The World Trade Organization officially set the dates for the 14th Ministerial Conference, which will be held in Cameroon: March 26-29, 2026. It will be the second ministerial conference hosted by an African nation. Kenya was the site of the 2015 conference.
Cameroon formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies Dec. 16, bringing the number of countries that have accepted the deal to 88. The WTO needs 23 more to reach the two-thirds of the membership threshold for the agreement to take effect.
The U.S. warned World Trade Organization members this week against adjudicating national security matters, saying in a communication that they should instead bring a "non-violation claim" that would allow for the rebalancing of trade concessions and avoid "dragging" members into debates over political issues.
The chair of the World Trade Organization's agriculture negotiations, Turkey's Alparslan Acarsoy, urged members at the group's Dec. 4 meeting to “swiftly resume substantive talks” in 2025, the WTO said. At the meeting, the African Group and the Cairns Group of agricultural exporting countries said they made progress in their bilateral discussions, which aim to present a “comprehensive package of modalities for agriculture reform” before the 14th Ministerial Conference.
Uzbekistan wants to join the World Trade Organization by 2026, a "high-level government delegation" from the Central Asian nation said during the 9th meeting of the Working Party on the Accession of Uzbekistan. Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev said Uzbekistan is looking to "intensify efforts to finalize outstanding negotiations and harmonize its legal and regulatory frameworks with WTO agreements." The delegation noted that since the last meeting of the working party, the nation has concluded negotiations with nine additional members, bringing the total of completed bilateral talks to 22. The chair of the working party, South Korea's Yun Seong-deok, encouraged members to ramp up their engagement with Uzbekistan next year and wants to reconvene the working party in spring 2025.
Jordan opened a safeguard investigation on safety and protective footwear, the World Trade Organization said. Jordan notified the WTO Committee on Safeguards that it opened the proceeding on Dec. 1, and that interested parties should identify themselves by Dec. 22 and provide written comments by Jan. 14.
A World Trade Organization dispute panel ruled on Dec. 5 that Panama's phytosanitary restrictions on strawberries, pineapples, bananas, plantains and dairy and meat products from Costa Rica violated WTO rules.
Iceland's Einar Gunnarsson, chair of the fisheries subsides negotiations at the World Trade Organization, released a revised draft text on the second wave of the fisheries talks on Nov. 29, the WTO announced. The text was circulated with a goal of wrapping up negotiations by the next General Council meeting, which is set for Dec. 16-17.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was appointed director-general of the World Trade Organization for a second four-year term to begin on Sept. 1, the WTO announced. Okonjo-Iweala was initially elevated to the position in 2021, becoming the first woman and first African to head the global trade body. In a statement on the reappointment, the director-general said she remains "firmly committed to delivering results that matter -- results that ultimately improve the lives of people around the world. By promoting trade as a driver of economic growth and resilience, the WTO will continue to provide a collaborative platform for Members to address shared global challenges."
The EU officially filed dispute settlement consultations at the World Trade Organization with China regarding its provisional antidumping duties on EU brandy imports after announcing the move last week (see 2411250014), the WTO announced. The move opens a 60-day window for the parties to negotiate an end to the conflict, after which a dispute settlement panel can be requested.