Economics: Research Guide

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is contributing EUR 600,000 (approximately CHF 560,000) to the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) to help developing economies and least-developed countries (LDCs) meet international food safety, animal and plant health standards for trade and improve their access to global and regional markets. This 2024 contribution is part of a multi-year agreement with BMZ for the period from 2021 to 2027.

Food trade is not a luxury — it is a must. Over 30 countries would face starvation if international food trade were to come to a halt. While the risk of food insecurity is severe for less developed countries that rely upon trade, dependence on trade for food security is also a concern for wealthier nations. Gulf Arab nations, facing severe water shortage, import 80-90 per cent of their food, Singapore imports 90 per cent, and Haiti imports 50 per cent. Globally, 25 per cent of food production is traded internationally.

On 10 January, the WTO circulated the panel report in the case brought by Indonesia in “European Union — Certain measures concerning palm oil and oil palm crop-based biofuels” (DS593).

On 6 January 2025, India notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 19 December 2024 a safeguard investigation on non-alloy and alloy steel flat products.

On 30 December 2024, Madagascar notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it would initiate on 31 December 2024 a safeguard investigation on tomato products.

On 27 December 2024, China notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 27 December 2024 a safeguard investigation on meat of bovine animals.

On 19 December 2024, the European Union notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 19 December 2024 a safeguard investigation on “manganese and silicon-based alloying elements”.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the WTO Secretariat have jointly launched a database on trade in critical minerals to enhance transparency regarding these minerals and to support the clean energy transition. The database provides information on trade flows, allows visualizations of trade networks and specialization patterns and compiles data on tariffs and other trade policies for 250 critical minerals and related products across value chains.

The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) agreed at its meeting on 18 December to a request from Indonesia for the establishment of a panel to review the European Union’s anti-dumping duties on fatty acid imported from Indonesia.

The General Council Chair, Ambassador Petter Ølberg of Norway, has welcomed the “significant progress” made in the ongoing negotiations on dispute settlement reform, which is taking place under the purview of the General Council. He said he would be consulting with members early next year on how to further advance the reform work. Speaking at the last General Council meeting of the year on 16-17 December, Ambassador Ølberg thanked Ambassador Usha Dwarka-Canabady of Mauritius for her important contributions as facilitator of the talks over the past six months.

WTO members have agreed that the organization’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) will take place from 26 to 29 March 2026 in Cameroon. The dates were endorsed at a 16 December meeting of the WTO’s General Council.

Cameroon, host of the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in 2026, deposited its instrument of acceptance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on 16 December. Ambassador Salomon Eheth presented Cameroon’s instrument of acceptance to Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the General Council meeting in Geneva.

Remarks by DG Okonjo-Iweala

Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on 13 December praised the contributions of the 19 young professionals who joined the WTO Secretariat this year at a farewell ceremony marking the conclusion of the 2024 programme.

World merchandise trade volume rose 1.1% quarter-on-quarter and 3.3% year-on-year, on a seasonally adjusted basis, in the third quarter of 2024, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of moderate trade expansion.

Opening Remarks by WTO Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

On 13 December 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the WTO held the 11th Trilateral Technical Symposium titled “Strengthening manufacturing capacities to respond to the noncommunicable diseases burden.” The event underscored the importance of strengthening production and its diversification through initiatives that promote innovation and enhance access to health technologies. It focused on the global health burden caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and the role that trilateral partners can play in this regard.

A total of 30 government officials from developing and least-developed WTO members and observers concluded on 13 December a two-week course on trade and environment in Geneva. The programme enabled participants to strengthen their expertise in addressing contemporary challenges relating to the intersection of trade and environmental policies.

WTO members must adopt a fresh approach in their ongoing negotiations and focus on delivering outcomes “wherever and whenever possible” in the run-up to their 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14), Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told delegations on 12 December at a meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC).

A total of 17 government officials from developing and least-developed WTO members successfully concluded a three-day workshop on subsidies notifications at the WTO on 12 December. For the next six months, participants will draft their countries’ subsidy notifications with support from the WTO Secretariat. In mid-2025, they will reconvene at the WTO for an exchange of experiences and best practices.

Remarks by DG Okonjo-Iweala

The Steering Committee of the WTO Fish Fund on 11 December approved the 2025 budget and workplan to support developing and least-developed country (LDC) members’ implementation of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies once it enters into force. The first call for funding applications for technical assistance and capacity building is expected to be issued in early 2025.

The WTO Director-General’s annual overview of global trade developments shows a sharp rise in the coverage of trade-restrictive measures by WTO members between mid-October 2023 and mid-October 2024, compared to the last Trade Monitoring Report in November 2023. While the report, presented at an 11 December meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB), also points to WTO members’ introduction of a substantial number of trade-facilitating measures, there is increasing evidence of inward-looking trade policies which could generate further uncertainty for the world economy.

The fourth review of the trade policies and practices of the Solomon Islands takes place on 11 and 13 December 2024. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of the Solomon Islands.

At a formal meeting of the Committee on Customs Valuation on 11 December, members adopted the Annual Report to the Council for Trade in Goods, reviewed the notifications on national customs valuation legislation submitted by 34 members and agreed to mark the 30th anniversary of the Customs Valuation Agreement in 2025. Members also agreed to conclude the Sixth Review of the Agreement on Preshipment Inspection (PSI) and to adopt the report submitted by the Chair, Sergio Prieto López of Spain.

The Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) on 10 December discussed how digitalization can reduce business costs for MSMEs, mitigating risks and supporting small businesses in engaging in international trade.

Speaking on behalf of Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at a virtual agriculture symposium on food and nutrition security organized by the WTO on 9 December, Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam underscored the critical role of open trade in achieving food and nutrition security. He emphasized that WTO rules are essential for facilitating the exchange of food and ensuring positive nutrition outcomes globally. He also stressed the importance of updating the WTO rulebook, noting “DG Okonjo-Iweala stated last week that agricultural negotiations are a top priority of her second term.”

Global goods trade continued to expand at a moderate pace in the fourth quarter of 2024 according to the latest WTO Goods Trade Barometer. However, prospects for trade in 2025 are uncertain as they may be affected by possible trade policy shifts.

On 5 December 2024, Jordan notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 1 December 2024 a safeguard investigation on safety and protective footwear.

WTO members discussed ways to revitalize their work on services trade in a meeting of the Council for Trade in Services on 6 December, looking into areas such as good regulatory practices, digitalization, development and the green transition. At a separate meeting of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services on the previous day, they discussed topics ranging from e-commerce to remittances. An event organized by the WTO Secretariat on 4 December explored recent data on members’ policies and regulations on services and their impact on services trade costs.