Participants in the WTO’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA) gathered with private sector stakeholders and experts on 20 November to exchange views on the benefits of participating in the ITA and the impact of the Agreement on domestic economies. The discussion aimed to enhance understanding of the opportunities, challenges and outcomes associated with ITA participation, drawing on perspectives from government, business and academia.
The World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) will hold the 12th Trilateral Cooperation Technical Symposium on Antimicrobial Resistance: Addressing the Innovation Gap, Access Inequities, and Supply Challenges on 11 December 2025. The registration deadline is 9 December 2025.
Ahead of the WTO's 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, next March, WTO members on 19 November reviewed global cotton market trends and prospects for a ministerial outcome on cotton. They also discussed how to strengthen investment and value addition in the sector.
Members of the media wishing to attend the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference to be held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from 26 to 29 March 2026 can now apply for accreditation. The deadline for receiving applications is 26 February 2026 (midnight, Central European Time).
At its meeting on 18 and 19 November, the WTO Fish Fund Steering Committee approved 26 requests for project grants – totalling USD 2.9 million – to support developing and least-developed country (LDC) members implement the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. The Steering Committee also agreed to launch a second call for funding requests in early 2026.
The Third review of the trade policies and practices of Nepal takes place on 17 and 19 November 2025. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of Nepal.
The Federal Republic of Germany is contributing EUR 500,000 (approximately CHF 480,000) to the WTO's Global Trust Fund to help developing economies and least developed countries (LDCs) enhance their participation in the multilateral trading system. H. E. Carmen Heidecke, Ambassador of Germany to the WTO, signed the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the German Federal Government at the WTO on 17 November 2025.
The World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) organized on 17 November the second in a series of Trilateral Cooperation briefings for trade, health and intellectual property (IP) diplomats based in Geneva.
Trade covered by tariffs in G20 economies increased about four times as much from mid-October 2024 to mid-October 2025 compared to the prior reporting period, marking the largest increase in the history of WTO trade monitoring. At the same time, economies made trade easier by twice as much in value terms over this period, according to the WTO’s latest report on trade measures in the G20 issued on 13 November.
The current situation for global agricultural commodity markets and the future outlook were reviewed by participants at a meeting of the AMIS (Agricultural Market Information System) Global Food Market Information Group held at WTO headquarters on 13-14 November. The AMIS, which was launched by the G20 group of major economies in 2011, seeks to enhance market transparency and strengthen food security by bringing together the principal countries involved in trading agricultural commodities and by helping to coordinate policy action in times of market uncertainty.
The fourth review of the trade policies and practices of Guatemala takes place on 12 and 14 November 2025. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of Guatemala.
Trade digitalization and support for digital entrepreneurship represent low-hanging fruits for increasing access to international markets for small businesses, Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang said on 10 November. He made the remarks at an event hosted by the WTO's Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs).
