WTO. 
144.  Fourth, as RTAs are expanding, it is more and more important to maintain their roles as 
complements to the multilateral trading system. In th is light, transparency must be a first priority 
and, therefore, notification requirements must be fulfilled. From October 2012 to November 2013, 
23 RTAs were notified to the WTO and the accumulated number is now reached 250. However, it 
appears that around 100 existing RTAs have not been properly notified. We have concerns on the lack of notification and would like to en courage Members to fulfil the requirements. 
145.  Fifth, like Canada, the role of Aid for Trade is significantly important in supporting the efforts 
of developing countries to improve their capacities to  trade, and, in particular, to participate in the 
global and/or regional value chains. Japan will continue its efforts to contribute to such activities WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  as well as further discussions on Aid for Trade in the various opportunities including those in the 
WTO. 
HONG KONG, CHINA 146.  Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Director General and your team for the very informative 
and useful report. 
147.  Hong Kong, China remains fully committed to the multilateral trading system, and strongly 
supports this trade monitoring exercise. We believe all Members should regularly review their 
trade restrictive measures to see if they are still warranted, and should adopt further trade 
facilitating measures, with a view to promoting economic development. 
148.  This Report covers a wide range of subjects. I wish to comment only on some of them.  
149.  On trade facilitating measures, we note with concern that the number of measures reported 
by Members had dropped from 162 to 107. Moreover, nearly 80% of them are on tariff reductions 
(including temporary ones) and only 15% are on improved customs procedures. Surely more can 
be done, and we have in front of us the new Tr ade Facilitation Agreement which will make a big 
difference. So let’s work together for the early implementation of that Agreement. 
150.  On the other hand, we can see that initiation of trade remedy investigations is taking an 
upward trend, from 272 in the last Report to 317 in this one. These are mainly anti-dumping (AD) 
actions, coming from developed and developing countries alike; and for some Members, the 
number of investigations has almost doubled. As the Report says, the rising number of investigations suggests a probable rise in the number of trade remedy measures to be imposed.  While we appreciate that some of these measures may be justified in the circumstances of the 
cases concerned, we strongly encourage Members to exercise caution and due restraint in 
resorting to trade remedy actions. 
151.  On TBT measures, we note that the number of specific trade concerns (STCs) raised at the 
TBT Committee continues to grow. 50 new STCs had been raised during the review period, and like 
the previous year, Members were mainly asking for further information or clarification. So, there seems to be a need to find possible tools and avenues for the consultation and resolution of STCs 
in the Committee. Hong Kong, China looks forwar d to constructive discussion in this regard. 
152.  Regarding Trade in Services, we are pleased to see more voluntary liberalization measures 
that open up the market to foreign participation. Liberalization of the financial services sector in some emerging markets (such as the granting of investor licenses to foreign institutions by the 
China Securities Regulatory Commission), and measures taken by some developing countries to 
facilitate the temporary movement of natural persons (such as the new short term local contract visa created by Brazil, and the extension of the va lidity period for the "temporary worker" visa in 
Columbia from one year to three years) are commendable. 
153.  Finally, we cannot over-emphasize the import ance of transparency, and therefore the 
timeliness of notification and submission of info rmation, to the success of the multilateral trading 
system and the credibility of the WTO. Reading this report, we believe there is much room for 
improvement. In some cases, the compliance rates of notifications had fallen below 20%. In this 
connection, Members would note that the next due date for notification of quantitative restrictions is September 2014. We encourage Members to work to this target and fulfil their notification 
obligations. 
154.  Separately, the response rate to the DG’s requ est for information on measures taken during 
the review period is not much better - only 35% of the Membership replied, worse than the 38% 
for the previous report. Hong Kong, China earnestly appeals to all fellow Members to furnish 
information to the Director General in a timely manner. This exercise is for everyone’s benefit, so let’s give it our full support. WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  EUROPEAN UNION 
155.  The EU welcomes the annual Report on the international trading environment. It is an 
extremely useful tool raising important questions which merit attention and further debate among Members. The DG reports that "The continued accumulation of trade restrictions in 2013 falls far 
short of an outbreak of protectionism, but it must be a priority for policy makers to stop the trend 
and reverse it". The EU cannot agree more with the DG's recommendation and priority to reverse the trend. Overall, Chair, we widely support the thoughtful comments presented by the DG.  
