WTO raises global trade growth projection to 2.7pc for ‘24

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has revised its growth projection for global merchandise trade in 2024 marginally upwards to 2.7 percent, from the previous estimate of 2.6 percent. The multilateral trade body in its latest bi-annual trade outlook, 'Global Trade Outlook and Statistics', also revised its projection of world merchandise trade

Dhaka keen to boost bilateral trade with WTO member countries

The Bangladesh delegation, now participating in the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Abu Dhabi, UAE, held bilateral meetings with other member countries, including China, Japan, Germany, Korea and Singapore, to boost trade with them. During these meetings, the Bangladesh delegation, led by State Minister for

Majority of WTO members sign investment deal for dev

More than 120 WTO member states have finalised an agreement that aims to facilitate investment in developing countries by improving transparency and clearing bureaucratic hurdles, the global trade body said Sunday. The Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement, signed by 75 percent of the World Trade Organization's members, would require full

WTO meeting ends without reaching major deals

Negotiators taking part in a World Trade Organization meeting in the United Arab Emirates ended their summit early Saturday after failing to reach agreements on several major initiatives, the latest sign of turmoil within the global body. The WTO delayed its closing ceremony in Abu Dhabi by over a day as

WTO urges countries to lift green trade barriers

The World Trade Organization on Monday urged countries to abolish trade barriers in environmental goods and services in order to help fight climate change. In its annual World Trade Report, the WTO says international commerce should not be pitted against combating the climate crisis. The report comes as global leaders

WTO finally nets deal curbing fisheries subsidies

Talks aimed at curbing harmful subsidies for fisheries concluded in Geneva in the first multilateral trade agreement the World Trade Organization (WTO) has struck in almost a decade. The body’s Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) was scheduled for June 12–15, but overtime negotiations didn’t conclude until early June 17. It is the

WTO agrees fishing, food and Covid vaccine deals

The World Trade Organization concluded deals Friday on tackling food insecurity, curbing harmful fishing subsidies and temporarily waiving Covid-19 vaccine patents after days of round-the-clock talks. WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the trade ministers' conference had struck an "unprecedented package of deliverables" after the global trade body's 164 members passed the

WTO holds big meeting to tackle vaccines, food shortages

The head of the World Trade Organization predicted a "bumpy and rocky" road as it opened its highest-level meeting in 4-1/2 years on Sunday, with issues like pandemic preparedness, food insecurity and overfishing of the world's seas on the agenda.  At a time when some question WTO's relevance, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala