From the early days of the Silk Road to the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the birth of the WTO, trade has played an important role in supporting economic development and promoting peaceful relations among nations. This page traces the history of trade, from its earliest roots to the present day.

Speaking at the conclusion of the WTO-organized meeting "COVID-19 and Vaccine Equity: What Can the WTO Contribute?", the Director-General said that statements from government ministers, vaccine manufacturers, civil society advocates and leaders of international organizations had identified problems and pointed to potential solutions.  

"This is a problem of the global commons, and we have to solve it together," she said.

She expressed hope that the meeting, which included roughly 50 speakers, would serve as the basis for continued dialogue aimed at delivering results in terms of increased vaccine production volumes in the short-term as well as longer-term investments in vaccine production and enhancing the trading system's contribution to pandemic preparedness.

The discussion shed light on the complexity of the vaccine scale-up challenge, DG Okonjo-Iweala said.

The large number of trade-related concerns expressed during the meeting, from...

One thing that came out of today's discussions is that it was only through working together across borders that scientists developed safe and effective vaccines in record time. And it is only by working together, across borders, that we'll be able to solve the problems [of vaccine scarcity and equitable access] discussed today. This is a problem of the global commons, and we have to solve it together.

Our purpose today was to contribute to efforts to increase vaccine production and broaden access, starting with the immediate term.

Specifically we had three goals:

The first was to pinpoint the obstacles, particularly the trade-related obstacles, to ramping up production, and to equitably distributing and administering vaccines - and we looked at how the WTO could contribute to these solutions.

The second was to bring together people who are able to increase and to scale up manufacturing, people in a position to share technology and knowhow, and...

Speaking at the conclusion of the WTO-organized meeting "COVID-19 and Vaccine Equity: What Can the WTO Contribute?", the Director-General said that statements from government ministers, vaccine manufacturers, civil society advocates and leaders of international organizations had identified problems and pointed to potential solutions.  

"This is a problem of the global commons, and we have to solve it together," she said.

She expressed hope that the meeting, which included roughly 50 speakers, would serve as the basis for continued dialogue aimed at delivering results in terms of increased vaccine production volumes in the short-term as well as longer-term investments in vaccine production and enhancing the trading system's contribution to pandemic preparedness.

The discussion shed light on the complexity of the vaccine scale-up challenge, DG Okonjo-Iweala said.

The large number of trade-related concerns expressed during the meeting, from...

Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. All WTO members are subject to review, with the frequency of review depending on the country’s size.

Surveillance of national trade policies is a fundamentally important activity running throughout the work of the WTO. At the centre of this work is the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM). All WTO members are reviewed, the frequency of each country’s review varying according to its share of world trade.

The WTO Young Professionals Programme was launched in 2016 as an opportunity for qualified young professionals from developing and least-developed countries that are members of the WTO to enhance their knowledge regarding WTO and international trade issues. The programme aims to attract professionals from under-represented countries who can consequently improve their chances of being recruited by the WTO and/or other regional and international organizations. The Programme is part of the Secretariat's efforts to increase diversity and broaden the representation of the membership.

The Director-General met bilaterally with United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai. The meeting focused on scaling up the global COVID-19 response and addressing gaps in the global production and distribution of vaccines, personal protective equipment and other medical supplies and the broader WTO reform agenda.

She also took part in the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, where she had discussions with the respective agency heads as well as the Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation.

At the end of the week, the Director-General said:

“In all of my discussions in Washington, D.C. it was clearer than ever that a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic means rapid, equitable access to vaccines, especially in developing and least developed countries. Continued vaccine scarcity and the related threat of dangerous new viral...

"I call on all members, and in particular all Heads of Delegation, to prioritize the fisheries subsidies negotiations over the coming months, and to remain flexible and available as and when needed," DG Okonjo-Iweala said, underlining that progress this week in exchanges among members at this high level is especially critical to reaching an outcome by the middle of the year.   "Please keep the date of July in mind as when we need to finally close these negotiations," she added.

"Concluding these negotiations is a top priority for this organization, not only for the fisheries, but also for the WTO system. We simply cannot afford to fail here," she said. "We have reached a considerable degree of maturity in the negotiations and we should do what it takes to close it." Read the full text of her statement here.

The chair of the negotiating group, Ambassador Santiago Wills of Colombia, is convening a cluster of fisheries subsidies meetings on 12-16 April...

Thank you, Santiago, for inviting me to join you today. It is a pleasure to be with you. Let me also join Santiago in thanking you for taking your time this morning and this week for focusing on the fisheries subsidies. I know you have an intensive week ahead of you but I think this is really necessary if we are to reach an outcome as soon as possible this year.

You have probably heard me say and I will continue to say that concluding these negotiations is a top priority for this organization, not only for the fisheries, but also for the WTO system. We simply cannot afford to fail here. I have made this point in all of my contacts and conversations with ministers, heads of governments, and other senior officials. I think everyone agrees with me that if there is anything that would demonstrate that the WTO is back and capable of having positive results, it is a good outcome early enough this year to these fisheries subsidies negotiations. I just came back from the US...

"I call on all members, and in particular all Heads of Delegation, to prioritize the fisheries subsidies negotiations over the coming months, and to remain flexible and available as and when needed," DG Okonjo-Iweala said, underlining that progress this week in exchanges among members at this high level is especially critical to reaching an outcome by the middle of the year.   "Please keep the date of July in mind as when we need to finally close these negotiations," she added.

"Concluding these negotiations is a top priority for this organization, not only for the fisheries, but also for the WTO system. We simply cannot afford to fail here," she said. "We have reached a considerable degree of maturity in the negotiations and we should do what it takes to close it." Read the full text of her statement here.

The chair of the negotiating group, Ambassador Santiago Wills of Colombia, is convening a cluster of fisheries subsidies meetings on 12-16 April...

This year's Public Forum will look at the effects of COVID-19 on trade and how the multilateral trading system can help build resilience to the pandemic and future crises.

Further information on this year's theme and three sub-themes - Enhancing resilience beyond COVID-19; Strengthening the multilateral trading system; and Collective action towards sustainable trade - is available here.

Details about the format of this year's Forum will be made available by July.

All the sessions at the Public Forum are organised by the participants. These include civil society, academia, business, governments, parliamentarians and intergovernmental organizations. Participants interested in organizing working sessions or workshops will find further details in this information note.  The online application form can be accessed from the information note and should be completed no later than 7 June 2021.

This year's Public Forum will look at the effects of COVID-19 on trade and how the multilateral trading system can help build resilience to the pandemic and future crises.

Further information on this year's theme and three sub-themes - Enhancing resilience beyond COVID-19; Strengthening the multilateral trading system; and Collective action towards sustainable trade - is available here.

Details about the format of this year's Forum will be made available by July.

All the sessions at the Public Forum are organised by the participants. These include civil society, academia, business, governments, parliamentarians and intergovernmental organizations. Participants interested in organizing working sessions or workshops will find further details in this information note.  The online application form can be accessed from the information note and should be completed no later than 7 June 2021.

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