156.  However, as an expression of a very special preoccupation, we decided to concentrate most 
of our comments today on one specific case that currently affects the 28 EU Member States. It is a 
striking example of protectionism recently appl ied by one Member, Russia, against the whole of 
the EU. It is a serious issue which for the EU constitutes an alarming signal of much wider 
relevance for 2014 perspectives on protectionism trends . It is noticeable that it originates from the 
host of the last G-20 summit. The measure at stake de facto  bans all EU exports of live pigs and 
pork meat.  
157.  It is not the first time that the EU is faced with Russian barriers to trade that are not 
consistent with WTO fundamental principles. The EU has raised its concerns several times in the relevant Committees. The repeated restrictions witnessed by the EU in the short time since Russia 
has joined the WTO, would appear – even to the most casual of observers – to be part of a wider 
effort to protect Russian industry in areas such as: the agricultural sector, vehicles, paper products and machinery. The WTO annual report, itself, stresses the exceptional situation of Russia which, one year after its accession, is already subject to a dispute settlement case. 
158.  Against this background, it is extremely disappointing to see that Russia does not reverse 
the trend. On the contrary, Russia has recently st opped accepting imports of all live pigs and pig 
meat from the entire EU on the basis of two case s of wild boars infected with African swine fever 
found in Lithuania. This extreme measure runs counter to all international norms which recognize 
the possibility for an infected area to be contained and for trade to continue unabated from non-infected areas (so-called regionalisation). Russia's measure therefore comes not only as a 
surprise – it also appears to be clearly inconsistent with the relevant WTO obligations and 
international norms. 
159.  Let me recall that African swine fever (ASF) first arrived in that part of the world in Georgia 
in 2007. From there it spread to Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Russia has reported close to 
400 outbreaks since then with 6 cases already this year. The OIE – the World Organisation of 
Animal Health – adds a further 500 cases of outbreaks in wild boar to that figure. Belarus and Ukraine have also recently reported a few cases.  
160.  Given the constant threat to the EU since then, the EU took strict preventive measures and 
established increased surveillance. It is thanks to these measures that Lithuania was able to identify the two wild boars on 24 January. Lithuania has immediately taken very strict measures to 
combat the possible spread of the disease in close cooperation with the European Commission. 
Lithuania's measures go far beyond EU law and the international standards set by the World Organisation on Animal Health (the OIE). Needless to say that the EU informed Russia and all trading partners concerned immediately. Russian experts have been invited to witness the 
situation on the spot, which they have done, together with OIE experts.  
161.  Of course, the EU continues its strict preventive measures (over 12.000 tests have been 
carried out during the last weeks). The intense mo nitoring in place shows that since then there 
have been no other new cases in Lithuania or in any other region or Member State that are 
considered to be ASF free.  
162.  In spite of all these precautions applied by Lithuania and the EU, Russia de facto  bans the 
import of all live pigs and pig meat originatin g from the entire EU. This creates significant 
economic damage. These EU exports to Russia amount  to 4 million euros a day, 1.4 billion euros a 
year, and Russia represents one quarter of all EU exports. 
163.  Considering the grave economic implications and the extent of the damage caused by 
Russian measure, the EU tried to get into contact with Russian SPS authorities immediately. But it WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  is only now, after 3 full weeks, that the first high level meeting has taken place last Friday with no 
result. 
164.  The ban against the entire EU is clearly unfounded, disproportionate and not in line with 
Russian obligations under the WTO Agreement, in particular with Article 6 of the SPS Agreement 
dealing with regionalisation, and with Article 2 which outlaws discriminatory and excessive SPS 
measures. I do hope that, in the light of these facts, Russia will finally take prompt action in line with its WTO obligations. 
165.  The WTO Report insists on transparency and the EU does share that this is a key obligation 
of Members. In the case I have just described to you, Russia has been most in-transparent. It is only last week, 10 February, that Russia notified  to the WTO the so-called emergency measures it 
had taken two weeks earlier. In this notification, Russia claims that the restrictions only concern 
Lithuania while in reality the restrictions in effect cover the entire EU. This de facto  total embargo 
creates considerable economic damage not only to the EU but also to the Russian consumers and the Russian processing industry which has last week written to President Putin underlining the 
catastrophic impact of the embargo on their situation. 
166.  The EU has already asked the Russian authorities to align with their WTO obligations and 
apply the regionalisation principle in order to auth orise all EU areas that are free of the disease to 
export freely to Russia, based on certificates th at clearly certify the fact of being free of the 
disease.  
