Brexit again it will not go away

The WTO Secretariat has circulated a meeting notice and list of items proposed for the next meeting, on 28 October 2019, of the Dispute Settlement Body, which consists of all WTO members and oversees legal disputes among them. The meeting notice is circulated in the form of a document officially called an “airgram”.

The fifth review of the trade policies and practices of Peru takes place on 22 and 24 October 2019. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of Peru.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC on 21 October, Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff said it is vitally important that the value of the multilateral trading system in terms of its impact on the daily lives of people be better understood. “For the individual worker, farmer or company, it must […]

At an event in Washington on 17 October to mark the 75th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Conference, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said the world risks forgetting the key lessons learned from that seminal meeting — the importance of a rules-based system of economic cooperation which has underpinned decades of unprecedented peace and prosperity. His […]

The World Trade Organization is partnering with the International Trade Centre (ITC) and World Customs Organization (WCO) in an initiative which will enable firms to take fuller advantages of benefits under free trade agreements and preferential trade arrangements by helping them comply with product rules of origin requirements.

At a General Council meeting on 16 October, WTO members formally elected Bakhyt Sultanov, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Trade and Integration, as Chair of the upcoming 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12). The Ministerial Conference will take place in the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan on 8-11 June 2020.

Online registration is now open for a conference to be held on 27 November 2019 at the WTO to mark the 30th anniversary of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM). The conference will focus on the role of the TPRM in providing enhanced transparency, accountability and monitoring of the multilateral trading system.

At a meeting of the full WTO membership on 14 October, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo observed that members had barely two months left to solve the Appellate Body impasse and meet a negotiating deadline on fisheries subsidies. Looking ahead, he said that in order to lay the groundwork for meaningful outcomes at the Ministerial Conference in […]

Speaking at a conference on global trade held at Chatham House, London, on 14 October, Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff said that at a time of slowing global economic growth and political uncertainty the WTO is even more essential, with its rules providing fairness and preventing discrimination. He stressed the importance of discussions aimed at strengthening […]

WTO members agreed at a meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on 14 October to authorize the United States to impose countermeasures on European Union goods and services trade with the US up to a value of USD 7,496.623 million annually. The authorization was granted in line with a WTO arbitrator decision issued on […]

Speaking to Al-Jazeera English, Open Europe's Dominic Walsh discusses this week's voting on Brexit.The post How might MPs seek to amend the Withdrawal Agreement Bill? appeared first on Open Europe.

Open Europe's David Shiels speaks to BBC Two's News Special about the prospects for the Government passing its Brexit deal.The post The Government may have the numbers to pass its Brexit deal appeared first on Open Europe.

Open Europe's David Shiels discusses how Johnson's new Brexit deal does, in fact, leave open the question of the future relationship between the UK and the EU. The post Weekly Briefing: Passing this deal would leave the future relationship open for debate appeared first on Open Europe.

Open Europe's Stephen Booth, David Shiels and Dominic Walsh examine the revised Withdrawal AgreementThe post What’s new about the new Brexit deal? An explainer appeared first on Open Europe.

Open Europe's Acting Director, Stephen Booth, speaks to Newsnight regarding the UK's rived hybrid customs proposal as the Brexit negotiations continue.The post UK revives hybrid customs proposal as Brexit negotiations continue appeared first on Open Europe.

In this week's briefing, Open Europe's Stephen Booth argues that whether a workable deal can be found rests, in large part, on the DUP's response to the UK's Brexit proposals.The post Weekly Briefing: Johnson and Varadkar can see a “pathway to a deal” – but is it wide enough for the DUP? appeared first on […]

Open Europe's Dominic Walsh speaks to BBC Radio 5 Live about the prospect of a No Deal Brexit.The post A delayed No Deal is underpriced as an outcome appeared first on Open Europe.

In a new report, Open Europe assesses the issues raised by No Deal and proposes an action plan for the UK Government. Overall, our judgement is that No Deal will cause some disruption, but that much of this can be managed with the right set of responses.The post Manageable but Material: The consequences of No […]

Speaking to CNBC on 3 October, Open Europe's Pieter Cleppe discusses the UK Government's recent proposals for an alternative to the backstop.The post The EU could be flexible on Irish border appeared first on Open Europe.

In this week's briefing, David Shiels considers the progress on the ongoing Brexit negotiations and how the impasse on the backstop might be overcome.The post Weekly Briefing: The Good Friday Agreement is key to unblocking the backstop impasse appeared first on Open Europe.