The World Trade Organization's Committee on Market Access laid out a "timetable" for its thematic sessions in 2024 at a March 25-26 meeting, the WTO announced. The sessions will center on "supply chain resilience" and boosting a greener Harmonized System in collaboration with the World Customs Organization.

World Trade Organization members at the March 20-22 meeting of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Committee reviewed the agreement on the application of SPS measures and "addressed a high number of trade concerns," the WTO said.

A World Trade Organization dispute panel found that certain elements of Australian antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings on wind towers, deep drawn stainless steel sinks and railway wheels from China violate WTO commitments. Issuing its findings March 26, the panel recommended that Australia bring its measures into conformity with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.

Negotiations on Costa Rica's accession to the 2012 Government Procurement Agreement ramped up during a March 20 meeting, the World Trade Organization announced. The meeting was the first since Costa Rica sent out its initial market access offer last month. The WTO also noted a March 21 workshop on the role of digital technologies in boosting trade and competition in government procurement, which featured a discussion from policymakers and practitioners. In addition to a focus on using digital tools to automate tasks, "using predictive analytics and enhancing fraud detection, the workshop highlighted potential risks, such as the violation of privacy and skills gaps."

The World Trade Organization General Council on March 22 reached consensus on chairpersons for 2024. The new chairs include Norway's Petter Olberg for the General Council, Saudi Arabia's Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel for the dispute settlement body and Chile's Sofia Boza Martinez for the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, among others. The WTO noted that talks on a candidate for the chair of the Committee on Trade in Services will continue under Olberg's care, "with the aim of filling the vacancy as rapidly as possible."

India and the U.S. told the World Trade Organization that they reached a solution in the U.S. dispute on India's tariff measures on certain agricultural products, the WTO announced. India and the U.S. resolved six other disputes last year (see 2306230038), the WTO noted.

Parties to the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement at the World Trade Organization held a meeting March 19, where they reaffirmed their goal of incorporating the deal into the WTO framework "as a most-favoured-nation-based plurilateral agreement open to all members," the WTO said. In addition, Burkina Faso announced that it supports adding the deal to the WTO framework, becoming the 125th member to do so.

Russia accepted the World Trade Organization's agreement on fisheries subsidies, the WTO announced this week. Seventy-two members have accepted the deal, which is 38 shy of the two-thirds mark needed for full adoption.

Australia, Japan and Singapore believe a second version of a text on e-commerce reforms "could pave the way for the conclusion of the agreement by the summer," the World Trade Organization said in a press release last week.

The U.S. told the World Trade Organization's Committee on Safeguards about the start of its safeguard investigation on fine denier polyester staple fiber, the WTO announced this week. The U.S. opened the investigation on Feb. 28, telling parties that wish to participate to file an entry of appearance with the secretary to the International Trade Commission no later "than 21 days after publication of the notice of institution in the Federal Register."