167.  Let me therefore ask the following question from the representative of Russia: can Russia 
confirm, that all Member States of the European  Union free from African swine fever, are allowed 
to export to Russia with no other obstacles at the borders? Equally, does Russia accept to 
undertake the necessary administrative steps to make this possible in practice, on the ground? The EU looks forward to a positive reply by the representative of Russia today, confirming immediate 
action to lift the unjustified import ban. This would allow to avoid the considerable damage that 
the measure brings not only to the EU exporter s, but also to the overall EU-Russia economic 
relationship. 
168.  The EU strongly believes that constructive dialogue can, and will, bring about more and 
better results.  
169.  The EU does believe that the multilateral trading system brings benefits to all regardless of 
the respective weights of the individual WTO Members. The reasons for this are several: all of us 
benefit from transparency. All of us benefit from non-discrimination and the absence of excessive 
restrictions. All of us benefit from having an equal seat at the table when negotiating. And all of us 
benefit from dispute settlement mechanisms that allow us to settle our trade disputes peacefully 
regardless of our share of the markets at stake or our relative powers.  
170.  The EU shares your recommendation that all Members and more particularly the G-20 
members should abide by their commitments and ma ke all efforts to reverse the trend which still 
shows a negative balance between the number of new barriers and the removal of barriers since 
2008.  
171.  Transparency as I said already is a key area and, as a first step to improve the overall 
situation, Members must all comply with the notification’s obligations. I would like to highlight the 
EU concerns regarding the poor level of compliance that the Secretariat reports in particular but 
not only in terms of notifications regarding among others import licensing, STEs and subsidies granted by Members.  
172.  Regarding post Bali, discussions are taking place now and the EU has already said several 
times that it attaches utmost importance to the implementation of the TF agreement. The EU also supports the DG's views that for Parties to be able to negotiate in a post Bali context, disposing of 
relevant data is absolutely crucial. The work of the WTO Secretariat in establishing relevant 
databases but also of other international organisations in bringing pertinent information for negotiators is fundamental.  WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  173.  The Secretariat points to the recurrent discussion as to the compatibility and consistency of 
regional trade agreements with the multilateral tr ading system. The EU position is well known and 
was developed at length during the last EU TPR. Let me just state that the EU is convinced that 
ambitious bilateral and regional agreements will send a clear signal of our willingness to open 
markets on goods and services as well as tackling complex regulatory issues. These may also pave 
the way to future multilateral negotiations in our Organization. In this respect, the EU believes that it is important to maintain the centrality of the WTO, also to conduct analysis and work on 
RTA-related issues. As I already said, transparency and due notifications are key for all of us to be 
in a position to work meaningfully on the relationship and the consistency of the RTAs with the multilateral trading system at times when RTAs do proliferate at a rate of about 14 new RTAs in force per year with still about 100 not notified o fficially. The EU defends that a right balance be 
struck between the transparency obligations and the burden of reporting. To that end, the EU has 
made specific proposals to discuss implementation  reports in accordance with Article 15 of the 
Transparency Mechanism.  
174.  Among many other issues, including the opening up of certain services sectors by Members, 
the Report stresses the potential offered by the revised GPA. In this regard, the EU strongly 
encourages other Parties to proceed to a swift submission of their instrument of acceptance. 
Mr Chair, we share your view that Bali has been a real success and has put the Organization back 
on track. We must collectively act to ensure th is success continues. The EU is committed to the 
multilateral trading system and the EU has resisted protectionism. These are not my words. This is the Chair's conclusion of the EU TPR last July. The EU is not to change direction and asks other 
Members to implement their commitments and reverse protectionism measures. 
175.  Chair, I raised specific concerns I felt it was prudent to share with all of you because, 
although specific, they appear to me of wider interest regarding the perspectives for the year 
ahead. 
SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TA IWAN, PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU 
176.  My delegation would like to join previous speakers in thanking the Director General and the 
Secretariat for their efforts in producing this latest Report on development in the international 
trading environment (WT/TPR/OV/16). 
177.  The Annual Report presents a valuable and comprehensive picture of exactly what we are 
facing in the area of international trade. We are ve ry much in favour of continuing with the current 
monitoring exercise, which we are convinced does help to improve transparency in the multilateral 
trading system. However, we were disappointed to learn from the Report that the number of 
Members providing information on their new trade measures for this exercise actually declined 
from 38% of the membership in 2012 to 35% in 20 13. We share the view of colleagues that there 
is considerable scope for improvement among Memb ers on the transparency dimension. For this 
monitoring exercise to be of real and lasting value, fuller and broader participation across the 
Membership is needed.  Therefore, all Members shou ld be encouraged to fulfil the obligations they 
have made to strengthen the multilateral trading system. 
