WT/TPR/OV/M/10  
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Trade Policy Review Body   
 
  OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE  
INTERNATIONAL TRADING ENVIRONMENT 
RECORD OF THE MEETING 
17 December 2012 
Chairperson: H.E. Mr Eduardo Muñoz Gómez (Colombia) 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON 
1. I should like to welcome all Members and Observer Governments to this formal meeting of 
the Trade Policy Review Body , convened by Airgram WTO/AIR/4047 of 3 December 2012. 
Our meeting will have before it the report of the Director-General, which was circulated as document WT/TPR/OV/15 of 29 November 2012. The purpose of this meeting is to allow to 
the TPRB to undertake its annual overview of developments in the international trading 
environment, as mandated by Paragraph G of Annex 3 to the Marrakesh Agreement. 
2. I should like once again to recall that the aim of this overview and of  the trade monitoring 
exercise is to achieve greater transparency in  the trade policies and practices implemented by 
Member countries and Observer Governments an d to obtain a better understanding of them. 
This exercise is not intended to serve as a basis for ensuring compliance with the commitments 
undertaken under the WTO Agreements or for dispute settlement procedures, or indeed for 
imposing new trade policy commitments. 
3. I should like to commence my introduction by recalling the consultation process conducted 
throughout the year, in compliance with the mandate given by the WTO's Eighth Ministerial 
Conference to continue with the process of stre ngthening the exercise of monitoring trade and 
trade-related measures. 
4. The consultations we held last July and October turned into a frank and interesting 
discussion that enabled us to understand the various concerns and recommendations of 
delegations concerning the monitoring exercise itself. Consequently, with a view to improving and reinforcing the coherence of the exercise, the Secretariat has incorporated the proposals received 
into the report. 
5. The Director-General's most recent report clearly indicates the new methodology for 
classifying trade measures. What was formerly Annex 1 entitled "trade and trade-related measures" has therefore become three separate Annexes: (i) Annex 1 "measures facilitating 
trade"; (ii) Annex 2 "trade remedy measures"; and Annex 3 "other trade and trade-related 
measures". The "general economic support meas ures" (formerly in Annex 2) are now contained 
in Annex 4. 
6. In response to the request from several delegations to cover a broader spectrum of trade 
relations such as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBT), the Secretariat has included these measures in Annexes 5 and 6. 
7. Lastly, the establishment of a special database on the measures compiled during the trade 
monitoring exercise is in the final stages. Th e Director-General will no doubt mention this 
in his statement. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  8. Personally, I consider that the changes mentio ned above make the presentation of the trade 
measures recently adopted clearer and help Members to elucidate and express their conclusions regarding key trade policy trends. I should like to point out once again, however, that the 
final outcome of this exercise depends to a large extent on the quality and factual level of the 
information furnished. It is worth re-emphasizing that the task of monitoring trade is of general 
systemic value to the multilateral trading system . I therefore urge all Members and Observers to 
collaborate fully with the Secretariat in providing and verifying relevant information. 
9. It should also be stressed anew that the Secretariat is entitled to consult all existing sources 
in order to carry out its task, on the basis of the principle that all information has been forwarded to the delegation concerned beforehand for due verification. 
10. The Director-General's latest report describes the situation of the global economy over the 
past 12 months, as well as the latest information on the trade measures adopted by Member 
countries and Observer Governments. The Director-General will undoubtedly provide us with an analysis of the most important matters concerning the international economic environment. 
11. The report also shows that during the review  period more facilitating measures than 
restricting ones were imposed, which is encourag ing bearing in mind the uncertain state of the 
global economy and rising levels of unemployment. I am sure that delegations will wish to address 
these and many other issues in their statements. 
12. Allow me to refer now to the main elements of the working procedure for this meeting. 
Firstly, I shall give the floor to the Director-Gener al so that he can present his report to us and 
thus launch the discussions. Next, I shall offer the floor to delegations wishing to speak. 
I shall then ask the Director-General to comment in reaction to the issues raised in the 
statements. Lastly, on my own responsibility, I shall summarize the main aspects of interest emerging from the meeting. 
13. In order to make the most efficient use of the limited time available to us today and to give 
all delegations the opportunity to participate, I should like to request that your statements not 
exceed seven minutes. I trust that this methodol o g y  w i l l  h e l p  t o  e n s u r e  a n  o p e n  a n d  f l u i d  
discussion rather than the reading out of long statements. If any delegation wishes to circulate 
its statement, I would request it to forward it electronically to the Secretariat for distribution and posting on the Members' website. 
14. It is now my pleasure to give the floor to the Director-General for his introductory 
statement. Mr Lamy, you have the floor. 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL 15. I will make a short introduction to my Annual Report on the Overview of Developments in 
the International Trading Environment to allow sufficient time for a detailed debate by Members of 
the trade policy developments over the past year. My introduction will cover the main policy trends emerging from the report and some considerations related to the trade monitoring work. 
16. This report builds on the trade monitoring report distributed to TPRB Members in June. 
It highlights the trade and trade-related policy developments over the past 12 months, and includes an assessment of the main issues emerging from the trade monitoring exercise. 
17. As the Chairman has just indicated, some important changes have been introduced to the 
structure of the report following Members' proposals raised at our meeting in July and in 
subsequent consultations held by the Chairman. You may remember that at the end of our meeting in July, I identified three operational conclusions to your suggestions where improvements 
could be made in the way we present the trade monitoring reports. These were the following: 
• Put in a separate annex the measures that clearly facilitate trade. This has been done. 
• Calculate the trade coverage of trade facilitating measures. This has been done. 
• Include an analysis of agriculture support using Members' notifications to the WTO. 
This has been done. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  18. In the course of your consultations, some of you also requested that SPS and TBT measures 
be included in the monitoring reports. This has also been done. 
19. As you can see, the Secretariat has spared no effort to present a report as comprehensive 
as possible, and in replying positively to your suggestions for improvements. I do hope that this 
additional work will be useful to Members and that you will be in a better position to make your 
own assessment of the main developments in trade policy over the most recent period. 
20. Let me recall that the main purpose of the trad e monitoring exercise is to shed light to 
recent trade policy developments and to he lp Members better identify emerging trends. 
This exercise is meant to enhance transparency and further strengthen the multilateral surveillance of trade policies. As the Chairman al so noted, to successfully achieve these objectives, 
the active participation of all countries is needed. 
21. Unfortunately, the participation rate in the provision of information and the verification of 
recorded measures was only slightly better this time than in previous periods. Around 38% of Members and Observers replied to my fax requesting initial information, although the countries 
that did reply represent a large share of world trade.  I am sure you will agree that this result can 
be improved, and in particular certain very important countries can enhance their contribution to the exercise. Once again, "good quality" info rmation from Members helps the Secretariat to 
prepare "good quality" reports. 
22. Now I would like to turn to the substantive issues included in the report. 
23. At our last meeting in July, I noted that the implementation of new trade restrictions was 
unabated over the reviewed period, and that the new measures were adding to the trade 
restrictions put in place in previous periods. 
24. Although the new structure of the trade monitoring report does not provide direct and 
comparable data on the number of trade-restrictive measures over the review period, it seems 
that, based on our old calculating methodology, the pace of implementation of restrictive 
measures has slowed down over the past year. This is reassuring news. Also, I want to highlight that during the past 12 months, Members have implemented more trade facilitating measures than 
restricting ones. This is also good news. 
25. These developments confirm our assessment in the report that, on the whole, 
most governments are continuing to resist domestic pressures to erect new trade barriers, although some governments did put in place new trade-restrictive measures which are adding to 
the measures implemented over the past four years, and to the stock of restrictions and trade 
distortions that have existed for a long time. 
26. Even if the most recent news may seem to be a bit more positive in this area, we should 
remain vigilant. The world economy is still surrounded by many uncertainties and important global 
risks. It has been four years since the onset of the global financial crisis, and the global economy 
is still struggling to find its way to sustainable gr owth. Moreover, the world economy is at risk of a 
fresh contraction if some big countries fail to restore confidence by resolving their fiscal problems. 
As you know, estimates for world trade growth have already been downgraded. 
And unemployment indicators continue to be disappointing in many countries. 
27. In these circumstances, the temptation to find  easy solutions by closing down borders is 
always there, even if we all know that these actions will not provide long-term solutions. On the 
contrary, they stand to aggravate the problems . Indeed, the world economy needs more trade, 
not less, to stave off recession. What we need is a renewed firm commitment to revitalize the 
multilateral trading system, which can restore economic certainty at a time when it is badly 
needed. As we discussed at the TNC meeting on 7 December and at the recent General Council, the upcoming Ministerial meeting in Bali in December 2013 will be a test of our commitment to the 
multilateral trading system. 
28. We have seen an increase in trade frictions over the most recent period which is being 
reflected in more trade remedy actions and more dispute settlement cases in the WTO. In particular, anti-dumping activity overall is on the rise, due to significant increases in WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  new investigations initiated by several Members. It would seem that the declining trend in 
anti-dumping initiations, which started in 2009, could be reversed in 2012. While in 2011 we saw eight requests for consultations under the Dispute Settlement System, in 2012 we have already registered 25. This will have implications in the use of our resources. 
29. I will now turn to government support measures. The monitoring of this type of measures 
and programmes continues to be problematic and a real challenge for the Secretariat because of difficulties in obtaining relevant information. For the preparation of this report, only six delegations 
volunteered relevant information. Nevertheless, we have tried to approach the issue through other 
sources of information such as individual TPRs and notifications to Committees. One specific area of interest to some is agriculture support. 
30. It has become clear that the evaluation of trends in agriculture support and any comparison 
across different countries is quite difficult due to differences in methodologies used for notifications 
to the WTO, as well as lengthy delays in these notifications from many Members. Based on available information, the report shows that domestic support levels have been following an 
upward trend during the last decade, and that, in absolute terms, the levels of support remain far 
higher in developed countries, although data also shows that structural reforms have been taking place in some developed countries as they move  away from market price support towards less 
distorting forms of support. 
31. Other areas that may elicit comments from delegations are recent developments in: 
Regional Trade Agreements, Government Procurement, and notifications to WTO bodies. 
32. Regarding the first item, RTA activity continues to be strong, if not stronger than over the 
previous reporting period. Over the past year, 22 new agreements were notified by Members, 
bringing the total number of RTAs notified, and which are currently in force, to 231. Given the 
level of activity in this area, and the fact that there are around 100 other agreements in force, 
but not yet notified to the WTO, I strongly encourage delegations to promptly notify them. 
Transparency is a crucial element in helping Members to assess the implications of new agreements on their trading conditions. 
33. Another interesting aspect included in the report relates to the adoption, earlier in the year, 
of the renegotiation of the Government Procur ement Agreement which was conducted over more 
than a decade. This was a welcome development. The revised GPA rules should help achieve maximum value for money in public expenditure at  a time of severe budgetary constraints for 
many governments worldwide. 
34. In the area of notifications, which is essential to guarantee the implementation, 
administration, and operation of WTO Agreements, and increase the Organization's institutional 
effectiveness, reports from WTO Committees and Councils show that significant work took place 
over the past year. Efforts were undertaken to improve the timeliness and completeness of notifications through better and simpler proced ures, for example by using electronic means. 
However, progress is still slow and compliance with notification obligations can be further 
improved. I intend to devote an important part of our next report to providing a comprehensive 
overview of the notification obligations and the manner in which they are being fulfilled. 
35. B e f o r e  c o n c l u d i n g  m y  s t a t e m e n t ,  I  w o u l d  l i k e  t o  g i v e  s o m e  a d d i t i o n a l  i n f o r m a t i o n  t o  
delegations: some Members had asked the Secretariat to prepare a summary table with all trade 
and trade-related measures taken since October 2008, something which is already regularly done in the trade monitoring reports on G-20 economies. A summary table covering all Members 
and Observers is now ready and it will be posted on the Members' Website immediately 
after this meeting. 
36. Secondly, I would also like to inform you that on 16 January we will host a Trade Data Day 
event at the WTO in which we will launch the trade database which I announced at MC8 - the I-TIP 
"Integrated Trade Information Portal" which will pr ovide delegations and the general public access 
to trade, tariffs and non-tariff measures collected by the WTO. One of its modules will include all information collected in the monitoring exercise since October 2008 with many search options to 
assist Members in their own evaluation. In additi on, on the same day the WTO and the OECD will WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  unveil the first set of trade data in value-added on which both organizations have been working for 
some time now. 
37. Finally, I would like to inform delegations about the frequency of the trade monitoring 
reports for next year. As was the case this year, there will be two WTO-wide monitoring reports, 
one in July and one in November. We will also produce two reports for the G-20 in 2013, 
as per their request. 
STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS 
REPUBLIC OF KOREA 
38. We live in a time of global economic downturn with persistent sluggish economic growth and 
high unemployment rates throughout the world. The growth prospects next year look quite disturbing too. Against this backdrop, we take no te that countries are easily tempted to introduce 
restrictive trade measures. It is discouraging to note the findings of DG's report that newly 
introduced restrictive measures continue to add to the stock of trade restrictions and distortions. 
39. It is also discouraging that in some countries policy determination to resist inward-looking 
policies seems to be faltering. As is well-known, trade restrictions will only aggravate global 
problems and risk generating tit-for-tat reactions. Resorting to protectionism is not the right solution to economic hardship, particularly in this interconnected global economy. We urge 
Members concerned to revoke the measures in question in a timely manner. 
40. Now, turning to the monitoring exercise, I am confident that monitoring is one of the most 
important functions of this Organization for transparency, peer review and surveillance among the Member countries. 
41. In order to help fully implement the standstill and rollback commitments made 
at G-20 Summits, it is essential to improve and strengthen our monitoring exercise. I have three points: first, we remain seriously concerned about the still low participation rate of 
Members in this important exercise. It is frustrat ing to note that 62% of the membership did not 
reply to the request of the Director-General for information on measures taken during the period under review. In order to make our exercise more relevant, we need to get broader participation. 
Furthermore, the use of third party information subject to verification by the Members concerned 
should be encouraged to overcome the difficulties in obtaining relevant information. 
42. We also welcome the format changes introduced for this present report to better structure 
various measures and enhance our understanding of them. 
43. Second, it would be critical for Members to fully adhere to their notification obligations under 
the relevant WTO rules. Indeed, it is simply the first step to prove the value of this Organization as the bulwark against protectionism, as well as the guardian of the multilateral trading system. 
44. Third, we are of the view that a Summary an d Annex of the current status of measures 
taken since October 2008 needs to be attached to th e Director-General's report as well, in order to 
keep track of developments relating to the measures taken by each Member since then. 
CANADA 
45. The format change in this year's report repres ents a useful improvement in our view. It has 
a better focus. We recognize, as the Director-Gen eral has highlighted, some of the methodological 
challenges so we support the Secretariat's efforts to continue to improve the reconciliation of data 
from different countries. 
46. As you, Mr Chair, as the Director-General and as my Korean colleague have already noted, 
WTO monitoring efforts really perform a core fu nction for Members by highlighting both best 
practices and protectionist measures. Trade surveill ance helps us all to preserve an open trading 
environment that ultimately can promote jobs and growth. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  47. Transparency is obviously key to the effectiven ess of our effective oversight, together with 
the semi-annual surveillance and monitoring reports that you have issued and will issue, and the supplementary reports on G-20 trade and investment measures. This report provides us with the necessary tool to exercise our oversight function effectively. However, like the Director-General, 
we are deeply concerned by the apparent lack of  engagement on the part of some Members as 
evidence by the significantly low response rate to his request for information. This figure must improve. The quality and utility of this report, the semi-annual trade surveillance and monitoring 
reports are direct functions of the quality of th e information submitted. We therefore strongly 
encourage all WTO Members to continue to work  at improving the record of notifications. 
48. We take particular note and welcome warmly the Director-General's commitment to ensure 
that the next review will include a comprehensive examination of notification obligations and look 
forward to that assessment. 
49. I n  g e n e r a l ,  h o w e v e r ,  w e  a r e  e n c o u r a g e d  b y  t h e  f i n d i n g s  o f  t h i s  l a t e s t  r e p o r t .  W e  h a v e  
witnessed a slowdown in the imposition of new trade-restrictive measures compared to previous 
years. We have witnessed an increase as well in the number of trade facilitating measures that 
have been introduced. We note, ho wever, that although over half of the new measures reported 
in 2012 were trade facilitating, that is just  over half, at 51%. And although the list 
of WTO Members and non-Members having unilaterally reduced import tariffs and cutting red tape 
to streamline customs procedures is very impressive, all is not rosy. 
50. The Director-General has already highlighted for us that Members continue to introduce new 
trade-restrictive measures which, when added to the stock of such measures already in place, 
acts as a brake against a trade-led global economic recovery. 
51. We concur with the assertion in the report th at there is serious danger in the incremental 
build-up of trade restrictions. We echo, therefore,  the call for all Members to rollback and remove 
measures put in place since the onset of the global  economic crisis. We look forward to the special 
session of the Trade Policy Review Body in the spring to examine these developments and we hope to hear about further progress at that time. 
52. Canada remains steadfast in its conviction that open markets and unhindered trade are 
important contributors to overcome the global ec onomic downturn. We were therefore pleased by 
the decision of G-20 leaders to extend their stands till commitment to resist protectionist pressures 
until the end of 2014. APEC leaders similarly reaffirmed their pledge to refrain from introducing 
protectionist measures at least until the end of 2015. 
53. Resistance to trade-restrictive measures is essential but not sufficient to drive growth in the 
global economy. Alongside domestic structural re forms, moving forward on the trade-negotiating 
agenda to facilitate regional and global business to provide further insurance against 
new and pernicious forms of protectionism, and ultimately to foster sustainable development is necessary as well. 
54. To this end, Canada will of course continue to work constructively with other Members in 
all forums - multilaterally, plurilaterally, bilaterally - in support of moving the multilateral agenda forward. We have already seen progress this year in a range of areas including trade facilitation, services, government procurement and expa nded information technology agreement. 
Following intense negotiations, Members already delivered on our Ministers' instructions to 
conclude new accession guidelines for LDCs. So, these and other examples show that, notwithstanding the current impasse in Doha negotiations, the WTO continues to be an effective 
forum for negotiation as well as for surveillance when Members allow it to be. Canada therefore 
calls on all Members to build on these successes in 2013 by engaging constructively in our collective goals. 
55. I n s um, M r Chair , th is  r e p ort re mind s  us  that, a l thoug h we  h ave  s e e n many e nc ourag i ng 
signs in 2012 and have achieved a number of im portant outcomes, risks remain pervasive. 
We must continue to be vigilant. We urge all Members to remain engaged and supportive of the WTO's work in 2013 and, in particular, urge all Members to engage more meaningfully in this and 
similar notification and surveillance activities. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  TURKEY 
56. I should first like to thank the Director-General  and the Secretariat for having prepared this 
surveillance report that will help us focus our discussion today. As usual the report reflects the Secretariat's high standards of accuracy and pr ofessionalism. Let me also say we welcome the 
improvements that have been made to the methodology and structure of the report, as highlighted 
by you and the Director-General in your introductory remarks. 
57. When we try to assess the situation of the global economy, it has almost become a tradition 
to speak about the bleak and gloomy prospects in which it finds itself and the impact of the 
situation on trade flows. The Secretariat report mentions that the global economic outlook is worse than at the time of the issuance of the previous trade report in June 2012. Fiscal consolidation and weak and inefficient financial systems are among the major forces pulling economic growth down 
in some of the advanced economies. 
58. Low growth in output and trade-related uncertainties in advanced economies have also a 
direct negative impact on developing countries because those countries lose export and 
investment opportunities. 
59. Since the beginning of the 2008 global financial cr isis, almost all of the relevant international 
organizations, such as the WTO, IMF and OECD, have been regularly revising downwards their 
future growth forecasts. Inevitably, the pres ent Secretariat report follows that trend. 
60. The good news is that, despite all the negative outlook, the Members of the WTO have been 
relatively successful in containing protectionism pressures. Therefore, we can argue that the WTO 
has successfully held the first line of defence for the global trading system with only minor injuries. 
61. However, we are still facing a serious accumulation of measures that present grave risks for 
the global economy and trading system alike. The Secretariat report mentions that new trade-restrictive measures continue to add to the stock of existing trade restrictions and 
distortions put into place before and since the outbreak of the global crisis. 
62. Finally, I should like to point to the fact that, as indicated in the report, Turkey is among the 
countries that have responded in time to the Director-General's call for information on matters 
covered by the report. I should like to emphasize that of the 15 measures that relate to Turkey 
and are listed in the Annexes to the report, seven are about trade facilitating measures, namely elimination or reduction of tariffs over certain agricultural products and also termination of anti-dumping measures. During the period under review and despite the bleak external 
environment, there has been no net increase in anti-dumping measures applied by Turkey, unlike 
in many of our trading partners. 
UNITED STATES 
63. From our perspective, 2012 has been an encouraging year at the WTO. We are making 
progress on multiple fronts - Doha and non-Doha-related, and also in the WTO's committee system of which many Members, including the United States, have made robust use this year. 
In particular, we welcome how the multilateral trading system has become more inclusive in 2012, 
due to our collective recent successes in concluding accession negotiations. 
64. On the whole, as noted in the Secretariat's report, we are encouraged by the fact that fewer 
trade-restrictive measures were observed over the course of the one-year period covered by 
this report. Even more encouraging is the Secret ariat's observation that around 51% of the total 
number of measures observed in the monitoring exercise can be considered as trade-facilitative. 
65. Despite this good news, we agree with the report's assertion that "the last thing the world 
economy needs right now is indulgence in trade-restrictive practices." From our perspective there 
continues to be reason to worry. 
66. The rising incidence in some Members of informal but effective trade-restrictive measures is 
particularly concerning. The details of these informal measures are sometimes not ever put on 
paper, or, in some cases, the Members themselves simply deny that the measures exist. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  67. Another worrying trend for the United States is the noticeable increase around the world in 
localization barriers to trade - measures designed to protect, favour or stimulate domestic industries, service providers and/or intellectual prop erty at the expense of goods, services or IP 
from other countries. 
68. The United States is looking at ways to better address the growing challenge to market 
access presented by these localization barriers. We hope to work with interested Members on ways to better highlight and monitor this protectionist trend in the future. 
69. We also must again note the significant systemic implications of Ukraine's proposed action 
under Article XXVIII. 
70. Clearly, transparency is key. In this regard, we note our appreciation for the emphasis in 
this report on notifications. The lack of transpar ency due to missing or delayed notification creates 
a blind spot for the entire membership. For example, the recent report notes that the evaluation of 
agricultural support is difficult not only due to differences in methodologies used in notifications, but also delays in notifications from many Members, in some cases for many years. This is not an 
abstract problem. We are seeing today in real time the impediment this blind spot can create to 
negotiations in the area of agriculture, underscoring the urgency of better performance in this area. 
71. We note, too, the Secretariat's estimate that over 100 regional trade agreements are in 
force that have not yet been notified. 
72. We continue to believe that increased participation by additional Members and Observers 
would make this monitoring process more relevant , useful and interesting for the membership, and 
we again encourage the majority of us who are not participating to do so in some way. 
73. In the meantime, the United States will continue to seek out like-minded Members who are 
interested in using the relevant committees, working parties and councils to address some of the 
more concerning measures highlighted in the reports to date, recognizing that the entire 
monitoring exercise remains a valuable opportunity to bring a collective commitment of renewed energy that boosts the institutional side of the WTO. 
AUSTRALIA 
74. Having heard the discussion so far, I have been able to cross out bits and pieces of the 
papers before me because a lot has been covered wi th which I would like to agree. There are some 
important points that I would still like to register and the first of those is the value with which we 
hold this report which does continue to provide us with valuable insights into how Members are 
responding in trade policy terms, given the current economic climate. We appreciate the format changes which I think have been helpful, and have added to the value of the report and will 
continue to review and look at this and further refine it as we get suggestions from Members. 
But I think these have been positive developments. 
75. I think less encouraging, as has been mentioned by a number, is the level of participation by 
Members in the exercise. Attempts to have a more solid basis of understanding of how 
government support measures are impacting on  trade are been thwarted by the lack of 
contributions we are getting from Members. 
76. I think that while there has been a marginal improvement this time round, it still means that 
over 60% of Members are still not contributing, and that does seem at odds to us with the 
instructions that we got from Ministers at MC8 to comply with existing transparency obligations and reporting requirements needed for the preparation of these reports. In our view, it is 
especially important that larger Members of this Organization are reporting transparently because 
the impact of their measures on other Members can be great. 
77. Certainly, again, we welcome the overview on the status of notifications that will be 
prepared for the next report which I think will be a very helpful and informative approach and the 
information there will be very useful. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  78. I will comment briefly on some of the substantive issues raised in the report. 
79. Certainly the economic climate is and continues to be challenging with the tight budgetary 
situation and persistent debt and unemployment issues are clearly having an effect on how Members respond in terms of policy settings, including on trade. 
80. We are encouraged that, as highlighted in the report, trade facilitative measures have 
increased and would like to acknowledge those Members who have introduced trade facilitative measures in these challenging times. Certainly experience would show that they are on the right 
track. 
81. Since the global financial crisis, there has nevertheless been a concern about rising 
protectionism, and we hope that what we are witnessing now is a more considered response, 
one that has combined trade facilitative measures including reductions in applied tariffs, 
improvements in customs procedures and measures to facilitate exports, as part of the response. 
82. However, this is not the complete picture. Trade-restrictive measures are still being 
i n t r o d u c e d  a n d ,  o f  c o u r s e ,  o n  t h i s  p o i n t  w e  n e e d  t o  r e m a i n  v i g i l a n t .  A s  n e w  m e a s u r e s  a r e  
introduced they add to the already substantial stock of restrictive measures that were present 
even prior to the global financial crisis. 
83. The evaluation of agriculture support is an important snapshot of the problems which persist 
in terms of stocks of measures that can affect the international market. In more recent years a 
confluence of circumstances, including high demand, higher international commodity prices and government budgetary pressures unfortunately have been more significant contributors to reduced agriculture support spending than actual policy changes. 
84. It is factors extraneous from rule-making and negotiating that have driven policy change, 
and we certainly would like to see that change and that we make a genuine e ffort to try and rein in 
agricultural support and spending. 
85. I think one final and very important point for us relates to the analytical aspects of this 
r e p o r t .  W e  d o  t h i n k  w e  s h o u l d  b e  i n v o l v e d  i n  a  d i s c u s s i o n  t r y i n g  t o  f i n d  w a y s  t o  i m p r o v e  a n d  strengthen the analytical aspects of the report, extrapolating from results of these reports what 
types of policy measures had the most serious negative effects on trade, and those which have 
significant benefits, could be very useful. This type of work can be useful for governments in seeking to develop the right policy mix for their longer term economic security. 
86. I n  c o n c l u d i n g ,  w e  n o t e  th a t  m a n y  o f  t h e  i s s u e s  r a i s e d  b y  M e m b e r s  a t  t h e  r e c e n t  T N C  i n  
relation to issues for consideration at the Bali Ministerial next year are relevant to the issues raised 
in this report: issues like trade facilitation; addressing developing-country issues; agriculture reform. I think if we can deliver outcomes in these areas we consider this will have a 
beneficial effect for the international trading environment more broadly. And I think the spotlight 
that this report can put on those kinds of issues is certainly why we see it at such a valuable exercise. 
ARGENTINA 
87. First of all, we welcome the presentation by the Director-General and the work accomplished 
by the Secretariat. 
88. We would like to highlight positively the section covering agricultural policies. 
89. In general, we welcome the more objective text (although with some exceptions), based on 
a description of the information and a more valu e-based approach than on previous occasions. 
Nevertheless, certain passages in the report are unbalanced and should be avoided because they 
place too much emphasis on some measures while omitting others. In particular, the coverage of 
government support measures for specific sectors (for example, the support programmes for the automotive industry in France) is insufficient. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  Specific comments on agricultural policies: 
90. Methodologies for calculating price support: 
(i) The WTO Secretariat should not criticize the methodology for calculating the 
Aggregate Measurement of Support for price support mechanisms (paragraphs 125 
and 129), without at the same time recalling that this is the agreed methodology and 
is the one used as part of one of the negotiating variables in the Doha Round agricultural negotiations (Amber Box levels). Furthermore, the WTO Secretariat, 
instead of acting to protect the regulatory achievements of the WTO and the 
negotiations currently under way, appears to discredit them. It should also be borne in mind that the Doha Round agricultural negotiations do not envisage any possibility of modifying this methodology and no pertinent proposals have been made 
in this respect. 
What is important for the agricultural reform process is not modifying the 
methodology but rather a substantial reduction in subsidies. 
(ii) In addition, the foremost cause for criticism of the current rules on domestic support 
is not the methodology for calculating price support but rather the absence of ceilings by product, ceilings which it is hoped to establish in the Doha Round negotiations. 
This is one of the most serious concerns in relation to the current Agreement on 
Agriculture because there are no ceilings by product for the largest distorting subsidies, such as those in the Amber or Blue Box, while de minimis  support has 
ceilings by product, in the same way as import tariffs determined for each product. 
The Secretariat could include this critical methodology in the report. 
91. Trends in increases or decreases of variou s types of subsidy (paragraph 134). A table 
showing the trend in total domestic support paid to agricultural producers, irrespective of the type 
of subsidy ( de minimis , direct Green Box payments, Blue Box, Amber Box), should be added as the 
total figure would enable the variation in total subsidies to be distinguished from transfers between the different categories. 
92. It should be made clear that the essential reform of agricultural policies is not confined to 
the domestic support pillar alone. Any evaluation of the reduction in distortions can only be made taking into account developments in market access as well. 
93. The document contains text that could lead  to an unbalanced interpretation of the 
real situation. One example of this imbalance is the mention of distorting agricultural subsidies in 
the Amber Box in Argentina in paragraph 140, where it is indicated that our country applies subsidies that almost exceed the limit bound in the WTO. This is made worse by the mention of 
the upward trend in paragraph 138 without indicating the period to which it refers. 
94. In this connection, it is important at this meeting to emphasize the following regarding 
Argentina's agricultural subsidies mentioned in the report: 
(i) Their amount does not exceed US$75 million annually, which represents only a minor 
percentage of Argentina's agricultural production as a whole and of the subsidies granted by the majority of developed countries. 
(ii) It is not correct to state that they have increased as they are less than those granted 
at the beginning of the Uruguay Round period of implementation, in conformity with 
the reductions agreed during the Round and once they had reached the level bound in the Schedule of Commitments disbursements remained at the regular level. 
95. Comparison of the level of protection for agricultural products through import tariffs: 
96. The Secretariat should focus more on those tariff measures that are not tariffs as such, 
notably complex tariffs, because their composition is scarcely transparent and makes it difficult for 
exporters to know the real level of protection. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  97. There should also be a mention in Section III.B.3(iii) on Export Subsidies of the fact that the 
granting of export credits, export credit guar antees and insurance programmes still has to be 
regulated and this could lead to substantial circumvention of the Export Competition pillar. 
Comments on sanitary and phytosanitary measures: 
98. The Argentine delegation acknowledges the efforts made in the report with respect to the 
inclusion of technical barriers, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and other trade barriers. 
Comments on services: 
99. The following should not be mentioned as trade-restrictive measures: 
 a declaration system for trade in services (DJAS, paragraph 97); or 
 a tax on credit card purchases, which is one of a country's sovereign taxation 
powers that are outside the scope of th e WTO. There is no link whatsoever 
between this measure and the General Agreement on Trade in Services or any 
other WTO rule. 
100.  We thank the Director-General and the Secretariat for their efforts to provide us with the 
broadest possible overview of the trading environment, remaining within the scope of the WTO, 
and in general objective. 
JAPAN 
101.  Global economic prospects continue to be weak and facing downturn risks. 
Growing protectionist measures amid such a di fficult environment are our serious concerns. 
Such protectionist measures would further worsen the global economic conditions. We, the Members of the WTO, must therefore enhance our efforts to fight against protectionism. 
102.  Japan appreciates the report on international trading environment which includes the results 
of monitoring trade and trade-related measures th at have been taken by Members and taking into 
account the Members' opinions including the change of format. 
103.  Japan takes note of the fact that the number of new trade-restrictive measures over the 
review period has decreased to 308 compared to 339 measures in the previous period. Japan considers the number is still at a high level and further efforts will be necessary. 
104.  Among others, Japan has strong concerns about those countries that are taking restrictive 
measures not consistent with their leaders' commitments at the G-20. 
105.  Japan strongly supports the TPR monitoring mechanism which plays an extremely important 
role in our efforts to resist protectionism. In order to enhance the confidence of the report, 
cooperation of Members is very important. In this light, more Members are encouraged to 
participate in such a valuable exercise through providing necessary information. Also in this light, Japan joins others to acknowledge the importance of various notification requirements. 
106.  Japan continues to be interested in development on a global scale and, in the trade context, 
continues to attach importance to Aid for Trade as a means to support capacity-building efforts of developing countries and thereby to integrate deve loping countries in the global trading system. 
Japan is willing to contribute to the fourth Glob al Review exercise in July next year through 
various means, including responding to the questionnaires on value chains. 
107.  Japan also supports the continuing efforts of the WTO concerning trade financing. 
The Director-General's report indicates "at the present moment, there seems to be no overall 
serious capacity constraint on trade finance, at least from a global point of view". Japan duly 
takes note of the analysis. Given the critical importance of trade financing, Japan expects the Director-General and the WTO Secretariat to continue their efforts to further facilitate trade 
finance through coordinating with relevant institutions, including regional development banks. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  ECUADOR 
108.  We commence this statement by thanking you and the Secretariat for the wide-ranging and 
committed efforts made to ensure the full implementation of the "Trade Policy Review Mechanism" during 2012. There were 20 trade policy reviews of 26 WTO Members that year and for 2013 it is 
planned to hold another 18 meetings to review the policies of 23 Members. 
109.  Mr Chairperson, we should like to refer to the Director-General's report on "Developments in 
the International Trading Environment", document WT/TPR/OV/15. In our view, this report, which 
is in principle based on paragraph G of the Tr ade Policy Review Mechanism and represents an 
exercise in transparency, should also devote full attention to paragraph A(ii), which concerns the Mechanism's "Objectives", both in the country reports prepared by the Secretariat for the 
"Trade Policy Reviews" and in the Director-General's annual report on "Developments in the 
International Trading Environment" so that, in both cases, "the background of the wider economic 
and developmental needs, policies and objectives  of the Member concerned, as well as of its 
external environment" are taken into account. An aspect that, in our view, has not been taken into 
account satisfactorily in these documents. 
110.  With regard to the Director-General's report, we should like to draw attention to previous 
statements made by my country in this forum concerning the vital need for this document to 
address not only the border measures adopted by Members - measures that in many instances are 
fully consistent with the WTO's covered Agreements - but also to include measures within borders such as the "Fiscal Stimulus and Financial Support Packages", subsidies, currency devaluation, private standards and others which, because of their extensive economic scope and 
broad coverage, undoubtedly have a real impact on international trade and in all likelihood lead to 
harmful restriction and distortion of trade flows, basically to the detriment of exports from Members such as Ecuador, which have very limited economic resources and policy instruments to 
confront such protectionism. In this connection,  it should be recalled that Ecuador, being a 
dollarized economy, cannot make use of certain policy instruments to offset the effects of the crisis. 
111.  Mr Chairperson, we consider that the complexity  of the facts examined in this type of study 
means that they cannot be limited solely to an evaluation of a limited selection of variables such as border measures but, because of the multifaceted nature of protectionism in times of crisis, the 
question of measures which de facto or de jure discriminate against third parties calls for a 
cross-cutting review of these and, especially, those which many Members of considerable trade 
and economic importance have adopted and are maintaining in this regard. Indeed, according to the "Global Trade Alert" databases (an independent monitoring initiative for trade policies at the 
global level) to date a total of 2,651 measures adopted has been recorded, of which 1,934 refer to 
measures unrelated to trade protection, and of these 1,828 most certainly discriminate against non-domestic trade interests, and of these, 1,226 correspond to measures unrelated to the 
WTO's Anti-Dumping, Safeguards and Countervailing Duties Agreements or the Agreements on the 
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures or Technical Barriers to Trade, and are not tariff measures. 
112.  Mr Chairperson, these figures are clear, it is obvious that trade protection and similar 
measures are not the cross-border discriminatory measures that are most prevalent in these times 
of crisis. Rather, as indicated in specialized studies to be found in the Oxford Review of Economic Policy, "trade protection and tariff measures - the standard forms of protectionism - never 
accounted for more than 40% of total counts of discrimination measures during the crisis." 
At present, trade protection and tariff measures only account for around 31% of the discriminatory 
measures adopted. Accordingly, we agree with th e declaration by those experts that the focus on 
trade protection and tariff measures during the global economic crisis as a basis for protectionism 
has been excessive, not to say exaggerated. To summarize, unlike what occurred during the Great Depression in the 1930s, today border measures have not been the most prevalent 
forms of protection during the economic and financial crisis from which we are suffering. 
113.  In connection with the foregoing, we should like to refer to other conclusions that emerge 
from academic studies on the conduct adopted by many WTO Members, particularly those with greater economic and trading capacity, in order to deal with the global economic crisis. 
For example, many of the countercyclical and other measures taken by large countries show 
renewed interest in implementing industrial policies as a means of achieving rapid economic WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  growth and creating jobs, one example of which is the concentration of direct or indirect subsidies 
and support in industries such as the automotive  industry, wind and solar energy and biofuels. 
Consequently, Mr Chairperson, the selectivity or concentration of the government measures adopted in favour of certain industries has been, will be and most likely will continue to be present 
in the responses to the crisis. We therefore ask ourselves, where is "the level playing field"? 
114.  It would seem that the answer is that preservi ng the so-called "level playing field" is not 
important when what is at stake is promoting economic growth and maintaining jobs. This is why 
the selectivity and discrimination, depending on economic needs and domestic policies, shown by 
some WTO Members - notably the most important from the economic and trade standpoint - will take precedence over other considerations, including continued liberalization of trade, as regards the adoption by key players of economic or industrial measures with clear protectionist effects. 
115.  We consider that the scope of the WTO's rules is not balanced, in other words, for some 
policies such as tariff policy these rules are highly restrictive and not very tolerant, whereas for other policies, such as those on internal measures, subsidies, private standards, competitive 
devaluation, etc., the rules are either extremely weak or non-existent. The economic and financial 
crisis put the commitment of global economic and trading leaders to the test, with maintenance of 
the level playing field in the trade sphere. The result of this test is that, in practice, it has been 
shown that their conduct left a lot to be desired. The evidence collected and analysed and the 
academic studies conducted prove that, in practice the assertion that, although the WTO's rules have influenced the establishment of the discriminatory measures implemented during the global economic and financial crisis, they have in no way impaired or lessened them. 
116.  We acknowledge and pay tribute to the efforts made by the Director-General to incorporate 
some of the comments made by Members in his report on developments in the international trading environment. Nonetheless, we consider th at this report's factual presentation could be 
even more comprehensive and balanced so as to avoid the bias of emphasizing border measures 
as a primary source of discrimination. In short, Mr Chairperson, we consider that after more than three years of evaluations of the internat ional trading environment, there has only been 
compliance with the commitment made by the world's economic and trade leaders at the 
beginning of the crisis not to revert to protectionism in the letter but not in the spirit or intention. In our view, therefore, the fact that the Director-General's report does not also take into account internal measures will likely lead to biased evaluations of the scope of the discrimination against 
non-domestic trading interests in periods of extreme economic stress and, in particular, of the true 
effectiveness of the WTO's rules. 
SWITZERLAND 
117.  My Delegation would like first to thank the Director-General for his presentation and 
the WTO Secretariat for having produced this ne w annual report on trade-related developments 
which, once again, presents a comprehensive pictur e of the situation, problems and challenges we 
are currently facing in the area of international trade and trade policy. This mechanism has clearly 
contributed to improving transparency in the multilateral trading system and is now a core activity of the WTO. 
118.  Despite the fact that on the occasion of their last Ministerial Conference Ministers had 
recognized the importance of the regular work und ertaken by the TPRB on the monitoring exercise 
of trade and trade-related measures, we note with great disappointment that only 60 Members representing a bit more than 38% 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 
developments if some Members retain information on their own measures. More discipline in this respect is therefore required so that the results of this exercise become even more meaningful. 
The problem here is the same as with notifications. Only a minority of Members are providing 
complete and timely notifications and are therefore fulfilling their notification obligations. This is particularly true with respect to regional trade agreements. The fact that more than 100 of such agreements are in force but were never notified is  deeply regrettable. We therefore urge Members 
to make all necessary efforts so that this exercise becomes fully meaningful. 
119.  On the substance of the report, Switzerland notes first that the marked deceleration of the 
growth of world trade this year and the below-average forecast for next year's world trade volume WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  growth does not represent a good omen for the multilateral trading system. One major reason for 
the absence of a sustainable recovery in the world economy is the persistent unsustainable debt and budget situations on both sides of the At lantic. Clearly, long-term budgetary reforms are 
needed. The outbreak of the financial and economic crisis made it clear that the lack of budgetary 
control in the past pushed many States to the verge of bankruptcy as a result of the stimulus 
measures taken to avert the great recession. One way of preventing high deficits and/or large debts in future is to introduce debt brake mechanisms to balance the budget over the 
economic cycle. Switzerland introduced this instrument in the past and, thanks to this, was able to 
better weather the global recession and maintain a balanced budget even during the crisis. With more sustainable public finances in the longer run, there will also be a greater margin of manoeuvre for governments to cope with the unemployment consequences of a future crisis 
and hence governments will also be less prone to succumb to pressures to adopt 
protectionist measures. 
120.  This brings me to my second point, i.e. trade issues. While we are reassured to note that 
some Members refrained from taking new trade-restrictive measures in recent months and even 
introduced some trade-facilitating measures, the fact remains that a number of Members, notably members of the G-20, continue to add trade-restrictive measures to those already in effect, 
including to those that have already existed for a long time. As a result, the total share of world 
trade affected by trade-restrictive measures continues to increase. Clearly, the rollback of trade-restrictive measures remains insufficient despite repeated commitments made on several occasions, not least by the G-20. We therefor e fully support the call of the WTO that all 
governments need to redouble their efforts to promptly address this situation and to advance 
trade opening as a way to counter slowing global economic growth. 
121.  While the decline in the number of new export restrictions is a development to be welcomed, 
increased applied import tariffs, more stringent cu stoms procedures and, as the Director-General 
noted, the rising trend toward the use of trade remedies - in particular the increased number of initiations of anti-dumping measures - remain a great concern to us. Even if some of these 
measures do not necessarily breach WTO obligations, they are nonetheless dangerous as they tend 
to restrict trade and can generate tit-for-tat reactions from trading partners. For those Members applying trade remedies, studies have shown that the use of these instruments tends to undermine the effects of their own competition poli cies. It is therefore difficult to understand why 
some of these Members which are promoting and implementing the most stringent competition 
policies are simultaneously also among the main users of trade remedies. It is furthermore no 
secret that these measures hamper structural adjustment and are therefore not to the benefit of 
the longer term economic development an d growth of the sectors so protected. 
122.  We are particularly concerned by the fact that the most recent wave of trade restrictions 
seems no longer to be aimed at combating temporary effects of the global crisis. It appears that 
Members are rather trying to pursue long-term economic objectives through import substitution 
and inward-looking policies notably linked to the use of government subsidies, domestic 
preferences in government procurement, and loca l content requirements. For instance, more open 
trade in government procurement would allow governments to purchase goods and services based 
on the best deals for taxpayers, ultimately savi ng money. At a time when many governments are 
struggling with extremely tight budgets and excessiv e debt levels, the benefits of pursuing more 
open government procurement policies should be ob vious. In this context, the conclusion of the 
revised WTO Agreement on Government Procurement is a welcome development, and we 
encourage all Members which are not yet participants to join this Agreement as soon as possible. 
123.  Before I conclude, Mr Chairperson, I would like ki ndly but no less firmly once again to invite 
Members to contribute to the strengthening of WTO trade monitoring through better compliance 
with their obligation of complete and timely notifications of all their trade and trade-related measures. A further improvement in the quality of  these trade monitoring reports will only happen 
with the full cooperation of each of us. Switzerland remains for its part fully engaged in this 
exercise and will continue to cooperate fully with the WTO Secretariat and to provide maximum 
transparency on its own trade and trade-related policies. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  EUROPEAN UNION 
124.  The EU welcomes the Director-General's annual report and the changes the Secretariat 
implemented at the request of the membership. The report is a useful instrument for monitoring 
protectionist trends and complements the previous G-20 reports. 
125.  The EU welcomes the fact that the new report includes a relatively broad list of measures 
with a distinction between trade-restrictive and trade facilitating measures. We appreciate that the level of types of measures is assessed, rather than a punctual analysis of specific measures, 
which would appear too complex. We also welcome the analysis about which sectors are most 
affected, as well as the clear graphical presentations. 
126.  Moreover, it is appropriate that trade remedies are reported under a separate heading 
without qualifying them as trade-restrictive and that there is a distinction between initiated and 
terminated measures. 
127.  On balance, we agree with the Secretariat's approach to assess, to the extent possible, 
the overall impact of measures on trade flows, the types of measures included, as well as the 
sectors affected. The EU supports using the scope and set-up of this new format for future reports, 
which will allow us to assess and compare trends. 
