WTO members on 5 March completed a series of meetings dedicated to advancing work on WTO reform. Over the past month, members have exchanged views on a draft ministerial statement and a work plan intended to frame the scope of reform efforts following the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) on 26-29 March. They also finalized preparations for the ministeria...
At a meeting on the Work Programme on E-Commerce on 3 March, WTO members considered a proposal to establish a Committee on Digital Trade as part of a draft decision on e-commerce for the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14), which will take place from 26 to 29 March in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Members also continued discussions on the reinvigoration of the Work P...
At a meeting of the Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture on 27 February, members provided feedback on a new draft ministerial decision introduced by Argentina in addition to eight other submissions circulated since December 2025. In the absence of clear consensus around any single proposal, and in response to calls to take the lead, the Chair ci...
The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) agreed at its meeting on 24 February to a request from China for the establishment of a panel to review certain measures imposed by India in the automotive and renewable energy sectors. The United States notified its decision to appeal the panel report in a case initiated by China regarding certain tax credits under the US...
At a series of meetings held from 18 to 20 February, the WTO Council for Trade in Services and its subsidiary bodies discussed ways to strengthen information-sharing to reinvigorate the Council's work. They also discussed how to facilitate remittance transfers and to improve the classification of environmental services, among other issues. In addition,...
Members of the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender held the first of a series of thematic discussions for 2026 on 20 February with the first meeting focusing on mainstreaming the topic of trade and gender in the work of WTO bodies in line with the group's 2025-2026 Work Plan. Members also discussed deliverables to be launched at the sideli...
At a meeting on 16 February, WTO members participating in the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform (FFSR) initiative continued exploring new approaches to reforming fossil fuel subsidies and examining the effects of subsidies provided to emissions-intensive sectors. Members reaffirmed the importance of enhancing transparency through greater information and experienc...
On 10 February 2026, the Philippines notified the WTO's Committee on Safeguards that it had initiated on 5 February 2026 a safeguard investigation on imports of ceramic tiles.In the notification, the Philippines indicated, among other things, as follows:"4. Provide a point of contact for the investigation and identify the preferred means for corre...
WTO members have shared two new submissions on food and agriculture, aimed at finding compromise ahead of the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in March.Members discussed the new submissions, one shared by Indonesia and the other by the African Group, at a meeting of the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session on 30 January, alo...
WTO members on 3 February considered next steps in advancing work on WTO reform in the lead-up to the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) scheduled to take place in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in March 2026. The facilitator on WTO reform, Ambassador Petter Ølberg of Norway, announced that he will launch a reform month on 5 February aimed at discussing a post-MC14 ...
