WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
14 February  2020 
(20-1156) Page: 1/14 
Trade Policy Review Body   
 
  
OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE  
INTERNATIONAL TRADING ENVIRONMENT  
MINUTES  OF THE MEETING  
12 December 201 9 
Chairperson: H.E. Mr. Manuel A.J. Teehankee  (Philippines ) 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS  BY THE CHAIRPERSON  
1. Good afternoon and welcome to this meeting of the TPRB, which was convened by 
Airgram  WTO/AIR/TPR/92 on 21 November.  
2. The purpose of this meeting is for Members and Observers of the Trade Policy Review Body 
to undertake their annual overview of developments in the international trading environment which 
are having an impact on the multilateral trading system, as provided in Paragraph G of Annex 3 of 
the Marrakesh Agreement.  
3. As mentioned in the Airgram, today's discussion is assisted by the Director -General's Annual 
Report which provides  a comprehensive "tour d'horizon" of the overall state of global trade and of 
significant developments in the implementation of trade policies by WTO Members between 
mid-October 2018 and mid -October 2019. The Report was circulated in document WT/TPR/OV/22 
on 29 November in English. In accordance with the Rules of Procedure for meetings of the TPRB, the 
Report was issued as an unrestricted document. This Report builds on the mid -year trade monitoring 
report submitted to this Body in July 2019.  
4. At the outset , I should briefly recall the purpose of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism, which 
according to Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement, is to achieve greater transparency in, and 
understanding of Members' trade and trade -related policies and measures. The TPRM is not intended 
to serve as a basis for the enforcement of obligations under WTO Agreements, nor for 
dispute -settlement purposes or to impose new policy commitments on Members. These fundamental 
principles also apply to the Annual Overview of Developments in the International Trading 
Environment.  
5. The Trade Monitoring Reports seek to provide the WTO membership with regular updates on 
the state of global trade and to shed light on the latest trends in the implementation of new trade 
policy measures. The repo rts, as well as our meeting today, are fundamental components of a 
platform which promotes transparency in trade policy -making and allows for constructive peer 
review among you, the Members.  
6. I also wish to recall the Decision by Ministers at the 8th Minist erial Conference which called 
on the TPRB to continue and strengthen the trade monitoring exercise. Specifically, Ministers 
expressed their commitment to comply with existing transparency obligations and reporting 
requirements needed for the preparation of  the trade monitoring reports, and to support and 
cooperate with the Secretariat in a constructive manner.  
7. As you know, the preparation of these Reports relies on Members’ timely and specific inputs 
to the trade monitoring exercise , as well as their compliance with the notification requirements under WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
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  WTO Agreements. For the current Report, 48% of the membership provided input, representing 
around 92% of world trade.  
8. The Secretariat continues to improve the information gathering proce ss, including providing 
delegations with guidance in terms of the format in which they can submit information. This 
interactive approach is at the core of what essentially is a joint stakeholder process between the 
Secretariat and the membership.  
9. Now, tur ning to the Report before us today, let me highlight a few main themes before inviting 
the Director -General to present the Report and share his views.  
10. Above all, it is difficult to imagine a timelier Report. Its assessment of trends in world trade 
and in g lobal trade policy making provides important substantive context at a time when uncertainty 
about the global economy continues to grow.  
11. I do believe this Report raises many issues that we collectively need to consider, including the 
increased trade coverage of the import -restrictive measures compared to that recorded in the 
previous annual overview.  
12. Allow me also to highlight the findings  of the Report with respect to the compliance and 
timeliness of Members' notifications to the WTO. As you know, this Section of the Report is a unique 
feature of the end -of-year overview, and it takes a detailed look at the state -of-play on notifications 
across the WTO system.  
13. With a few exceptions, compliance with notification requirements of the various WTO 
Agreements remains very uneven and this, I think we can all agree, undermines individual 
agreements and more generally the operation of the multilate ral trading system.  
14. Now, let me give the floor to the Director General to introduce his Report. Subsequently, I will 
open the floor for comments from delegations.  
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS  BY THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL  
15. We are here to take stock of major development s in the international trading system over the 
past 12 months.  
16. These developments are presented in my Annual Report, which was circulated to Members on 
29 November in document WT/TPR/OV/22. As always, this Report is issued under my own 
responsibility.  
17. Transparency is at the heart of everything we try do at the WTO. It is central to the 
predictability and stability provided by the multilateral trading system. This report and this annual 
overview are important elements in these efforts – especially during th e current turbulent times in 
global trade.  
The Report  
18. The Report takes stock of trade and trade -related measures implemented across the WTO 
membership between mid -October 2018 and mid -October 2019. In addition to the trade -facilitating 
and trade -restricti ve measures implemented during that period, the Report  also outlines trends in 
global trade policy -making , as well as on -going work across the WTO committee structure. The 
Report also presents a comprehensive account of the state of notifications by WTO Me mbers.  
19. This exercise is about transparency, objectivity and facts. It has no legal effect on the rights 
and obligations of WTO Members. This is always important to remind you. It does not seek to pass 
any judgement on whether a trade -restrictive or even a  liberalizing  measure is protectionist or not , 
whether it is consistent or not with the WTO Agreements. It does not  question the explicit right of 
Members to adopt certain trade measures.  
20. In a moment, I will outline the Report's key findings. But first, I would like to provide some 
background on how this document is prepared.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
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  21. Around  79 Members and 3 Observers contributed to this overview. This represents 48% of the 
membership, and covers around 92% of world imports, roughly the same as for the previous annu al 
overview.  
22. I would like to thank the delegations that actively participated in this exercise by providing 
relevant information on time, and by ensuring the subsequent verification of this information.  
23. Undoubtedly, we can still improve on participation. I  strongly encourage all Members and 
Observers to do so in future.  
24. Of course, the Secretariat remains available to help Members better understand and 
participate in this exercise.  
Key findings  
25. Let me now highlight a few of the key findings of the Report.  
26. To begin on a positive note, over the past year, WTO Members implemented 120 new 
measures that facilitate trade. The trade coverage of the import -facilitating measures was estimated 
at USD 545 billion. This is the second highest trade coverage reported for such measures since 
October 2012.  
27. However, the Report also shows that 102 new trade -restrictive measures were put in place 
during the review period. The trade coverage of these import -restrictive measures is estimated at 
USD 747 billion - the highest recor ded since October 2012, and an increase of 27% compared to the 
year before. This should be of great concern to the WTO membership.  
28. I should emphasize, as I have done on previous occasions, that the trade coverage figure does 
not shed light on the degree of  restrictiveness, or the impact of the measures adopted. It simply 
quantifies the value of trade affected with no qualitative analysis. To give an example, if a group of 
countries increase tariffs by 1% over a hundred million dollars and another group incr ease by 100% 
over a hundred million dollars, we report  it the same way. We do not assess how restrictive the 
measure is or the negative impact of that measure. It is important that we keep that in mind.  
29. Of course, this finding will not be surprising to any  of you. We all read and watch the news. 
We have all witnessed how tensions in the global trading environment have risen. The resulting 
uncertainty around trade is widely recognized today as a leading factor currently holding back 
economic growth, business  confidence, investment, and job creation.  
30. The Report also attempts to estimate the accumulated "stockpile" of import restrictions 
implemented since 2009. Our research suggests that import restrictions introduced since then now 
affect 7.5% of world imports . The trade coverage of import -restrictive measures implemented since 
2009, and still in force by mid October 2019, is estimated at USD 1.7 trillion. This suggests that the 
stockpile of import restrictions has continued to grow, and that Members are not ro lling back many 
of the restrictive measures that they put in place earlier.  
31. The WTO Secretariat will continue to monitor these and other developments and report back 
to Members regularly.  
Other findings  
32. Now, let me say a few words about some of the other f indings of the Report.  
33. Trade remedy measures continue to be a very important trade policy tool for WTO Members.  
34. They accounted for about 68% of all trade measures captured. The main sectors targeted by 
trade remedy initiations were furniture, iron and steel, and machinery and mechanical appliances. 
The trade coverage of initiations of trade remedy investigations was  estimated at USD 46 billion. 
The coverage of terminations of trade remedy actions was estimated at USD 25 billion.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
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  35. I should again stress, particularly in the case of trade remedies, that the Report does not call 
into question the WTO consistency of any of  the measures listed. Nor is the Report in a position to 
establish who's at fault: whether it is the importer or the exporter.  
36. Now, let me turn to the Report's findings with respect to general economic support measures 
and subsidies.  
37. Unfortunately, it was again not possible to establish a balanced and comprehensive annex to 
the Report. This was a result of the very poor response rate of WTO Members to the request for 
information - only 8 WTO Members volunteered information on subsidies. You will recall that  at our 
meeting in July, I urged Members to consider how this issue must be best addressed in the future, 
so as to provide more transparency to this category of measures and their potential trade impact. 
It would be very useful if Members could provide gui dance to the Secretariat on how they wish to 
see these measures reflected in the Report.  I honestly and strongly urge you to consider this. This 
is a problem. We have 8 Members notifying this. So, is this Section useful? If not, if you don't want 
it for wh atever reasons, then we drop it. You decide what to do with this Section but every year we 
say the same and we don't get any feedback from you.  
38. With respect to trade in services, the Report notes that most of the new measures 
implemented during the review  period were trade -facilitating. However, several appeared to be 
trade -restrictive and this is something we will be keeping an eye on.  
39. The report also shows the continued commitment of Members to notify SPS and TBT measures. 
In fact, in both these Committe es, Members have dedicated considerable time to discussing Specific 
Trade Concerns. This suggests an increasing use of the Committees by Members as forums in which 
trade concerns may be resolved without resorting to the formal dispute settlement process.  
40. The report also shows that an increasing number of trade concerns besides SPS and TBT were 
also raised in WTO bodies during the review period. Moreover, several trade concerns were raised 
in more than one WTO body, indicating that they involve technically c omplex and cross -cutting 
issues. This demonstrates the systemic value of WTO committees as constructive platforms for 
Members to engage. That said, the persistent nature of some of the issues being raised may be 
cause for concern.  
