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.
The World Trade Organization's dispute settlement body on Nov. 25 agreed to establish a dispute settlement panel to review Colombia's compliance with an earlier ruling finding its antidumping duties on frozen fries from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands violated WTO rules (see 2411140017).
The EU on Nov. 24 formally requested dispute settlement consultations at the World Trade Organization regarding China's antidumping duties on EU brandy imports. China has 10 days to respond to the request to find a mutually convenient format and date for the talks.
The facilitator of the World Trade Organization dispute settlement reform talks told members at a Nov. 21 heads of delegation meeting to be "practical and flexible" in ramping up negotiations, the WTO said. With just two weeks to go before the final General Council meeting of 2024, Usha Dwarka-Canabady urged members to stay focused on restoring the dispute settlement system's functionality and not on creating a new system with "more onerous obligations."
The chair of the fisheries subsidies negotiations at the World Trade Organization, Iceland's Einar Gunnarsson, is looking to wrap up the second wave of fisheries negotiations by the General Council meeting in December. Gunnarsson said he held meetings with 28 WTO members and group representatives, finding that the "overwhelming majority" of these parties "consider that the draft text" on the fisheries subsidies talks "serves as the basis" for reaching a final deal.
The World Trade Organization's published agenda for the Dispute Settlement Body's Nov. 25 meeting includes a request from the EU to suspend certain concessions to the U.S. due to its antidumping and countervailing duties on ripe olives from Spain.
The facilitator of the World Trade Organization's e-commerce work program called for members to submit their views on a work plan to structure talks on e-commerce between now and the 14th Ministerial Conference, which will take place in early 2026, with the goal of presenting recommendations at MC14, the WTO said.
Costa Rica formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies Nov. 15, bringing the number of countries that have accepted the deal to 87. The WTO needs 24 more to reach the two-thirds of the membership threshold for the agreement to take effect.
The EU asked the World Trade Organization to establish a compliance panel regarding Colombia's tariffs on frozen fries from the EU, the Directorate-General for Trade announced Nov. 14. The bloc decided to make the move after consultations between the parties fell through, the Directorate-General said.