The EU Mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) represents the interests of the EU and its 27 Member States in the WTO. The EU Mission is part of the European External Action Service (EEAS) established following the Lisbon Treaty of 2007. The Permanent Delegation of the EU to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva deals with other international organisations in Geneva, such as UN, WIPO etc. whereas the Delegation of the European Union in Bern focuses on bilateral relations with Switzerland. Visa and consular matters are dealt with by delegations of EU Member States in Bern.

The overall objective of the WTO is to help its members use trade as a means to raise living standards, create jobs and improve people’s lives. The WTO is run by its member governments. All major decisions are made by the membership as a whole, either by ministers (who usually meet at least once every two years) or by their ambassadors or delegates (who meet regularly in Geneva).

The EU supports the central role of the WTO in rule-making, trade liberalisation and sustainable development. EU plays a major role in the WTO since the EU is the world’s biggest trading bloc. And the WTO is at the centre of trade because more than 60% of EU trade is conducted on WTO terms. The EU is therefore a strong supporter of the multilateral trading system. The EU and its Member States are collectively the largest Aid for Trade donor, representing a third of all support provided globally. The EU and its Member States are also by far the biggest contributors to the WTO budget with a share of more than 30%. In recent years, the EU has taken on a leading role in WTO reform, not least to ensure that the WTO remains fit for purpose to support a green and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and greater future resilience to such crises.

The WTO provides a forum for its members to negotiate trade agreements and to resolve the trade problems they face with each other:

AGRICULTURE

MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

The current WTO negotiations were launched in November 2001 in Doha (Qatar) with a view to further liberalising trade, whilst making it easier for developing countries to integrate into the WTO multilateral system. Despite the EU's efforts, negotiations in agriculture have stalled. Changes in levels of economic development have in particular increased the importance of some developing countries as major exporters and players in agricultural trade. Negotiations are blocked particularly due to the unwillingness of some WTO members to reform their agricultural policies. Nevertheless, WTO members continue to negotiate to reform agricultural trade.

These multilateral negotiations on agriculture take place in the framework of special sessions of the committee on agriculture with a view to making proposals for the WTO ministerial conferences. At MC12, in a joint Declaration on Food Security, WTO members committed to avoiding unjustified export restrictions on food and improving transparency on any export restrictions that do occur. Moreover, a Decision was taken to completely exempt humanitarian purchases for the World Food Programme from export restrictions.

The EU regrets that members were not able to overcome their differences on a work programme for agriculture. The EU remains committed to reaching a realistic, focused and balanced outcome in the run up to MC13. The EU remains involved in the negotiations on all pillars:

• On Domestic support: reducing trade-distorting measures is an important step towards a fairer agricultural trading system. The EU has transformed its domestic support system, which now mostly comprises non-trade distorting measures. This has improved the functioning of the market for agricultural goods and trade. The EU continues to press other members to move away from trade distorting support measures.
• On Market access: market access for agricultural products forms an integral part of the global trading system. Improvements in market access at the WTO could be best achieved by inclusive and comprehensive negotiations that encompass both agricultural and non-agricultural market access and services. Market access issues are naturally at the heart of bilateral negotiations for free-trade agreements.
• On Export competition: building on the progress achieved in Nairobi, negotiations continue notably with regard to further disciplines on export credits and export credit guarantees, international food aid, and agricultural export state trading enterprises.

FISHERIES SUBSIDIES

MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

The fisheries subsidies negotiations aim at implementing what world leaders agreed in 2015 sustainable development goal 14.6, namely by 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, and eliminate subsidies that contribute to IUU fishing, and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the WTO fisheries subsidies negotiation.

MC12 witnessed a landmark multilateral Agreement to curtail harmful fisheries subsidies. These include rules on subsidies contributing to IUUs, overfished stocks, a complete ban on fishing in the unregulated high seas, and transparency obligations to ensure the Agreement’s implementation. While negotiations over subsidies contributing to overfishing and overcapacity were not completed, future work is being set on this areas with the aim of concluding them by MC13.

The agreed text can be seen here.

TRADE AND HEALTH

MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, the EU has been actively promoting initiatives whereby the WTO, as the cornerstone of the international trading system, could help deliver an effective and comprehensive global response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as to the health crisis situations, in particular, so that WTO Members to make their utmost efforts to prevent or minimise disruptions in the supply chains of essential medical goods. The EU has proposed specific actions relating to export restrictions, trade facilitation, technical regulations, tariffs, transparency and review, and called for the WTO to enhance its cooperation with other relevant international organizations, such as the World Trade Organisation or the World Customs Organisation. The EU also made a concrete proposal in the area of IP submitted to the Trips Council.