41. In addition, the report p rovides a comprehensive overview of the compliance and timeliness 
of Members' notifications to the WTO. It shows that Members could do much better on this front and 
I want to echo the Chair's comments here. Timely notifications constitute an essential elem ent for 
transparency. We must continue to explore ways to improve compliance with notification obligations, 
including understanding why some Members have difficulties here and how we might be able to 
address them.  
42. Finally, the Report also provides Members with an overview of the issues raised in individual 
Trade Policy Reviews. One notable – and welcome – trend is the increasing number of Members who 
are using the Trade Policy Review process to highlight gender -specific aspects of trade and trade 
policies. Another positive note, the Report highlights progress made in the implementation of the 
WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and the expansion of the Information Technology Agreement, as 
well as recent developments in intellectual property.  
Conclusion  
43. So, the se are some of the main findings that I wanted to share with you today.  
44. I hope that this snapshot provides food for thought for your discussion this afternoon. I would 
like to express my thanks again to all participants. I also want to thank the Secretari at for their 
excellent work here , as usual.  
45. The Report's findings should be of serious concern for WTO Members and the broader 
international community. Historically high levels of trade -restrictive measures are hurting growth, 
job creation and purchasing p ower around the world.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
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  46. Strong collective leadership from the membership would make an important contribution to 
increasing certainty, encouraging investment and bolstering trade and economic growth.  
47. Without such action, however, unfavourable trends could  become worse. We have seen how 
world trade has stalled during the review period. The WTO downgraded its forecast for merchandise 
trade growth in 2019 to 1.2%, the slowest since the crisis a decade ago. New trade restrictions and 
increasing trade tensions would only add to the uncertainty that is dragging down growth in the 
world economy. This trend needs to be reversed.  
48. The Secretariat will continue to regularly monitor developments in the international trading 
environment. In doing so, it will be relying on delegations to ensure that transparency remains a 
cornerstone of our work.  
49. This is the essence of the Report. Thank you all very much for listening. I wish you a very 
productive meeting.  
STATEMENTS BY MEMBER S 
CANADA  
50. I want you to thank you, Chair, and the WTO Secretariat staff for all the hard work they put 
into this Report.  
51. Canada consistently participates in this exercise, and we value the time and effort that goes 
into publishing this review of Members' trade measures. Like others in this Organiz ation, Canada 
notes that increasing trade tensions continue to add to the uncertainty surrounding international 
trade and the world economy.  
52. This Report attests to that observation and WTO members should reflect upon the 
consequences of implementing measures that add to the instability of the system.  
53. For Canada, the WTO constitutes a critical part of its international trade policy engagement. 
Even when the multilateral trading system is under tremendous pressure, we believe expanding 
trade deepens trust and friendship between countries and shrinks the distance between us.  
54. The DG's Report and the TPR mechanism itself remain a critical tool to achieve our 
transparency objectives and ensure adherence to the rules for a smooth functioning mult ilateral 
trading system.  
55. In this regard, Canada wishes to reaffirm that it remains committed to the WTO's binding rules 
in the conduct of our trade relations, which has helped to foster international trade and development.  
56. Canada is disappointed that Memb ers' record of compliance with respect to notifications 
remains "spotty". We encourage all to complete the notifications, and to do so in a timely fashion.  
57. Canada is determined, through its work and through the work of the Ottawa Group, to 
strengthen and m odernize the WTO across all areas of work, even in this time of turbulence.  
58. We also encourage Members to take measures that build confidence in the multilateral trading 
system. This includes focusing on concrete elements, such as concluding the fisheries s ubsidies 
negotiations and preparing for a successful and productive Ministerial Conference in June 2020. We 
would invite others to engage constructively on these objectives in the year to come.  
EUROPEAN  UNION  
59. The EU thanks the Director -General and the Secr etariat for their thorough, informative and 
comprehensive Report.  
60. As usual, we would like to start with the positive developments noted in the Report during the 
period under review . WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
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  61. These include t he very significant number of new measures aimed at facili tating trade and 
estimated at USD 544.7 billion reaching the second highest trade coverage since 2012 . And the 
effective use of the WTO Committee of Agriculture to discuss agricultural policies and issues related 
to the implementation of commitments under the Agreement of Agriculture.  
62. Unfortunately, these positive achievements were overshadowed again by new trade 
restrictions and increasing trade tensions, which added to the uncertainty surrounding international 
and the world economy, namely:  
• 102 new trade -restrictive measures which include tariff increases, quantitative restrictions, 
stricter customs procedures, and imposition of import taxes and export duties. It represents 
not only an increase of 27% compared to the previous reporting period, but reaches the 
highest ever recorded number since 2012;  
• The trade coverage of import restrictions measures implemented since 2009 and still in force 
is estimated at USD 1.7 trillion, suggesting that the stockpile of import restrictions has 
continued to grow.  
63. We sha re the concerns of the Director -General about the uncertainty in international trade 
and the world economy. It is our strong belief that the only and best way to deal with current global 
trade challenges is preserving and strengthening the multilateral tra ding system. For this reason, 
we all collectively should stop unnecessary use of trade protectionist measures, which put the global 
system at risk.  