128.  For this, however, it will be important to have full and uniform information across 
the membership. We had long discussions about transparency before MC8 and made a 
commitment at MC8 to step up our efforts in this regard. The EU has been stressing the importance of Members' compliance with the obligations to formally notify measures to the relevant WTO committees. 
129.  As others pointed out, it is disappointing to observe that only 38% of the membership 
submitted information for this report. The EU is concerned that this low level of input - including by some important G-20 countries - distorts the results of the annual report. The fact that unreported 
measures go largely unnoticed induces a bias in the analysis to the detriment of notifying 
members. The WTO Secretariat acknowledged this in its 2011 report and again this year. 
130.  For example, paragraph 115 in the section on subsidies shows that 73 Members have 
not yet made their 2011 subsidy notifications and 28 Members have not submitted 
any subsidy notification at all. The EU regrets that notification requirements under the ASCM (Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures) are often ignored, most worryingly by countries granting increasing amounts of subsidies. Although the Chair 
of the SCM Committee regularly "names and shames" those who do not comply with their 
notification obligations, this seems to have little impact. 
131.  We hope that the new list in the annual report indicating those Members that replied in time 
to the Director-General's request for information can serve as a wake-up call to those Members 
who failed to report their measures. 
132.  The separate chapters on SPS and TBT measures include interesting statistics and analysis. 
On TBT, we appreciate the trends and the focus on "specific trade concerns" (STCs) as discussed 
in the TBT Committee. On SPS, we welcome the approach to report the extent to which the notified regular and emergency SPS measures we re in line with international standards. 
For future reports, it would be interesting to include trends similar to what has been presented 
in the TBT chapter. 
133.  The chapters on government support measures, government procurement and the 
information compiled from the Trade Policy Reviews and RTAs are important elements also for 
future reports. The information derived from the TPRs on MFN tariffs comparing short- and 
long-term trends is useful and it would be valuable if this information could be provided in the future for all G-20 countries. 
134.  On government procurement, future reporting should include trends and data on restrictive 
measures and on facilitating measures outside the GPA context. On trade financing, future reports WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  could be complemented by information on G-20 countries' strategies and implementation 
modalities regarding export credits. 
135.  At the same time, the EU regrets to have found some inaccuracies in this annual report, 
in particular in the sections on subsidies and agriculture. To improve this, the EU invites 
the WTO Secretariat to explore the possibility for Members to verify all new measures added by 
the WTO Secretariat, prior to the publication of the report. 
136.  As concerns the section on subsidies, the EU regrets that some new measures have been 
added without giving an opportunity for the EU to comment. 
137.  As regards agriculture, the EU welcomes the cl ear distinction made by the Secretariat on the 
different measures used to describe WTO Members' support to the agricultural sector, i.e. the "aggregate measure of support" (AMS) and the "producer support estimate" (PSE). These 
are indeed two very different indicators, based on different methodologies and designed for 
different purposes. It is important to note that the boxes in which domestic support is classified in the WTO are a result of negotiations and that the AMS has a legal context as far as the 
Agreement on Agriculture is concerned. Hence, the EU does not consider it appropriate to judge 
the weakness of the AMS as an indicator in the Annual Report by the WTO Director-General 
(§ 128). It should be left to academic studies to  judge the effectiveness of different indicators. 
138.  The EU would also like to draw attention to some inaccuracies in the section of agriculture in 
the annual report which we will address bilaterally with the WTO Secretariat. 
139.  Overall, as said, the EU is supportive of the new format and believes it will enhance the 
usefulness of the exercise even more. 
CHINA 
140.  We are grateful for the new report format reflecting Members' suggestions voiced during 
various consultations, and for the separate annexes for trade facilitating and trade remedy 
measures as suggested by many Members, including China. We firmly believe that it is in 
the interests of the entire membership and this Organization to continue and reinforce this monitoring exercise. This report is clearly going in the right direction. 
141.  We are pleased to learn that governments have on the whole continued to resist 
protectionism, and restrictive measures taken during the review period have witnessed a downward trend. Meanwhile, the report pointed out that the world needs a renewed and stronger commitment from all governments to revitalize the multilateral trading system that can restore 
economic certainty at a time when it is badly needed. China fully shares this point of view and 
stands ready with other Members to faithfully deliver our commitments in resisting protectionism and revitalizing this Organization. 
142.  Let me turn to some specifics of the report. Firs t, the report noted that  the declining trend in 
anti-dumping initiations started in 2009 seemed to be reversed this year. It is indeed a worrisome sign. We understand that Members are entitled to apply trade remedies. However, what concerns 
us is the fact that during the current economic downturn, these legitimate measures could be 
abused for protectionist purposes. 
143.  Second, paragraph 15 of this report states that trade frictions seem to be increasing, 
reflected not only through trade remedy and disp ute settlement cases, but also through decisions 
affecting foreign investment. China shared this observation particularly on the tendency of 
investment protectionism. In recent years, some quite normal investment projects by Chinese enterprises have been turned down based on ideological reasons. Such investment 
exclusivism poses a serious threat to the recovery of the global economy and the integrity of the 
global value chain. Therefore, we wish to take this opportunity to call upon Members to maintain an open and transparent investment environment for all enterprises. 
144.  F i n a l l y ,  I  w o u l d  l i k e  t o  m a k e  s o m e  b r i e f  c o m m e n t s  o n  t h e  g l o b a l  e c o n o m i c  s i t u a t i o n .  
As the Director-General pointed out, the global economy has encountered increasingly strong headwinds over the past few months and the outlook is even worse. At such a time, it is vital that WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  trade keep playing its role of stabilizing and insurance. For years, the Doha Round has been 
commonly regarded as an inexpensive but highly effective stimulus package to restore the global economy. In this regard, we fully agree with on e of the conclusions of this report that, even 
though the conclusion of the whole DDA package is out of reach in the short term, the hope still 
exists to advance in smaller steps. We are enco uraged by the positive tones voiced at the TNC 
meeting last week, and will make our best effo rts together with other Members, to achieve 
credible deliverables by MC9 and, more importantly, to conclude the whole Round afterwards. 
NORWAY 
145.  We continue to place great value and priority on this monitoring process, as an important 
tool in increasing transparency, as a barometer for measuring protectionist pressures and in facilitating constructive and appropriate peer pressure. 
146.  An assessment of the developments in the trading environment obviously depends much 
on our assessment of where we feel we could, or alternatively should, have been. Like Scrooge's encounter with the "Ghost of Christmas present" in Dickens's "A Christmas Carol", 
the report confronts us both by images that provoke grave concern, as well as some more 
comforting signs. On the whole, Members have resi sted pressures to erect new trade barriers that 
reverse openness. With the serious setback to the global economy and its social consequences, 
it could clearly have been much worse. But at the same time, the steady accumulation 
of trade-restrictive measures shows the difficult y of reversing measures once they have been 
put into place. 
147.  On transparency, we still feel we are a long way away from where we should be. 
Only 38% of Members responded to the request for information. For these reports to serve their 
purpose, indeed for this Organization to serve its purpose, our commitment to transparency needs to be demonstrated more firmly. Norway will not cast the first stone today. Although we responded 
to the Director-General's request for information, we ourselves were not able to get our 
verification of all measures recorded in time for this report. I am pleased to correct this by hereby providing our confirmation and verification through my statement today. 
148.  Let me provide some feedback on a few areas of the report in more detail. 
149.  Regarding the chapter on "other trade and trade-related measures" we feel that it could 
deserve some more emphasis as it does cover tariffs, customs procedures, taxes and quantitative restrictions for both imports and exports. A mere three paragraphs over half a page in this report 
covers much less ground than we would have liked, especially at a time when the implementation 
of such measures is being watched with concern. We would hope it will be possible to draw inspiration from the more qualitative description used under the chapter on services in this area. 
150.  On agriculture, Norway has consistently acknowledged the need for transparency, and has 
supported including relevant information in these reports. Now, the report spends 15 pages on agricultural support - nearly 20% of the report itself - but unfortunately, in our view, produces 
little new insight. First, we were not able to  find anything covering developments from 
mid-October 2011 to mid-October 2012 - the period covered by the report. Secondly, much space is taken up explaining a methodology that has a functional value in the WTO but is less relevant for understanding actual support. And finally, the material available to the Secretariat continues to 
leave out several of the world's major agricultural producers and traders. We cannot fault the 
Secretariat, who have had to rely on what little data are available to them. We would however welcome a discussion on how to provide broader, more relevant, and more current information on 
agricultural policies in these reports. 
151.  On a more positive note, we continue to find the chapter on policy developments in trade in 
services highly valuable, with a wealth of interesting information, despite constraints on availability 
of information also in this area. 
152.  Although Members have largely resisted protec tionist measures, a "could have been worse" 
story can only provide temporary solace, at best. We stand the risk that disputes, renegotiations and reversals of market openings end up stealing th e headlines that we would have liked to see be 
about opening markets. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  153.  Norway is among those putting emphasis on re straint, pragmatism and recognizing political 
realities in our work leading up to Bali. But let us not forget the work still to be done after 2013. The intense efforts Members are placing on bilateral and regional trade agreements suggest that the appetite for further opening of markets has not subsided. Beyond Bali, the challenge will be to 
bring that energy into this house and to find credible new approaches and solutions so that the 
unilateral steps backwards are replaced by multilate ral steps in the right direction. We need to 
produce positive headlines on reform and market opening through the WTO. 
154.  Finally, it is important to remain vigilant. The spectre of economic downturn, social upheaval 
and protectionism still looms large. The role of these reports and this Organization in countering the inevitable pressures that governments face to turn to inward-looking policies should not be underestimated or be taken for granted. In this  house, we are wise enough not to require 
a "Ghost of Christmas yet-to-come" to show us the disastrous consequences of leaving 
our promises on the current rules and obligations, on transparency, and on the direction set out in Doha, unfulfilled. Let us therefore rather be insp ired by Scrooge's words from the same novel, 
that "Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to  which, if persevered in, they must lead. 
But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change" . 
155.  These reports show us the course we are on. Let us use them to change our common course 
and, thereby, our common ends. 
PAKISTAN 156.  Although world merchandise trade for 2012 was revised downward from 3.7% to 2.5%, 
rebound is expected in 2013 to 4.5%. We are also learning to analyse trade realities and data from 
different perspectives and the report on the "made in the world initiative" would shed some light 
on the new dynamics of the trading world. We  appreciate the high quality of analysis 
and improvements in the format of this report and consider it a useful tool to check 
protectionist tendencies. 
157.  Certain issues in the report are worth highlighting: 
158.  Prices are moving towards stability and there are not many problems in the availability of 
trade finance, at least at the global level. Ye t, the report rightly recognizes the permanent 
existence of a market gap for poor countries. Very importantly, in this time of difficulties for a number of countries, access to trade finance is hamp ered by poor sovereign rating, adding a risk 
premium for the low-end producers and exporter s whose predicament does not end at the low 
demand in the developed markets. It further results in contraction in output which is transmitted 
to the domestic economy; further reducing ag gregate demand, thus setting in motion and 
perpetuating a vicious circle, even in the absence of any protectionist policies. 
159.  The portion on Aid for Trade also provides a usef ul insight into the present level as well as 
the contours of the upcoming Global Review in July 2013. Its focus "Connecting to the Value Chains" is important amidst the hype surrounding the GVCs as several developing countries 
experience a range of difficulties with regard to GVCs. 
160.  It provides useful information about the nature and trends in RTAs. These are becoming 
more broad-ranging, and not only include merchandise trade liberalization but also services trade and investment liberalization and regulatory measures to ensure that trade between RTA parties 
takes place smoothly. 