178.  The WTO has always advocated an open tradin g system. And yet we see the number of new 
trade restricting measures remained increasing in 2013, while the number of new trade facilitating 
measures fell significantly. This trend merits our close attention. A major return to protectionism 
would not only deal a devastating blow to the system itself, but would also destroy the long-established credibility of the WTO as the organization with the leading role in world trade. We 
must proceed with caution, resist protectionist pr essures and work collectively on opening markets 
rather than closing them. 
179.  The situation we face now is perhaps even more critical than it was during the financial 
crisis. The world needs a stronger commitment from all Governments to revitalize the multilateral 
trading system. We share the view of the Director-General in his Report that the positive outcome 
at the Bali MC9 creates an opportunity to take the necessary steps to reinvigorate the multilateral trading system. In particular, the efforts at bringing into force the TF Agreement in the near future 
will mean benefits for all Members. So, we must  all contribute to keeping up the momentum and 
build on the strong reaffirmation by Ministers in Bali to tackle the challenges among Members.  Even though the goal of achieving consensus on a DDA package among WTO Members may be out WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  of reach in the short term, the possibility still exists for advancing with smaller steps; and this 
possibility should not be lost. 
180.  Moreover, the accelerating development of regional trade negotiations is also highlighted in 
the Report. The number of RTAs continues to rise and this seems to have become an inevitable 
trend among Members in all parts of the world. It is absolutely crucial, therefore, that Members 
make serious efforts to ensure that they are operating harmoniously with WTO rules, and complement rather than challenge the multilateral trading system. 
181.  Having said this, we would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to you, 
Mr Chairman, and the Secretariat for your hard work in facilitating some improvements in the trade monitoring exercise last year. Productive discussions have certainly taken place and major suggestions on methodology and clarification from the floor have been adopted into this latest 
Report. 
182.  And, last but not least, Mr Chairman, we wish to stress that the value of this ever-improving 
Report will depend on the degree of support that  Members give to providing information to the 
Secretariat on their trade-related measures. Therefore, Members must continually be encouraged 
to cooperate in this respect. It is only with the full participation of Members in the TPRM and trade-monitoring exercises that the WTO's core functions can be strengthened and the WTO 
Agreements can be better implemented. 
BRAZIL 183.  Let me also thank the Director General and Secretariat team for this Report on the 
international trading environment, a Report and an exercise that we do value. 
184.  It is matter of concern that global trade growth remains below its historical average, a result 
of the fact that the global economy has not cleared the storm yet. 
185.  Fortunately, there is good news as well. First, the expected trade growth forecast is 
indicating an upward trend. Second, MC-9 marked a turning point for the WTO and brought 
renewed hope for a balanced conclusion of the DDA.  
186.  Development has to be at the centre of our efforts with a focus on the unfinished business of 
the 20th century. After Bali, we cannot fail to address the core issues related to the elimination of 
export subsidies and reduction of domestic support in agriculture, as well as to market access in agriculture, NAMA and services. 
187.  Turning back to the report, I take comfort in noting that Brazil is the country with the 
highest number of trade-facilitating measures, including tariff reductions for more than 
3,100 products, such as capital goods, IT  equipment, chemicals and foodstuffs. 
188.  Like the Brazilian delegation stressed in previous TPRB meetings, let me underscore once 
again that this annual Report would be more comprehensive and useful if it included further 
information on general economic support measures. Brazil strongly welcomes the launching of the conceptual and definitional debate suggested by the Director General on them. 
189.  In the same vein, support measures in the agricultural sector have always been a matter of 
major systemic concern, particularly for developing countries, and must receive even closer scrutiny. We reiterate our request to see more detailed analytical data in future reports. 
190.  Brazil stands ready to give its contribution to the improvement of the trade monitoring 
function in the WTO and is open to a productive debate on the ideas you submitted in your report, 
Mr Director-General. 