64. We also recogni ze the importance of this reporting exercise, which started in 2009. It 
contributes to the t ransparency and predictability of the global trade system. Unfortunately, again , 
the WTO faced “selective commitment to transparency” from its Members. This time , only eight 
Members reported general economic support measures to the Director -General.  
65. As a r esult, the WTO Secretariat could not include a separate Annex on these measures again. 
The E uropean Union supports the Secretariat continuous efforts to establish such Annex. We echo 
the proposals made in the previous statements: (1) non -verified support m easures should be 
included in the report with a remark: "no response to verification request received”; (2) Members 
requesting the deletion of a measure should be ready to explain the reasons for such request to 
other Members, in a restricted and informal format, if preferred. We are ready to engage in further 
discussions how to report those measures, since many support measures are “with potentially 
important ramifications for trade”, as stated in the Report. However, we ask all other Members also 
to engag e in the constructive discussion s that should be led by  the WTO Secretariat.  
66. We thank the Secretariat for highlighting and quantifying the increasing number of trade 
concerns which Members raise, often in multiple WTO bodies and for long periods. This tren d was 
the reason behind the EU and 17 other Members to propose guidelines for WTO bodies dealing with 
trade concerns. While we are not under the illusion that this is the magic bullet for all trade concerns 
that exist, we think the guidelines could signifi cantly improve the interaction among Members on 
trade concerns.  
67. Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated 30 years of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism. At the 
conference organi zed on this occasion, everyone noted and praised the value of the WTO Trade 
Policy Re view Mechanism, which is the main tool to ensure transparency in global trade. Trade 
Monitoring Report is one of the components of this mechanism. We all collectively benefit from it: it 
gives us not only updates of trade restrictive measures and trade fac ilitating measures, but also a 
broader view of the global economic situation and trends in world trade.  
68. While the WTO is facing many challenges at this moment, Trade Policy Review Mechanism has 
always been seen as a success story of this Organization. The refore, we have to ensure that this 
exercise remains strong and respected by all Members.  
EL SALVADOR  
69. Thank you, Mr  Chair, for convening this important meeting, and thanks also to the 
Director -General for summarizing the report's key findings. My delegation would like to acknowledge WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
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  the work of the Secretariat in preparing this very detailed document, which enables us to analyse 
global trends in the implementation of trade -facilitating and trade -restrictive measures.  
70. Looking at the report, we find it striking that the trade impact of restrictive measures was 
USD 202.2  billion higher than that of facilitation measures, even though the latter were more 
numerous.  
71. Not only is the economic impact of t hese measures troubling, so too is their impact on the 
institutional framework and stability provided by the multilateral trading system, and their global 
impact, particularly for small economies, like that of my country.  
72. I would like to take this opportun ity to share with Members that, in an effort to help mitigate 
the trend towards protectionism and to improve my country's integration into world trade, as of 
2020, El Salvador will remove tariffs on imported electric vehicles, reducing them from 30 % to 0%. 
We have also approved other trade facilitation measures, such as strengthening customs services 
to streamline border formalities.  
73. In conclusion, Mr  Chair, we would urge Members to step up efforts to implement measures 
that offset this downward trend in wo rld trade and to share information with the Secretariat on the 
trade facilitation measures being implemented, with a view to their inclusion in this report.  
COLOMBIA  
74. We should firstly like to express our thanks to the Secretariat for having prepared this report 
and for the efforts made to collect information from Members and to quantify and organize it into a 
document that provides us with comparable data and an accurate picture of the status of and 
developments in world trade.  
75. The report pro vides information that is highly relevant to all Members and shows the 
importance of the commitment to transparency within the Organization. As long as all Members 
participate actively, by providing clear and timely information, we will all have access to high-quality 
analysis that facilitates decision -making on public policy matters.  
76. My delegation is committed to the various activities led by the Trade Policy Review Body, and 
recognizes the value of these collective analysis exercises. We have consistently  submitted 
information for the preparation of this report, which we find extremely useful.  
77. Examining the substance of the report, we cannot refrain from expressing our concern as to 
the climate of uncertainty and instability reflected in these figures, whi ch have resulted in the 
downward revision of world trade performance.  
78. To some extent, this state of affairs can be explained by the slowdown in some of the largest 
economies, although the trade -restrictive measures applied by a number of Members are also o f 
particular significance.  
79. One hundred and two restrictive measures were recorded; the highest amount since 2012 and 
a 27% increase on the figure previously recorded. This is most certainly a wake -up call.  
80. The expansive trend in trade flows has slowed down  over the most recent six -month periods, 
and the outlook for the next few months is not encouraging, with a loss of momentum recorded for 
all the indicators examined.  
81. However, we welcome the 120 trade -boosting and trade -facilitating measures that were 
recorded. We are particularly pleased to learn of the positive developments in the area of trade in 
services.  