161.  A n a l y s i s  s h o w s  t h a t  e v e n  i n  R T A s  t a r i f f  r e d u c t i o n  o n  a g r i c u l t u r e  a n d  t e x t i l e  p r o d u c t s  a r e  
much less as compared to other products. Agriculture stands out as a protected sector in almost 
all the RTAs. Hence the need to focus more on this sector at the multilateral level. 
162.  Your efforts towards transparency and timeliness of notifications are appreciated; the same 
focus has to be continued in the next year as well. At the same time it also comes out from 
this report that some of the notifications, especially in agriculture, are focused on monitoring the 
commitments, whereas these may not be the true refl ection of the subsidies actually provided to 
the farming sector in the economic sense. This  area needs to be further explored without 
undermining the disciplines and the need to monitor Member's commitments. We also urge WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  Members to refrain from any temptation to use protectionism and continue to support this exercise 
through timely feedback to the Secretariat. I also take this opportunity to mention that Pakistan is one of those countries which responded to this call for more information. 
163.  As we are entering into more complex and dynamic realities of the trading world, the future 
of international trade and its analysis also require constant evolution of analysis tools. 
We appreciate the efforts made by the Secretariat in preparing this report and hope that the richness of analysis would continue to be improved as we evolve our tools to analyse this reality. 
SINGAPORE 
164.  We welcome the new format of the report, which has incorporated helpful suggestions by 
Members in their meetings and provides greater clarity in terms of the categorization of trade measures by Members. It is a strength of the TPRB process that it is able to evolve and improve 
with each report cycle. While there will inev itably be disagreements on the coverage and 
methodology, the report serves as a valuable and important warning system of current risks in the 
global trading system. 
165.  We note that, while there appears to be a slowdown in the imposition of new 
trade-restrictive measures, the cumulative effect of measures implemented since the start of the global crisis is of grave concern. In that regard, we would like to ask if the Secretariat is keeping 
track of whether the measures introduced since the start of the crisis are being dismantled 
or rolled back as this will help to give greater clarity of what is actually the cumulative impact of all the measures implemented since the start of the crisis. But, while we also understand that 
there could be resource constraints in terms of tracking all the measures, as noted by 
several other Members, it is very disappointing that only 38% of Members responded to the 
Director-General's request for information and this is only a marginal improvement over the 36% for the previous report. 
166.  There was also a slight improvement in the response to requests for verification of 
information, 60% versus 54% for the previous report. We as Members need to do much better as a more comprehensive and accurate report is to our common benefit. In that regard, we support 
the new practice of listing Members that reply in time to the Director-General's request for 
information and hope that this will help to encourage more Members to respond to the request for information. 
167.  Finally, we know that it is also worrying that there continues to be a serious gap in the 
number of RTAs notified to the Secretariat. The report estimates that there are over 100 RTAs in 
force but not notified to the WTO. In addition, the Secretariat continues to be significantly hampered in its task of preparing factual presenta tions of RTAs due to lack of data provided by 
Members. This has resulted in a backlog of 86 factual presentations and undermines the key 
principle of transparency that we all value. 
CHINESE TAIPEI 
168.  The report presents an extremely valuable and comprehensive picture of what we are 
currently facing in the international trade arena. We are convinced that this monitoring exercise is helping to improve transparency in the world's multilateral trading system. 
169.  It is pleasing to see some positive developments in the period under review. For example, 
there was a slight slowdown in the imposition rate of new trade-restrictive measures and just over 
half of the recorded measures, accounting for some 3.2% of the world's merchandise imports, can be said to be facilitating trade. It is also encouraging to note that some Members, my Government 
included, have implemented measures aimed at lowering or eliminating import tariffs altogether, 
and streamlining customs procedures. 
170.  What we do regret, however, is the fact that, though Members on the whole are resisting 
protectionism pressures, they persist in applying new measures that could be said to restrict or 
distort trade. A total of 164 other trade and trade-related measures were implemented, most of them to apply tariff increases and new customs procedures, and a significant number restricting or banning certain food products and raw materials, Our worry is that this trend may further weaken WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  the global economy, which has not fully recovered from the crisis and continues 
to lose momentum. 
171.  We also note an apparent rise in the level of trade friction in the G-20 economies, at a time 
of continuing economic difficulties. This increased tension is reflected in the number 
of trade remedy and dispute settlement cases und er the WTO, and through the various decisions 
affecting foreign investment and participation in infrastructure-related government procurement programmes. 
172.  The WTO membership has always advocated an open multilateral trading system. A major 
return to protectionism would not only deal a devastating blow to the system itself, but would also destroy the longstanding credibility of the WTO as a leading organization in global trade. We must proceed with caution, resist protectionist pressures and work collectively on opening markets 
rather than closing them. In our view, the situation we face now is even more critical than it was 
during the recent financial crisis. The world needs a stronger commitment from all governments to revitalize the multilateral trading system. We shar e the view expressed in the report that, even if 
the goal of achieving a DDA package among all WT O Members is out of reach in the short term, 
the possibility still exists for advancing by smaller steps. And this possibility should not be lost. We need to follow up the guidance of our Mi nisters adopted in MC8 to advance areas where 
progress can be achieved to deliver a package for Bali. 
173.  Productive discussions have taken place and major suggestions on methodology and 
clarifications from the floor have been adopted and incorporated into this latest report. Furthermore, as we have always stressed, the value of this report will depend on the continued 
support of Members in providing information on their trade-related measures to the Secretariat on 
a timely basis. We strongly encourage Members to maintain their cooperation in this respect. 
174.  We look forward to working with you, with the Director-General and the Secretariat and all 
other Members, on continuing to improve the trade monitoring process.
1 
HONG KONG, CHINA 175.  This year's annual report is, as always, very informative and useful. It has adopted a new 
format, as agreed by Members. New trade measures are now grouped into six categories. The new 
grouping methodology has helped us focus on different characteristics and potential impact of those measures, hence also giving us new insight. However, we should not lose sight of the fact that 308 of such new measures imposed over the 12-month period under review may have a 
trade-restrictive effect. Such measures continue to add to the stock of trade restrictions and 
distortions that have been put in place since the financial crisis. We should continue to stay alert to their cumulative effect in dampening trade. 
176.  The report covers a wide range of subjects and I will limit myself to commenting on 
just a few. 
177.  Regarding the trade facilitating and other trade measures, it is encouraging to note that 
some Members adopted measures to facilitate trade in terms of tariff cuts, export facilitation and 
streamlined customs procedures. However, at the same time, we also see nearly the same number 
of other measures having been put in place to increase tariffs, restrict exports, and impose new customs requirements. We do not think the effect of these two opposite developments will 
cancel each other out. When an exporter or supplier is confronted with a new trade-restrictive 
measure, the damage is very immediate and su bstantive, and may not be remedied by trade 
opportunities opened up in other areas. 
                                               
1 Following this meeting, the delegation of the Se parate Customs Territory of  Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen 
and Matsu indicated, with respect to the second bullet  point in "Box 3: The trad e effects of trade remedy 
investigations and duties" contained in page 23 of th e document WT/TPR/OV/15, that (i) the second bullet 
point appears to be misplaced, as this bullet point re lates to the "adoption" of anti-dumping laws while the 
entire "Box 3" deals with the initiation of trade remedy investigations and levying of duties; (ii) even assuming 
any correlation between the adoption of  anti-dumping laws and any import decrease, such correlation does not 
imply causation; and (iii) the selection of countries in the second bullet point should not be taken to imply 
similar footing in terms of frequency in initiating trade remedy measures. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  178.  I would like to add a few more words on trade facilitation. The OECD has recently conducted 
an analysis of the relative economic and trad e impact of measures under the current trade 
facilitation negotiations on non-OECD countries. The study concluded that enhancing trade facilitation would have a positive impact on trade flows and the average trade cost potential 
reduction is estimated at 11-14%. This reinforces our belief in the vast economic benefits that 
could be brought about by increasing use of trade facilitating measures. We therefore urge Members to further reduce unnecessary obstacles at borders and, needless to say, to conclude our 
trade facilitation negotiations as soon as possible. 
179.  Regarding trade remedy measures, we note fr om the report worrying signs of increasing 
use of anti-dumping action and that the increase came from both developed and developing country Members. I do not dispute the view that some trade remedy measures 
may be needed and justified in the circumstance s of the cases concerned. However, I think the 
Director-General's report has, on page 23, Box 3, very sharply and honestly elaborated on the chilling effect on trade brought about by the initiation of trade remedy investigations. 
The uncertainty and threat to overseas producers triggered by such investigations has a 
demonstrated effect on diversion or reduction of  their production. The broader effect of such 
measures on trade activities downstream of the supply chain and provocation for retaliation is also 
very real. I think we have already seen some examples during the year. We therefore call 
upon Members to exercise great caution and restraint when considering trade remedy actions for preventing protectionism from further growth. 
180.  On TBT measures, we note that very few of the specific trade concerns raised at 
the TBT Committee ended up in formal dispute settlement proceedings and agree with the annual 
report that the Committee may well have contributed to pre-empting escalation of trade conflicts through providing opportunities for Members to discuss their trade concerns. We are, however, 
also mindful of the fact that almost 70% of the specific trade concerns discussed in 2012 were 
indeed old cases. The recurrent pattern of these cases suggests that the discussions in 
the TBT Committee may not have led to satisfactory results. In this regard, we support the idea 
that we should give more thought to how to improve or install possible new tools and avenues for 
better resolution of specific trade concerns in that Committee. We hope the Committee would reflect upon this in the coming year. 
181.  Regarding trade in services, an area where we usually hear more good news, 
the annual report has shown that there are new measures that open up the services sector to 
greater foreign participation. We certainly welcome these liberalization measures and also the regulatory reform implemented by Members, particular ly those in lifting or relaxing restrictions on 
foreign investments in financial services and telecommunications services sectors. 
182.  On RTAs, we share the observation of th e report that RTAs are becoming more 
broad-ranging. Apart from covering merchandise trade liberalization, more new RTAs include 
services trade, investment liberalization and regulatory measures. There is also a trend for RTAs 
that contain deeper regulatory commitments than the traditional ones on TBT and SPS. It is clear that the proliferation of RTAs and their deeper integration provisions would have an impact on the multilateral trading system. We continue to be interested in the systemic implications of RTAs for 
the multilateral trading system and the rela tionship between them, and look forward to 
constructive discussions on the issue in the context of the WTO. 
183.  The report also highlights the non-notification issue and delays in preparation of the factual 
presentations with respect to RTAs. The Secretariat estimates that there could be 
over 100 agreements in force but not yet notified to the WTO. In this regard, we understand that 
the Committee on RTAs has worked on a list of non-notified RTAs prepared by the Secretariat with 
a view to encouraging the Members concerned to make timely notifications. We support this work. 
We encourage Members, in the interest of transparency, to submit information in line with requirements of the transparency mechanism in due course. 
184.  Finally, on time limits for notifications in general, I note that only 38% of the membership 
replied to the Director-General's request for information on measures taken during the review 
period. This is a very slight improvement on last time, but at least the change is in the right direction. Agriculture notifications, however, rema in lamentable. I would like to urge Members to 
furnish information for the report to the Director-General in a timely manner to make sure this 
annual monitoring exercise is as useful and meaningful as possible. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  INDIA 
185.  India attaches great value to the annual overview of developments in the international 
trading environment undertaken by the TPRB. It is a useful opportunity to review past and future trends in global trade and to obtain an overal l picture of trade-related measures implemented 
by Members which have an impact on the multilateral trading system. 