ECUADOR 
191.  El informe presentado ante nosotros el día de hoy resume los sucesos que hayan provocado 
un efecto en el comercio internacional durante el período de examen. Vemos por ejemplo que allí 
se menciona las preocupaciones comerciales presentadas por los miembros en el marco del WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  Acuerdo de Obstáculos Técnicos al Comercio con respecto a las medidas adoptadas por el resto de 
la Membresía, como es de esperar, en aras de la transparencia y evitando juicios a priori, el informe no hace distinciones entre aquellas medidas que constituyen obstáculos innecesarios al comercio, y aquellas que son aplicadas en el ejercicio de los derechos consagrados en el mismo 
acuerdo OTC, donde se reconoce taxativamente qu e “no debe impedirse a ningún país que adopte 
las medidas necesarias para […] para la protección de la salud y la vida de las personas y de los animales o la preservación de los vegetales, para la protección del medio ambiente, o para la 
prevención de prácticas que puedan inducir a er ror, a los niveles que considere apropiados…” 
derecho que ha sido además reafirmado por el órgano de apelación en el caso Estados Unidos — Determinadas prescripciones en materia de etiquetado indicativo del país de origen y Estados Unidos — Medidas que afectan a la producción y venta de cigarrillos de clavo de olor. 
192.  Si bien por motivos de neutralidad el informe no puede hacer distinción entre medidas 
legítimas e ilegítimas, legales o ilegales, y se las incluye a todas por igual como parte del monitoreo del comercio internacional que se hace de manera periódica, el Ecuador considera que 
en este informe debería también constar información relativa, por ejemplo a los subsidios 
aplicados a la agricultura, principales agentes de distorsión del comercio internacional, o las medidas generales de apoyo y otras medidas que se toman no necesariamente en frontera. 
193.  Es necesario insistir en lo dispuesto en el Anexo 3 del Acuerdo de Marrakech que indica 
claramente que la evaluación efectuada con arre glo al mecanismo de examen se realiza en el 
contexto de las necesidades, políticas y objetivos más amplios en materia económica y de desarrollo del Miembro de que se trate, así como de su entorno externo. 
194.  Agradecemos el trabajo realizado por la Secret aría y nos manifestamos dispuestos a seguir 
colaborando para la construcción de un sistema de monitoreo fiable, transparente y sobre todo equitativo. 
SINGAPORE 
195.  Singapore would like to put on record our appreciation to the Director General for the 
comprehensive and useful Report. While the developments noted in the Report are not as dire as 
to constitute a new outbreak of protectionism, nevertheless there is still cause for concern and 
need for increased vigilance. While there may be differences over the methodology used in the Report, it is clear that as we as Members are not doing a good enough job as only a minority of Members provided inputs for the report. In that regard, Singapore supports the Secretariat using 
information drawn from publicly available sources such as Government websites, with the caveat 
that these should be verified with Members. There was a policy measure by Singapore that was included in the Report under "Policy Developments in trade in services" that was based on 
information from one of our ministries' website. Although we did not receive a request for 
verification from the Secretariat, we understand fr om the Secretariat that they intend to verify 
such measures with Members for future re ports. We would certainly welcome that. 
DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CLOSING REMARKS 
196.  Thank you very much Mr Chairman. This was the first Report that I have presented to 
Members. For me it was extremely useful to hear all the comments and all the suggestions to improve on what we have done. Some of the suggestions are not easy to fix. For example, 
Ecuador was mentioning the distinction between restricted, necessary and unnecessary measures, 
and that it's clearly the case in some situations like antidumping. The same goes for SPS and other measures which could be of a protectionist nature or could be actually legitimate measures and 
protecting health of animals, plant and human life. 
197.  One more thing, I think the part of the improv ement in what we are doing would depend on 
you. So, it is also about the quality and the degree on interaction that we have with you. The more 
information we get from you the more precise and accurate those reports would be. I suppose that 
in many areas you will have mostly a factual Report where the Secretariat is not going to take sides or qualify the measures. We just list the measures and it's up to you and the reader to make-up his mind on what those measures mean. WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  198.  I noticed that some would like a more analytical approach on the part of the Secretariat and 
myself. We are looking into that, to see whether it is possible to do something like that in a reasonable way, always knowing that every time you analyse something you are introducing an element of subjectivity to the Report and if we do that, you have to understand that it is a 
prospective that has been offered to you, this is not the only possible prospective. You will have to 
introduce your own prospectives as well. We  will look at all that very carefully. 
199.  There was a question from Argentina about wh ere exactly the number of 407 comes from. I 
will let the Secretariat answer that. 
200.  As far as I am concerned this was a very useful exercise. Thank you all very much and we 
will try to improve.  
SECRETARIAT 
201.  Just to clarify the number 407 as raised by Argentina. This figure includes 217 trade 
restrictive measures from Annex 2 which is Tr ade Remedies and 190 from Annex 3, Other Trade 
Measures. Thank you. 