82. Finally, we would like to reiterate the usefulness of these reports, as they ensure that we do 
not lose sight of the bigger picture, and continually c all on us to increase our commitment to 
transparency and to the adoption of trade facilitation measures.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
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  83. Once again, we would like to thank the Secretariat and Chair for conducting this important 
exercise.  
CHINA  
84. China would like to join others to thank the  WTO Secretariat for the dedicated work to compile 
this Report, which provides Members with a comprehensive picture of developments in a trade policy 
landscape, especially against the trade turbulence we are facing. I’d like to share some of my 
observation s on this Report.   
85. First, protectionism and unilateralism are threatening the multilateral trading system. Trade 
cannot thrive without stability and predictability. The record -high trade coverage of new 
imported -restricted measures since October 2012 and increasing active recourse to trade remedies 
in the second half of 2019 as reported signal the rising protectionism and unilateralism. Global trade 
is becoming less predictable and more contentious. Moreover, abusing national security exception 
to unilater ally raise tariffs and ban foreign products would open the Pandora's Box. It also will 
severely challenge the rules -based multilateral trading system. Therefore, China  would like to urge  
all Members to reaffirm the commitments to refrain from taking protec tionism and unilateralism 
measures.  
86. Second, there is progress, but far to offset the impact of restrictive measures. We are pleased 
to see solid progress in implementing the expansion of Information Technology Agreement and the 
increasing ratifications by Members on Trade Facilitation Agreement. Up to date, 89% of the 
membership of the WTO have accepted the TFA , and we look forward to a full implementation of 
TFA by all Members. However, the benefits brought by trade facilitation are not sufficient to offse t 
the negative impact caused by trade restrictive measures . Trade coverage of the 102 
trade -restrictive measures as estimated by the Report was at USD 746.9 billion, which overwhelms 
that of the 120 trade -facilitated measures amounting to USD 544.7 billion . We together need more 
efforts to sustain the momentum of trade and investment liberalization. For China, during this review 
period, China reduced tariffs on 1,585 lines, and also reduced VAT on imported pharmaceutical 
products and also well honoured  its commitments in the ITA Expansion Agreement. According to the 
Report, talking about the trade coverage, the measures taken by China in the review period 
accounted for 74.5% of the total import -facilitating measures. In the meantime, China also adopted 
the n ew Foreign Investment Law, which further liberalized China’s investment policies, providing a 
more fair, transparent and predictable business environment.  
87. Third, to fight against protectionism and unilateralism, we need a well -functioning WTO. Two 
days ago, we lost the function of the Appellate Body, the crown jewel of the WTO. We urge all 
Members to continue  our efforts to break this deadlock as soon as pos sible. We also need to find 
ways to reinvigorate the WTO negotiation function. For the TPRM, we just celebrated the 30th 
anniversary of its establishment.  
88. Members commended and underscored the value of  the trade monitoring exercise in 
increasing the trans parency. For China, we remain committed and will continue to work with others 
to have a full function of the WTO.  
JAPAN  
89. First of all, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation for the dedicated work carried out 
by the Director General and his team t o develop this comprehensive Report. We believe this is an 
important tool of ensuring transparency among Members. It helps us formulate a common 
understanding on the current outlook and the future prospect of the rule -based multilateral trading 
system, whi ch is unfortunately facing significant challenges under the current trade tensions.  
90. According to the Report, along with the comments from previous speakers we can observe a 
positive trend in the coverage figure of trade -facilitating measures in this review  period. We truly 
welcome Members’ intent to move forward to increased trade liberalization by concluding various 
FTAs as well as by implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement. Also, we appreciate the consistent 
progress in the ongoing WTO negotiations such as electronic commerce and investment facilitation, 
which will contribute to further liberalization of the global trade.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
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  91. On the other hand, Japan would like to echo other Members that it is our significant concern 
we continue observing a sharp increas e in the coverage figure of import -restrictive measures in this 
review period. The figure is at the historically high level, which would undermine the positive effect 
of the trade -facilitating actions. Even all the worse for the fact, now the WTO’s core fu nction of 
disputes settlement is paralyzed. Therefore, at this critical juncture of the multilateral trading 
system, the WTO Members should make a collective effort to overcome the current negative trend 
as well as turbulence efficiently and effectively. T his report will definitely provide a good basis for 
necessary background in this regard.   
92. Here, I would like to underscore that the role of this Report, that is to enhance transparency, 
is becoming more and more important, particularly in this challenging  time. Also, needless to say, it 
is critical that the Secretariat should ensure a neutral and fair treatment of Members in order to 
develop a comprehensive, impartial and objective report. We encourage the Secretariat to commit 
to this treatment through cl ose cooperation with Members, and Japan remains committed to 
cooperating with the Secretariat in this regard.   
93. Finally, we will have the TPR of Japan next March, and Japan is fully engaged in making the 
best preparation for this very important work. Japan  promises to continue contributing to the process 
for the important monitoring function of the WTO.  
SWITZERLAND  
94. Like others, we would also like to express our gratitude to the Secretariat for a superb Report.  
95. At a time when this Organization is beset by a plethora of problems and the ground upon 
which we cooperate is shifting, it is reassuring to know that the Secretariat remains a bedrock of 
reliability with a stellar performance.  
