World Trade Organization

A high-level WTO conference ended Saturday with a temporary extension of an e-commerce moratorium but no deals on agriculture and fisheries, throwing into doubt the effectiveness of the multilateral trade body.

The World Trade Organization Tuesday enshrined new rules facilitating trade in services between more than 70 member states, the European Union's trade commissioner said, despite initial objections from India and South Africa.

The set of rules will streamline authorisation requirements and ease procedural hurdles faced by businesses, according to a press release.

More than 120 WTO member states have finalised an agreement that aims to facilitate investment in developing countries by improving transparency and clearing bureaucratic hurdles, the global trade body said Sunday.

Beijing has asked the United States, Japan and the Netherlands to confirm the existence of an alleged agreement between the three countries to curb semiconductor exports to China, state media reported yesterday.

Beijing's representatives issued the request during a regular meeting this week at the World Trade Organization (WTO), according to a state television broadcast.

China has not adopted the rules of the World Trade Organization even after 20 years' membership, the United States said yesterday, adding that the world's second-biggest economy had "retained and expanded" its statist approach to the detriment of businesses and workers globally.

The new Joint Ministerial Decision will take effect in due course

According to estimates from the World Trade Organisation, world merchandise trade is set to plummet between 13 and 32 percent

Brussels – Attending a session of the EU’s Trade Policy Council, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek discussed the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with his EU counterparts in Brussels on Thursday. Počivalšek said that Slovenia was ready to cooperate to affirm the importance of the WTO during its EU presidency.

Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan met virtually on March 31 with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and discussed new ways to increase bilateral trade flows.

"We had a fruitful meeting with ambassador Tai and exchanged views on global and bilateral issues," Pekcan said on Twitter.

Turkey welcomed late on Feb. 15 the appointment of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the new director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO).