At a meeting with WTO members on 8 December, the Facilitator on WTO reform, Ambassador Petter Ølberg of Norway, shared his assessment of Reform Week, which took place from 2 to 5 December. "Although considerable work still lies ahead", the Facilitator said, "I believe we now have a solid building block that will help us advance our efforts when we return in January".
An update of the WTO's legal compendium has been published bringing together all of the WTO's agreements into one volume. The book, titled The WTO Agreements: The Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and its Annexes, includes for the first time the text of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which entered into force on 15 September 2025.
At a meeting of the Committee on Trade and Development in Special Session (CTD SS) on 5 December, members considered two new G-90 proposals concerning implementation of special and differential treatment (S&DT) provisions in WTO's Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). They also discussed a list of possible incentives to guide reporting under Article 66.2 of the Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement and reviewed next steps in Committee work ahead of the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) and beyond.
At the Trade in Services for Development (TS4D) Conference on 3 and 4 December, the WTO Secretariat and the World Bank launched new analytical and capacity building tools to help developing economies harness the potential of services trade to drive economic growth. The new tools, accessible through an online platform unveiled at the conference, include a services trade competitiveness dashboard to help policymakers assess their economy's performance and the Handbook on Good Regulatory Practices, which includes a diagnostic and planning tool for regulatory reform.
At the opening of the Trade in Services for Development (TS4D) Conference on 3-4 December, the WTO and World Bank highlighted progress in the initiative's efforts to help developing economies leverage services trade for growth and development. Emphasizing the importance of services trade for the future of trade, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: Our hope in organizing this conference is to open a new chapter in how we think about trade, development, and cooperation. She outlined the initiative’s key achievements and called for greater cooperation in future work.
At the International AI Standards Summit held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on 2-3 December, Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam emphasized the importance of the multilateral trading system in fostering trustworthy, interoperable and inclusive standards for artificial intelligence (AI).
At a meeting of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) on 2 December, WTO members reviewed five regional trade agreements involving China, Ecuador, Israel, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Türkiye, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They also reviewed other topics relevant to the Committee's work under the Transparency Mechanism for RTAs.
Economies around the world are increasingly adopting public health policies aimed at improving nutrition and reducing the onset of diseases such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes. In parallel, public health agencies and researchers are focusing more and more on whether the processing of foods (through the use of additives, preservatives and flavourings) negatively affects health. So, what are the trends for trade in various categories of food and what tariff levels do economies apply?
The value of global goods imports affected by new tariffs and other import measures increased more than fourfold from mid-October 2024 to mid-October 2025 compared to the prior 12-month period, marking the highest coverage in over 15 years of WTO trade monitoring, according to the WTO Director-General's latest annual overview of developments in the international trading environment. At the same time, WTO members introduced trade-facilitating measures on both imports and exports, covering one-and-a-half times more trade than the previous period, and were pursuing dialogue more than retaliation.
The Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) held its fourth and final open-ended meeting of 2025 on 2 December, focusing on deepening the presence of MSME voices at the WTO and sharing new resources to support MSME internationalization. The Group launched the WCO, WTO and ICC Joint Study Report on Integration of MSMEs into Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programmes, also now available in Spanish.
The ninth review of the trade policies and practices of Thailand takes place on 1 and 3 December 2025. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of Thailand.
At the Committee on Trade Facilitation meeting on 1-3 December 2025, WTO members laid the groundwork for the second review of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in 2026, held its annual dedicated session on technical assistance and capacity building support, and continued experience-sharing sessions on digitalization and authorized economic operators (AEOs).
On 1 December 2025, the United States notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it had initiated on 17 November 2025 a safeguard investigation on quartz surface products.
Goods trade growth appears to have slowed in the second half of 2025 following a surge in the first half driven by frontloading of imports ahead of expected tariff hikes and by rising demand for AI-related products, according to the latest WTO Goods Trade Barometer.
At its final meeting of the year, held on 26 November, the Committee on Government Procurement adopted a decision that will enhance the transparency and accessibility of its work.
At a meeting on 25 November, the co-coordinators of the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP) introduced a draft ministerial statement for the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14), scheduled to take place in March 2026. Participants also reviewed revised draft technical outcome documents reflecting progress in the Dialogue's work. The coordinators stressed the importance of issuing a DPP ministerial statement at MC14. They also reiterated the DPP’s objective of delivering concrete, pragmatic and effective outcomes, and contributing trade-related solutions to the global effort to end plastics pollution.
The fourth review of the trade policies and practices of Tunisia takes place on 25 and 27 November 2025. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of Tunisia.
At the final meeting of the year of the Committee on Agriculture on 24-25 November, members exchanged views on a wide range of issues, including agricultural trade, food security and technology transfer. They also continued their regular review of each other’s agricultural policies to ensure compliance with WTO commitments. Members agreed to conclude the second triennial review of the Bali Decision on Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs).
At a meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on 24 November, WTO members adopted a compliance panel report in a dispute initiated by the European Union on anti-dumping duties imposed by Colombia on imports of frozen fries from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. The EU also announced it was appealing a panel report in a case initiated by Indonesia on duties applied to steel imports from Indonesia.
The Trade in Services for Development Conference, co-organized by the WTO Secretariat and the World Bank, will take place on 3-4 December at the WTO headquarters in Geneva. The event is open to trade officials and other interested stakeholders. Registration must be completed by 28 November 2025.