96. We have easily become used to the objective and factual, almost scientific a pproach with 
which the annual report by the Director -General is drawn up.  
97. What is less easy to get used to is the reading of the report’s latest findings.  
98. Import restrictions are once more on the rise and so is the volume of trade adversely affected 
by them.  
99. The growth in the volume of merchandise trade worldwide has slowed to a trickle.  
100.  More or less the same can be said of the growth in the volume of services trade.  
101.  In general, global trade now grows much less than world GDP. This is a worrying developm ent.  
102.  Add the increasing world population to this calculus, and one must reach the conclusion that 
trade activity is actually stalling.  
103.  The proliferation of trade restrictions has wide -ranging ramifications.  
104.  We have seen that the imposition of one restrict ive measure often prompts an affected 
Member to respond in kind.  
105.  This may entail trade diversion which may trigger safeguard measures involving even more 
Members in an expanding web of restrictions.  
106.  The ensuing atmosphere of uncertainty not only dampens business activity but stifles 
investment projects as well as contemporary trade conducted in global value chains cannot be 
separated from FDI or even domestic investment.  
107.  Some of these measures were taken without first resorting to dispute settlement. It i s as if 
certain conflicts were already being fought out outside the WTO system rather than in it.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
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  108.  Now this system is walking with a limp. It has become even more difficult to see how this 
organization’s toolbox could effectively address another likely inc rease in the number of disputes.  
109.  One modest yet helpful way of tackling or at least shedding some light on the thorny issue of 
general economic support would be to provide the Secretariat with the necessary information.  
110.  Like others, we are of the view that the establishment by the Secretariat of a separate annex 
to the Trade Monitoring Reports on general economic support measures would go a long way towards 
enhancing transparency, an indispensable prerequisite for any resolution of a disagreement or 
dispute. 
111.  We stand ready to work with others to provide the necessary guidance to the Secretariat.  
REPUBLIC  OF KOREA  
112.  I thank Director General and the Secretariat for the Report. I would like to underline the 
significance of the Trade Monitoring Report. As we are aware, back in 2008, I remember many feared 
that protectionism would prevail and impair free trade system. At that crucial juncture, the WTO’s 
monitoring reports have contributed to preventing the then -emerging protectionism and maintaining 
free trade system.  
113.  Coming back to the present, we cannot ignore the reality we are facing now, which reminds 
us of the crisis in 2008 when the fear for trade tensions was high. Today, that fear has become more 
grave and tangible with trade tensions escalating fast.  
114.  As Director General has already pointed out, the stockpile of import restrictions implemented 
since 2009 and still in force suggests, that 7.5% of world imports are affected by those import 
restrictions.  
115.  Considering this critical situation, even though the necessity of vigilance is increasing, the 
report is unfortunately losing its momentum and credibility.  
116.  As the Report itself states, “the Trade Monitoring Report is first and foremost a transparency 
exercise and is intended to be purely factual.” It adds th at, “the WTO Secretariat strives to ensure 
that the Trade Monitoring Reports are factual and objective”.  
117.  However, the Report does not completely reflect the fact as it is, in particular where it is 
claimed to be a geopolitical issue or unconfirmed by a cl aiming member. To ensure transparency, it 
is fundamental to make an objective and comprehensive report by including the entire factual 
situation that allows us to have an accurate and clear understanding of the status quo.  
118.  If the Report fails to indicate t he state of global trade, it will lead to its immense loss of 
credibility.  
119.  I want to conclude by quoting one phrase in the monitoring report : “vigilance remains 
imperative” . 
AUSTRALIA  
120.  Australia would like to thank the Director -General and the Secretariat f or this stock take of 
the major developments in the international trading system over the past 12 months Report.  
121.  This Director -General's report is an important contribution to the transparency which is 
fundamental to everything we do at the WTO in providin g predictability and stability to the trading 
system.  
122.  We note with concern the many serious challenges raised in the report, particularly with regard 
to the stalling of world trade growth and the expansion of trade -restrictive measures.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
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  123.  As Members we need to respond to this challenge, and as we approach the WTO's twenty -fifth 
birthday, to shape an Organization that can respond to the changing nature of modern trade and 
provide a rules -based system that benefits all.  
124.  We see that unfortunately the Secretariat  once again did not receive sufficient information to 
include an Annex about economic support measures, and we are disappointed with the generally low 
response rate of Members to the requests for information and to verification of measures. We 
encourage al l Members to participate actively in the trade monitoring report process. Australia 
remains open to discussions on ideas on how to improve response rates.  
125.  Transparency and notifications are important public goods for all Members. We encourage 
Members to ac tively participate in the discussions currently taking place at the WTO to enhance 
compliance with notification requirements. This includes the discussions on the Council for Trade in 
Goods proposal which Australia and a number of other Members have co -sponsored in 
JOB/CTG/14/Rev.2 Procedures to Enhance Transparency and Strengthen Notification Requirements 
under WTO Agreements.  
126.  As we can all appreciate, openness and transparency is fundamental to the effective 
functioning of this Organization.  