186.  We thank the Director-General for his report on the international trading environment, 
which is of immense value and utility not only to Members within the WTO but also outside. 
Contents of the report are often quoted in various public forums thereby influencing general 
perceptions about the state of global trade. It is  for this  re as on that we  have  b e e n ad voc ating 
greater objectivity and balance in the report. We are happy to note that our concerted efforts over the past year have helped in bringing about some improvements in the report and suggestions 
of Members have been taken on board in the preparation of this report. We hope that continued 
work in this direction will help in further enhancing its utility. 
187.  We welcome the new format of the report wherein trade facilitating measures have been 
listed separately giving due importance to steps taken by Members to facilitate trade rather than 
merely concentrating on trade-restrictive measures. A separate Annex on trade remedy measures has been added, which highlights that nearly ha lf the measures were actually termination of 
investigations or duties. These steps have adde d a fresh and positive outlook to the report. 
We would recommend that the WTO report on G-20 trade measures, which was released in October, should also follow the new format in future in the interest of promoting coherence and avoiding methodological problems. 
188.  We are encouraged to note from the Director-General's report that over the past one year 
there has been a slowdown in the imposition of new trade-restrictive measures, with the total number of such measures dropping to 308 from 339 last year. These measures cover 
around 1.3% of world merchandise imports. Fu rther, 51% of the total number of recorded 
measures was trade facilitating measures in the form of elimination or decrease of import tariffs and streamlining of customs procedures. These fa cilitative measures covered around 3.2% of 
world merchandise imports. Thus, it is evident that the trade coverage of facilitative measures far 
outweighed the trade coverage of restrictive measures. 
189.  The analysis of tariff ups & downs in the report provides interesting insights. Applied tariffs 
have largely continued to decline and remain well below the bound rates. In most cases, Members 
have limited increases in tariffs to only one or two tariff lines. Further, where tariffs have been cut, 
in almost 90% of the cases, the tariff was lowered to less than 5%, while in over one third of the cases, the tariff was cut to 0%. 
190.  These facts support the assertion that, on the whole, governments have continued to resist 
domestic pressures to erect barriers to trade. This is a good sign and all the more creditable in the 
backdrop of the current gloomy scenario of world trade. 
191.  We appreciate the inclusion in the report of information on government support 
programmes, including subsidies, drawn from WTO sources like TPR reports and notifications to the Committee on Agriculture. The Integrated Trade Intelligence Portal (I-TIP), proposed to be launched shortly, will be a useful point of access in future for all available information on trade 
policies and practices affecting trade in goods. 
192.  There are, however, a few areas of concern that still remain with regard to this and 
previous reports. 
193.  Firstly, we still do not have statistics on trade facilitative measures for the period prior 
to October 2011, which would be necessary if we want to have a broader picture of developments since 2008. 
194.  Secondly, in the calculation tables provided by the Secretariat for trade coverage of 
trade-restrictive measures  during October 2008 to  May 2012, there still remain a few questions on 
the assumptions made on HS Codes for broad product categories which bring in an element of WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  subjectivity. It would be useful if these assumptions could be documented along with broader 
descriptions and HS Codes assumed. 
195.  Further, the base period for import data is taken as 2010 for all measures between 2008 
and 2012. It would be useful to understand the reasons for taking 2010 as the base period. 
196.  In some cases, COMTRADE data is not available. It would be useful to know from where the 
import data has been taken in such cases. 
197.  A few economic studies have been quoted in the current report on the chilling effect of trade 
remedies. This needs further scrutiny because many of the papers are dated. It may be useful to 
consider further studies to obtain a more balanced picture. 
198.  Additionally, if the chilling effect is a criter ion for trade-restrictiveness, then the same 
methodology should be adopted for other trade me asures too. For instance, in the case of SPS 
and TBT measures, the report documents only the numbe r of notifications, as well as specific trade 
concerns. We feel that similar criteria to those used for trade remedies should be used for computing trade coverage of SPS and TBT measures  because of their chilling effect on trade and 
the slowdown in imports on account of these measures. 
199.  In table 5 of the report, average MFN tariffs on products in the first stage of processing, in 
the semi-processing stage and the processed stage are given. More clarity on how this has been 
computed would be useful. 
200.  In conclusion, Mr Chairperson, we reiterate once more the usefulness and value of this 
exercise. We look forward to receiving future reports and remain ready to engage constructively in future discussions in the TPRB. We would, however, urge caution against focusing on 
Members' notifications in future reports as proposed by the Director-General. This was an issue 
that was discussed in the TPRB in the past, during the fourth review of the TPRM, and there was no consensus at that time on this issue as many Members were of the view that notifications are 
already being monitored by the respective Committees and it is better to leave this work to them. 
CHILE 201.  We welcome the introduction by the Director -General. We acknowledge the excellent work 
done by the Secretariat in preparing this report and the improvements in the methodology utilized. 
This report is a valuable instrument for describing the situation and the trends in global trade. 
202.  The value of this body, which you chair, is legitimized by the work carried out to enhance 
transparency and monitoring. We therefore agree with other Members which preceded me 
in expressing concern at the increase in protectionist measures that have distortionary effects 
on trade during the financial crisis, added to those already implemented, and which still remain in force. 
203.  In a constructive spirit and for the good of a report such as this, widely read and consulted 
outside this forum, we would like to make some comments concerning the way in which data are presented, particularly in the section on agriculture. Is it possible to compare in the same 
paragraph Members whose utilization of an instrument shows an upward or downward trend if the 
timescale of the data differs? In other paragraphs, we note groups of countries indicated with an upward trend in support, but without any expression of its order of magnitude. 
204.  Lastly, we view positively the inclusion in the next report of a section on compliance with the 
notification commitment in relation to RTAs. 
MEXICO 205.  We thank the Director-General for his report just presented, both in written and oral forms. 
We also thank the Chairperson for holding consultations and the Secretariat for incorporating into 
the report the comments then made by delegation s. The monitoring exercise is of the utmost 
importance and the information presented is essential for understanding what is happening in the 
organization of global trade. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  206.  Unfortunately, this year concludes with a much less encouraging outlook than was the case 
when the previous monitoring report was published.  Expectations of growth in the economy and in 
global trade have been adjusted downwards as a re sult of the contraction in global demand in the 
major export markets and the problems caused by the sovereign debt crisis, together with the 
volatility of foreign exchange and stock markets. 
207.  In view of this economic scenario, at a time when the most important thing is to stimulate 
trade flows, it is particularly disappointing that, of the 164 trade measures that are potentially 
trade-restrictive, 80% consist of higher tariffs and new customs procedures, which cause 
substantial market distortions, especially in food, mineral and raw material markets. 
208.  Nevertheless, the report also highlights the fact that 162 trade facilitating measures have 
been adopted by some countries, focusing mainly on lowering import tariffs and streamlining 
customs procedures. 
209.  It is also important to indicate that the report shows that, in agreement with the OECD, 
structural reforms have been taking place in some developed countries as far as agricultural 
support is concerned, under which market price support measures are being replaced by support 
measures that are less trade-distorting. 
210.  Mexico counts itself among the Members that be lieve that trade liberalization, even in the 
midst of the crisis and despite the domestic resistan ce which is bound to occur, is the best way of 
confronting the unfavourable environment that is predicted. 
211.  In this connection, we reiterate the Mexican Government's commitment to free trade, 
the strengthening of the multilateral trading system, with the successful conclusion 
of the Doha Round, and the decisive combat against protectionism. 
212.  Lastly, Mr Chairperson, I conclude by once again thanking the Director-General and 
the Secretariat for the excellent and exhaustive report submitted to this body. 
COLOMBIA 
213.  Thank you Mr Chairperson and thank you Director-General for the presentation of the 
monitoring report covering the second half of the year. We particularly welcome the fact that this 
new format presented to us today has noted the concerns expressed by Members here and taken 
them into account, making this an inclusive exercise, an exercise that we are all undertaking in order to comply with the monitoring and surveillance task with which we have been entrusted. 
214.  This new format makes the importance of providing timely and full information even more 
relevant because, as indicated by the Director-General, the quality of the report depends on the 
information we furnish. If we provide information of quality and in due time, we will have a strong report, if we provide poor information, we will have a poor quality report. This is why it is 
important to give full and timely notification and to participate actively in this exercise, providing 
information and participating in the verification process. This should be an interactive and participatory exercise in which we all follow up and monitor the situation so that it improves. 
This is why we urge all Members to continue strengthening this exercise. 
215.  With regard to the principal messages contained in the report, the trends in the global 
economy are not encouraging and the problems ha ve become worse instead of being resolved, 
especially the slowdown in growth, the high rate s of unemployment, the debt and exchange rate 
problems and the increase in trade friction. We note with concern that, in some cases, it has been 
decided to increase trade-restrictive measures and, instead of smoothing the path, this makes things even more difficult. We should not give in to pessimism, however, particularly in this festive 
period, and we view particularly positively the small decrease in trade-restrictive measures, which 
fell from 339 to 308, and the 162 trade facilitation measures, focusing in particular on lower tariffs and streamlining of customs procedures, even th ough the accumulated effect of the measures 
remains a concern and this is why we call for their rapid removal. 
216.  Lastly, Mr Chairperson, we welcome the refere nce to the Trade Policy Review of my country 
in paragraphs 167 and 168, particularly the positive comments on our trade policy, WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  which encourage us to continue along the path mapped out and confirm that the encouragement 
of trade openness we have adopted is the road to  growth, the road to development and prosperity 
for our people. 
NEW ZEALAND 
217.  The improvements that have been made in this  instalment I think highlight very clearly how 
valuable your discussions with Members over the last year have been. I particularly appreciate the effort made by the Secretariat as well to convene discussions at the technical level, aimed at 
ironing out some of the data and related issues that came up in those earlier discussions. 
218.  The findings of this report highlight, some might say reassuringly, that 51% of all recorded 
measures taken in the period of review have been  trade facilitating. But also, more soberingly, the 
quantum of trade restricting measures remains significant as the new trade-restrictive measures 
will add to the existing stock of such measures in place since the crisis. So particularly in the 
current economic climate, this highlights the need  for ongoing vigilance and the need to continue 
to support at this time this important transparency exercise. 
219.  Listening to this morning's discussion, it also remains clear that, despite what I think have 
been the very successful efforts that have been made to make this report more objective and 
more accurate than in the past, it will continue to  be a tall order that everyone will agree with all 
of the information depicted and that's why this di scussion is so useful and healthy and important. 
All WTO Members have an opportunity to give their view and explain their perspectives. 
220.  There are of course two key things that co uld improve the quality and accuracy of the 
information that this report contains. Firstly, better participation by Members in responding in a 
timely way to the Director-General's request for information; and secondly, timely notifications of 
trade-related measures to the relevant WTO committees. The report usefully details the state of play here with regard to the work in the standing committees. 
221.  For our part, we encourage the work being undertaken in committees to improve the 
notification processes, and while noting in paragraph 225, however, that the progress being made in this area still remains regrettably very slow. 
222.  At the same time, I think in the past year, we have seen some useful instances where 
WTO standing committees have provided a useful opportunity for allowing an airing of concerns on trade-related matters that have been brought to the committees' attention. So, while the WTO has been facing challenging times in improving and elaborating new trade rules, we must continue to 
seek progress here as highlighted in paragraph 16 of the executive summary. 
223.  It is also imperative that, at the same time, we support the implementation of the 
existing WTO acquis of rules and the institutional frameworks that underpin them by meeting 
transparency obligations. 