CHAIRMAN'S CLOSING REMARKS 
202.  Let me conclude the meeting by first thanking the Director General and delegations for their 
contributions to this rather rich exchange of  views. I believe that our discussion today has 
reaffirmed the importance of the trade monitoring exercise in providing enhanced transparency of 
Members trade and trade-related policies and measures. I also take note of, and I think we should be greatly encouraged by, the general commitmen t among Members to continue to improve their 
contribution to and participation in the monitoring exercise.  
203.  Let me just stress that, as Chair of the TPRB, the question is not so much the poor response 
rate but rather what Members wish to do to improv e that. I will be of course available if people 
would like to have a bit more structured informal discussion on how to improve the level of 
participation with respect to the responses as well as the verification. 
204.  We have touched upon a number of issues and I don't intend to read them out all of them. 
But let me just stress that there seems to be a strong welcome for the DG's proposed action for 
2014. There was a rather strong encouraging signal on the issue of improving notification records 
as well as transparency.  
205.  With respect to trade restriction measures, I take  note of the fact that we have to have a 
discussion on how you differentiate between apples  and oranges, but I think some Members also 
pointed out that we are still talking about fruits and these fruits can be rather acid.  
206.  Now with the respect to be moving forward on that, a question was raised by a number of 
Members on the roll-back of trade restrictive measures and, in this case, some Members pointed 
out that there is a particular role for the G-20 in this respect. 
207.  A number of Members, like in the past, highlighted the role of behind-border measures, 
unofficial measures as well as support measures that should be given a greater emphasis in future 
reports. 
208.  It was pointed out that RTAs need to complement multilateral trading system and have to be 
comparable to other rules.  
209.  A number of Members stressed the role of aid for trade to support developing countries and 
the least developed countries to better integrate in global trade as a key objective for the WTO. 
210.  And finally, which was not different compared to past reports, I've got the sense that we had 
a strong encouragement of the fact that we ha ve made substantial progress in WTO negotiation 
thanks to Bali and that provides a good start for trying to tackle a number of other issues here and 
I thank everyone for highlighting their priorities in that regard. WT/TPR/OV/M/11 
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  ANNEX 
PAKISTAN 211.  The delegation of Pakistan appreciates the i ssuance of “Overview of Developments in the 
International Trading Environment,” and thanks the Director General and the WTO secretariat for 
producing a high quality and comprehensive Overview. This report reviews trade and trade related 
developments from October 2012 to November 2013, in line with the MC-8 mandate that took note of the work initially done in the context of the global crisis, and directed it to be continued 
and strengthened. The Report scans the landscape of both trade restrictive and trade facilitative 
measures adopted by the members and examines them  against the criteria of trade liberalization, 
or conversely, trade protection. In doing so, the Report has a definite value in terms of the information it analyses and the policy prescriptions it advances. 
 
212.  We agree with the conclusion that overall, th e global economic recovery remains on track 
but is unbalanced and uneven. We also agree that the continued accumulation of trade restrictions 
in 2013 falls far short of an outbreak of protectionism, but it must be a priority for policymakers to 
stop and reverse this trend.   
213.  We are pleased to note a comprehensive treatment accorded to several areas and the useful 
conclusions drawn. Here, we agree with the reco mmendation that it would also seem appropriate 
to look at ways to reinvigorate work in the CRTA on the systemic implications of regionalism… to ensure they (the RTAs) operate harmoniously with  the MTS and that the interests of third parties 
are properly taken into account.  We also agree with the assessment that trade multilateralism 
needs to renew itself but that task must not obscure the continuing need to address the many remaining traditional trade barriers and distortions that continue to be at the centre of the trade 
policy agenda for the large majority of WTO members. 
  214.  The section on Trade Finance is also a welcome and much required part of the Report. We 
recognize that for Asian countries, the Asian Development Bank has been helpful in addressing 
liquidity shortages and such debilitating factors as risk perception.  215.  However, problems still plague the system. For instance, along with an emerging trend of 
transition to open account, many importers still require L/Cs such that a dual, costly and complex 
system still prevails, putting an added burden on ex porters. The cost of L/Cs has been on the rise 
for buyers, and banks that tightened or restricted lending with the onset of the crisis have not 
resumed their prior level of lending. It can be said that the decline has been greater than perhaps 
justified by fundamentals or risk profile. Evidently, this financing gap has adversely affected our export performance. The loss of liquidity has forced a resort by the exporters to spot foreign 
exchange for making necessary payments, resultin g in an increasing demand of already stressed 
foreign exchange and further compounding problems . We look forward to WTO’s continued interest 
and action in this area.  
 
 
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