HONG  KONG,  CHINA 
127.  We thank the Director -General and his team for preparing the annual report on developments 
in the area of international trade.  
128.  The report is particularly worthy of our attention at a time when increasing trade tensions 
among Members add to the uncertai nty surrounding international trade and the world economy. 
World trade growth stalled during the review period and is forecast to drop from 2.6% to 1.2% in 
2019.  
129.  In particular, we are deeply concerned about the increasing trend of trade -restrictive 
measure s and its negative impact on the world economy. The report reveals that WTO Members 
implemented 102 new trade -restrictive measures during the review period, representing a trade 
coverage of USD 747 billion. This is the highest recorded since October 2012 a nd was 27% higher 
compared to the previous annual overview (USD 588 billion). Moreover, the stockpile of import 
restrictions has continued to grow.  
130.  While WTO Members implemented 120 new trade facilitating measures during the review 
period, and the trade coverage of which estimated at USD 545 billion is the second highest reported 
since October 2012, the figure is still much less than that of trade -restrictive measures.  
131.  We urge all Members to exercise self -restraint and act within the WTO framework,  and uphold 
the rules -based multilateral trading system. We also encourage all Members to work towards further 
trade liberalization, such as the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), whereby the trade 
coverage of the import -facilitating measures implemen ted associated with the ITA Expansion 
Agreement amounted to USD 705 billion.  
132.  Trade remedy measures continue to be a very important trade policy tool for WTO Members, 
and account for about 68% of all trade measures captured in the report. The review period saw a 
significant increase in safeguards activity. We call on Members to exercise caution and restraint 
when considering the use of trade remedy actions so as to avoid creating unnecessary restrictions 
to trade.  
133.  Given the importance of transparency, we are  disappointed that only 79 Members (48% of 
the membership) replied to the Director -General's initial request for information and requests for 
verification. We also note that in many cases the Secretariat received only partial responses. We 
appeal to Member s to play an active part in supporting this transparency exercise.  
134.  The Report notes that the compliance with notification requirements of the various WTO 
Agreements remains uneven. The lack of compliance with notification obligations undermines the 
individ ual WTO agreements and effective operation of the multilateral trading system. There is WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
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  clearly room for improvement. We encourage all WTO Members to actively participate in the 
discussions currently taking place to enhance compliance of notification requi rements, and work 
constructively together to improve the situation.  
CUBA  
135.  The Secretariat has worked hard to compile such a great deal of information. We acknowledge 
this, especially considering the highly turbulent global economic climate, prone to constan t trade 
wars, harassment and persecution, which is most clearly demonstrated by the imposition of 
unilateral measures.  
136.  As the report explains, "new trade restrictions and increasing trade tensions added to the 
uncertainty surrounding international trade an d the world economy". Unfortunately, that uncertainty 
continues to grow as a result of the paralysis of the Appellate Body, owing to the blockade imposed 
by one of this Organization's Members.  
137.  We know perfectly well what a blockade involves. My country has  lived through one for almost 
six decades.  
138.  The report refers to the announcement by the Government of the United States concerning 
the end of the suspension of Title III of the Helms -Burton Act.  
139.  The measures contained in the unlawful Helms -Burton Act provi de for the launching of legal 
action in US courts against Cuban and foreign entities outside the jurisdiction of the United States. 
They also involve tightening restrictions on the entry into the United States of directors of foreign 
companies and their fa milies who invest in property that was legitimately nationalized by the Cuban 
Government, in accordance with international law. This constitutes a legal aberration and, since the 
legislation was adopted in 1996, no Government of the United States, includin g President Trump 
himself during his first two years of office, has ever applied it.  
140.  All of these provisions and the tapestry of regulations governing the United States' economic, 
trade and financial blockade against Cuba, are hindering the normal operatio n of trade in my country, 
in flagrant violation of this Organization's established rules, and are harming third -party countries 
wishing to trade with Cuba.  
141.  They are also an affront to the international community that, for the past 28 years, has almost 
unanimously condemned the blockade by the United States against my country, including the 
Helms -Burton Act, and has called for it to be brought to an end through successive United Nations 
General Assembly Resolutions.  
142.  This report could have included other meas ures besides, given that the United States 
Government strives daily to suffocate the Cuban nation. It could have included:  
• The one -year renewal, on 6  September  2019, of the Trading with the Enemy Act;  
• The Decision by the Department of the Treasury to disal low cultural and educational 
trips giving contact with the Cuban people, on 5  June 2019;  
• The inclusion by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on the list of Specially 
Designated Nationals (SDN) of seagoing vessels transporting oil or oil by -product s from 
Venezuela to Cuba. The companies that own the vessels, all of which bear the 
Panamanian flag, and the companies operating them, were included on the list.  
143.  The ongoing intention is to extract political concessions from the Cuban nation, by suffocatin g 
the economy and harming the population.  
144.  This House ought to take note.  
THE SEPARATE  CUSTOMS  TERRITORY  OF TAIWAN,  PENGHU,  KINMEN  AND  MATSU  
145.  Firstly, we would like to thank the Secretariat for producing this Overview of Developments in 
the International Tra ding Environment for 2019 (WT/TPR/OV/22), and for the Report on G20 Trade 
Measures as well, issued in November.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
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  146.  As mentioned by the DG, and also in the briefing, we are extremely concerned about the 
impact of the historically high levels of trade -restrictive measures and the rise in trade tensions seen 
over the review period. At the present time, when the WTO faces unprecedented challenges, we 
would strongly urge Members to make special efforts to eliminate trade restrictions and resist the 
temptation of further protectionism going forward.  
147.  Other points that are cause for further concern, which are highlighted in the Report, are the 
low rate of response by Members to the request for verification of the information on economic 
support measures,  and the general lack of compliance with notification obligations right across the 
WTO bodies. We understand the need for more capacity -building in this regard, but if we are to 
maintain our support for, and our faith in this organization into the future, Members really have to 
make every effort to fulfil their transparency obligations from now onwards.  
148.  On the positive side, it is pleasing to see Members continuing to raise trade concerns across 
a wider range of WTO bodies, and exploring solutions to trade  frictions without resort to litigation. 
For those technically complex and persistent problems, we are very willing to work jointly and in 
good faith with other Members with a view to resolving them as soon as possible.  
149.  It is also noteworthy that the level  of activity in the WTO’s Dispute Settlement System 
remained high during the review period. With the current impasse in the Appellate Body and the 
breakdown in the DS mechanism, it is encouraging to learn that Members still see the system as a 
useful way t o resolve trade disputes. My delegation fully supports the WTO’s determination to 
continue to conduct trade monitoring activity in a transparent and predictable way. We urge more 
Members to participate in this cause, and to work together towards improving the proper functioning 
of the WTO.  
BRAZIL  
150.  Brazil would like to thank the Director -General and the Secretariat for preparing this annual 
report, which is one of the most visible products of the monitoring and transparency pillar of the 
WTO. The report is al so a very useful tool to disseminate information about the Members’ trade 
policy.  
151.  Unfortunately, its current version shows that the trade landscape remains challenging. Import -
restrictive measures are on the rise once again and have reached their highest p oint in terms of 
trade coverage since October 2012, standing at around USD 747 billion.  
152.  The trade coverage of import -restrictive measures recorded in the last two annual overviews 
has also grown significantly.  
153.  Against this background, I am pleased to note that 22 out of 120 measures facilitating trade 
in the period under consideration were introduced by Brazil, which means that Brazil responds to 
almost 20% of the total number of measures facilitating trade.  
154.  This reflects Brazil’s commitment to opening up i ts economy and to contributing to more open 
markets around the world.  
155.  Brazil’s determination to promote reforms domestically is coupled by our commitment to 
reforms at the WTO and to enhancing transparency of the multilateral trading system.  
156.  Brazil has rem ained strongly committed to this exercise, and has regularly reviewed and 
verified all the information identified by the secretariat, including on general economic support 
measures.  
157.  I conclude by stating that Members can count on Brazil’s continued and con structive 
engagement with the monitoring exercise and by reaffirming Brazil’s commitment to transparency.  
SINGAPORE  
158.  We remain concerned about trade tensions and the rise in trade restrictive measures.  WT/TPR/OV/M/ 17 
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  159.  We note from the Secretariat’s report that compliance w ith notification requirements remains 
very uneven, and we encourage Members to seek, where needed, further technical assistance from 
the Secretariat and partners in order to fulfil their outstanding notifications. Members’ timely and 
complete notifications  contribute to the predictability and transparency of the international trading 
system.  
160.  We also note the report’s point that the reasons behind the repetition and non -resolution of 
the same trade concerns and issues in various WTO bodies may warrant furthe r study. We would 
support such a study and look forward to discussions in this area.  
161.  Having just celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism, we want 
to thank the Secretariat for its hard work , and you can count on Singapore’s cont inued support in 
this process.  
DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENE RAL AGAH  CLOSING REMAR KS 
162.  I don't have much to say. The DG spoke and I've heard all that you have said in his absence. 
As usual, I will convey your comments to him, and will take note and work towards improving how 
best we deliver this service for the next exercise. Thank you all for your kind attention.  
CHAIRPERSON 'S CLOSING REMARKS   
163.  I hope that everyone has found our exchange of views today  to be useful. The ability of the 
trade monitoring exe rcise to deliver factual and up -to-date information depends, to a very large 
extent, on the input of Members, initially in terms of providing and subsequently in terms of verifying 
information. I think that we can all agree that improved transparency and p redictability are 
fundamental elements of a healthy and well-functioning  multilateral trading system. Your timely 
contributions to the trade monitoring reports are of paramount importance to ensure and preserve 
the high quality and accuracy of the reports submitted to you , and further strengthen the 
constructive stakeholder relationship between the Secretariat and Members which is essential to this 
exercise.  
164.  Let me conclude by thanking all delegations for joining us today and for contributing to the 
discus sion. This ends our meeting today. I look forward to our next meeting on 18 and 
20 February  2020, when the TPRB will review the trade policies of the European Union.  
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