224.  Finally, I would like to note how much we welcome the increased focus by the Secretariat in 
improving the availability and dissemination of trade data that better explain the nature and 
realities of world trade today, and I note here that my Norwegian colleague has invoked 
Charles Dickens and the spectre of Ebenezer Scrooge earlier today, and I would simply note here that we have Great Expectations of this work which I note will be launched on World Trade Data Day on 16 January, just as we have great expectations for the ongoing and continual 
improvement of this report. 
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 225.  Thank you, Mr Chairperson. First of all, we should like to thank the Director-General and the 
Secretariat staff for preparing this report, which is  very comprehensive but also a matter of serious 
concern. It mentions that the economic outlook is worse than in June 2012, attributable inter alia to the budgetary measures adopted and the debt cr isis in some of the world's major economies. 
It indicates that the data on production and empl oyment continue to be of concern and that the 
WTO has reduced its growth forecast for the global economy in 2012 to 2.5%, compared to the WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
- 26 - 
  estimate of 3.7%. For 2013, the forecast is 4.5%, below the annual average for the 
previous 20 years. 
226.  It states that in the United States labour market conditions continue to be difficult despite 
the recent improvement inasmuch as the unemploym ent rate remains very high and labour force 
participation is declining. Although the United States economy has continued to expand, 
GDP growth has slowed sharply, falling from an annualized rate of 4.0% in the fourth quarter 
of 2011 to 1.3% in the second quarter of 2012, an d remaining weak in the third quarter at 2%. 
In Asia, the pessimism reflected in producer surveys and fewer export orders point to a slower 
pace of economic activity in China, with negative consequences for other countries in the region. The European Union remains in recession, with the familiar sovereign debt problems. The Union's output contracted by 0.6% in the second quarter, marking three consecutive 
quarters of decline. 
227.  The report explains that these negative macroeconomic conditions weighed heavily on 
international trade flows in the first half of 2012, with developed economies contributing 
disproportionately to the slide noted, particularly as regards imports. In this connection, we wish 
to urge the governments of those developed countries in which the crisis is most manifest to redouble efforts to overcome it, despite the sacrifices this entails, and not to take protectionist 
measures as these only worsen the situation and may even affect developing economies, 
especially the smallest and most vulnerable  among them which are closely linked to 
developed countries. 
228.  We fully agree with the report's indication that trade restrictions and domestic 
market-oriented policies will only exacerbate the global problems and could lead to reprisals. 
229.  In some respects, we are encouraged by th e indication that the pace of imposition 
of new restrictive measures has slowed down (308 measures, covering around 1.3% of global 
i m p o r t s  o f  g o o d s )  i n  c o m p a r i s o n  w i t h  t h e  p r e v i o u s  y e a r  ( 3 3 9  m e a s u r e s ) ,  a n d  t h a t  o n  t h i s  
occasion 51% of the measures recorded can be considered trade facilitation measures (which apply to around 3.2% of global imports of goods). We are concerned, nonetheless, that 
during the review period a further 164 trade-related measures were recorded, 
of which 132 applied to imports and for the most part consisted of higher tariffs and new customs procedures. 
230.  The report states unequivocally that, although in the European Union, Japan and the 
United States, where applied MFN tariffs are generally at, or very close to, bound rates, the simple 
averages of applied MFN rates for all products were relatively low at 6.4% (2011), 6.3% (2012) and 4.7% (2012), respectively, the fact is that these averages, which have remained broadly 
unchanged in recent years, tend to underestimate the level of nominal tariff protection as they do 
not include specific duties for which no ad valorem  equivalents are available (for the EU 
and Japan) and conceal tariff peaks (rates exceed ing 15%). Moreover, agricultural products enjoy 
generally higher levels of nominal tariff protection. It would be beneficial to remedy this situation 
in these economies as a way of boosting global trade. 
231.  We view positively the indication in the report  that in the services sector most of the new 
measures can be considered as opening the sector up to foreign participation; and that in the 
agricultural sector domestic support has shown an upward trend in the Green Box while support in 
trade distorting compartments (the Blue and Amber Boxes) has declined, which appears to show that internal reforms have been made in developed countries. We urge developed countries to 
continue along this path and also to reduce the levels of domestic support in absolute terms as 
these continue to be extremely high, in order to permit agricultural trade to be competitive for 
developing countries. 
232.  Lastly, Mr Chairperson, we view with concern the indication that the most recent monitoring 
report on the G-20 economies states that, at a time of recurring economic problems, trade friction appears to be on the rise. Such tensions are not only reflected in remedial trade measures and dispute settlement procedures brought before the WTO, but also in the decisions affecting foreign 
investment and participation in government procurement programmes for infrastructure works. 
We urge that there be no further increase in this type of situation and that all contribute in a spirit of open trade in order to counteract the impact of the crisis. WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CLOSING REMARKS 
233.  First, I would like to thank delegations for their comments, their observations and for the 
overwhelming appreciation of this new format, which you asked for, which is why I am not that surprised. 
234.  Of course, as we all know, we can always do better and obviously where we still should and 
I hope will do better is on the exhaustivity ( sic) of this information. But it's no use repeating for 
the nth time that large parts of the quality of what we give you depends on the quality of what you 
give us - notifications. So improving the quality of incoming data is still very crucial whether 
it's notifications or even cross-notifications. 
235.  A few remarks on points where nuances have been expressed. On AMS calculations, we all 
recognize that we have a methodology in WTO that  was agreed by Members, hence sacred. But we 
also know by experience, if you look at the notifications by Members according to the parameters 
which Members have agreed as Members, that ther e remain areas of interpretation. I will only 
mention exchange rates or inflation, to give yo u two examples where the Members have, let's say, 
kept a certain margin of appreciation of the pa rameters which they have agreed to calculate 
the AMS. 
236.  The same is true for the observation which was made by a delegation on composite duties, 
which sometimes are complex to spot and report. 
237.  On the relationship between non-tariff measures and tariff measures, the proportion which 
we have calculated and which you will find on page 18 of the report, is roughly that on the universe which we have tracked of trade-restrictive measures, 10% of tariff increases; and the 
rest is the rest which shows that we have already put quite a large light on other than pure 
tariff increases. 
238.  One delegation mentioned the difference between our numbers and the numbers by 
Global Trade Alert. This of course has not escape d our attention and I have already said, and I can 
repeat here, that we have to have some indulgence for the market of trade data where you find high-end, high quality and low-end, low quality data. Now, I am not saying Global Trade Alert is all 
junk, but we have serious reasons for doubting on the quality of some of these data, which is 
one thing, and then the treatment of data, which is  another thing. I won't expand in such a public 
place on this and I am sure the Secretariat will  be happy to provide Members with the necessary 
bilateral information if so requested by you. We have checked this several times and we can give 
you the result, which is why we don't attach huge importance to the Global Trade Alert numbers. 
239.  One delegation mentioned investment restrictions. As you know, this is outside the purview 
of our monitoring so far. This is done by UNCTAD  and by OECD for the G-20 and so far there is no 
mandate within WTO on this issue. 
240.  On 2010 as a base period for calculating the coverage of trade restrictions, the reason 
behind this is very simple. We need to have a ye ar with a full year of statistical data, and that's 
only the case for 2010. Next year, when we will have 2011, we will translate this into a base 
for 2011. 
241.  Finally, two remarks of a more general nature. Fi rst, let me repeat once more that what we 
track in these trade monitoring reports is new developments on trade policy which started after 
the eruption of the crisis. This is not a global equivalent of what country-per-country trade policy 
review is. Trade policy reviews per country is a holist ic view of all elements of the trade policy of a 
country and its relationship with WTO obligations. The global trade monitoring is a piece on trends 
as we track them since 2008 in order for you to get a sense of where most important 
developments are and then enhance both transparen cy, peer review and hopefully peer discipline. 
242.  Finally, on an issue which I am often confronted with, either in discussions with Members or 
with media or academics; let's recognize that we have sort of a rather large bouquet of words 
when we talk about these issues. We talk about protectionism, we talk about trade-restrictive, we talk about trade distortive, and we talk about WTO-compliant or non-compliant. And sometimes these various definitions which belong to different concepts are a bit mixed. If you talk to WT/TPR/OV/M/10 
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  journalists, you use the word "protectionism". If you talk to statisticians, you use 
"trade restrictions". If you talk to economists, you use "trade distortions". And if you talk to lawyers, you talk about "WTO-compliant or non- compliant". And these various constituencies are 
different, so we have each of us to try and understand this and use the best words for the best 
constituency very cautiously which is what we try to do in this report and this is the reason why on 
this report we, as far as possible, limit our qualification to trade distortions with this big caveat that this doesn't prejudge on the legal side. I just wanted to mention this because, as the 
e x p e r i e n c e  g o e s  o n ,  w e  h a v e  t o  l e a r n  t o  p l a y  w i t h  t h e  d i f f e r e n t  c o n c e p t s  w h i c h ,  I  r e p e a t ,  
only partially cross over each other, which sometimes may lead to ambiguities which I think we should be very careful about so that the proper signals are sent to the proper people. 
CHAIRMAN'S CLOSING REMARKS 
243.  Based on the understanding that we reached in our informal meeting on 3 July, I will offer 
a summary of the main aspects that emerged from our discussion today, under my own responsibility. 
244.  First, comments of a general nature. Members have welcomed and supported the report 
presented here today and they have underscored the value of the monitoring mechanism as a core activity of the WTO. At the same time they have  made reference to the need to strengthen and 
improve it. A majority of Members have made reference to the low participation of the Members in 
this exercise and the need to increase that participation. Of particular concern is the low percentage of notifications, which affects transparency. 
245.  On the economic environment, a vast majo rity of Members made reference to the 
challenging economic situation and the not very po sitive outlook. And therefore they have alluded 
to the risks of protectionist measures and the need for the WTO membership to remain vigilant. They have also underscored the WTO's essential role in monitoring the situation. 
246.  Some Members made reference to the fact that the conclusion of the Doha Round would be 
a helpful development. 
247.  A number of Members made reference to the fact that, while there is a positive recent trend 
in measures taken by Members, that we cannot be complacent. And concern was expressed about 
the cumulative effect of measures and some of you referred to the need for a rollback of measures instituted. 
248.  As to the report itself, it was welcomed unanimously, as were the changed introduced in 
response to Members' comments. Many found particularly positive the new sections and format, 
the listing of measures separately depending on whether they are trade facilitating, trade-restrictive, trade remedy, SPS, TBT, etc. 
249.  There were some specific comments; several of them involved agriculture. While these 
Members welcomed a more robust treatment on ag ricultural issues, they expressed the need to 
improve the analysis on domestic support, in particular, and reference was made to complex 
tariffs. Some Members also made reference to the need to have non-border measures more 
thoroughly reviewed, particularly those that discriminate, block, reduce or affect access to markets, and references were made to services and to sector-specific subsidies in particular. 
250.  There were some comments of a methodological nature, have to do with the time-frames 
used in some areas, or comparisons using different time-frames, as well as comments on the 
adequate verification of measures. The DG has referred to most of these comments already in his second intervention, and the Secretariat remains av ailable to provide further explanations and to 
listen to Members' specific comments. 
251.  To conclude, let me thank all of you for your participation in this exercise, especially the 
Director-General for his report and his personal involvement; to the Members: 
we had 22 interventions today which signifies the in terest and the importance that all of you have 
for the exercise. Let me also thank the Secretariat for the valuable work and the interpreters for their very useful collaboration. 
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