The coronavirus pandemic has rekindled the global debate on whether the multilateral trade regime for intellectual property rights (IPR) protection limits access to essential medical products. Despite embedded flexibilities in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), India and South Africa, co-sponsored by a large number of developing countries, submitted an initial proposal for a temporary waiver in response to COVID-19 in October 2020, followed by a revised proposal in May 2021, which continues to divide opinion. The US administration voiced its support for a vaccines waiver. EU leaders indicated an openness to discussion, while putting forward an alternative plan with a focus on limiting export restrictions, compulsory licensing and using the existing TRIPS flexibilities.

During MC12, Ministers agreed on a Declaration on the WTO response to the pandemic and preparedness for future pandemics which affirms their commitment to transparency, timely and comprehensive information sharing, and restraint on imposing export restrictions. Responding to the requests from developing countries during the Pandemic, Ministers agreed on a waiver of certain procedural obligations under the TRIPS Agreement allowing for the swift manufacture and export of COVID-19 vaccines without the consent of the patent owner. The Declaration maintains both a strong intellectual property system and provides a key environment for vaccine production and development in African countries.

TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT

PLURILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

The EU is active in the area of the environment in the WTO. Besides actively engaging in the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment, the EU is a cosponsor of three environmental initiatives: the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD), the Informal Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Sustainable Plastics Trade (IDP), and Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform (FFSR). The goal of all three is to engage with the WTO membership to examine how trade and trade rules can play a positive role in addressing environmental concerns and how the WTO could support members' environmental objectives.

INVESTMENT FACILITATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

PLURILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

The investment facilitation for development was among the three plurilateral initiatives launched at MC11 in Buenos Aires end of 2017.

The Joint Initiative aims at developing a multilateral agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development that will improve the transparency and predictability of investment measure as well as streamline and speed up administrative procedures and requirements applying to foreign investors. Furthermore, such an agreement will aim to enhance international cooperation and regulatory coherence, increase the impact of capacity building and technical assistance and contribute to sustainable development. The initiative does not cover market access, investment protection and investor-state dispute settlement.

The initiative now has over 110 participants, with many developing country and LDCs being part of it, and can be seen as an initiative, which can considerably contribute to the economic recovery efforts following the global pandemic.

EU attaches a great importance to this initiative and has signed both ministerial statements in Buenos Aires and Shanghai as well as the joint statement from December 2021. The EU contributes actively to the negotiations in Geneva.

DOMESTIC REGULATION JOINT INITIATIVE

PLURILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

On 2 December 2021, a group of 67 World Trade Organization (WTO) members, including the EU, have concluded negotiations in the so called Services Domestic Regulation Joint Initiative. This is a landmark agreement that will significantly cut red tape in services trade and will help to reduce the costs of global services trade by more than USD 150 billion every year.

Services represent the largest and fastest growing sector of today's economy, but complicated rules and procedures have limited the amount of trade in services significantly. The agreed domestic regulation disciplines will align qualification requirements and procedures, technical standards, licensing requirements and procedures for services providers.  It will facilitate trade in services significantly. Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises who do not have the same resources and experience to cope with complex processes as do their larger competitors.  The negotiated outcome will also commit Members to non-discrimination between men and women in authorisation processes. This is the first rule of this kind in the WTO.

The negotiated disciplines (in the form of the Reference paper) will be included in each member's GATS Schedules, in line with the timeframe agreed in the Declaration that concluded the negotiations. Members are currently undertaking the necessary domestic procedures ahead of the launch of certification procedures in the WTO later in the year.

For more information: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/jsdomreg_e.htm

E-COMMERCE

PLURILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

Global rules are needed to develop a common, coherent approach that tackles global challenges effectively, fosters new opportunities, and encourages the expansion of digital trade (or 'e-commerce' as it is historically called in the WTO).

During the 11^th WTO Ministerial Conference, held in Buenos Aires in December 2017, a group of WTO Members decided to explore the opportunity to negotiate rules on e-commerce in the WTO. After a year of exploratory talks, plurilateral WTO negotiations on e-commerce were officially launched in January 2019. 86 WTO Members, including EU Member States, are currently engaged in these negotiations.

Some of the topics in the on-going negotiations include: the facilitation of electronic transactions (e.g. e-contracts, e-signatures, e-payments); enhancing consumer and business trust; addressing barriers related to cross-border data flows and data localisation requirements; protecting computer source code; facilitating online trade in goods (e.g. paperless trade); improving the regulatory conditions for telecommunications services; and improving market access in services sectors and goods that are key for e-commerce.

The EU’s objective in the e-commerce negotiations is to reach an agreement on a comprehensive and ambitious set of WTO rules and obligations. The EU wants to enhance both global and domestic digital trade, facilitate business operations, especially those of SMEs, and to strengthen consumer trust in the online environment. The EU will seek the negotiated outcome to be supported by as many WTO Members as possible, taking into account the different opportunities and challenges that Members may face in relation to e-commerce.

During MC12, the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions (the ‘e-commerce moratorium') was extended, a critical win for the digital economy. WTO members agreed to maintain the current practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions until MC13. The members also agreed to reinvigorate their work under the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, including challenges and opportunities affecting the developing countries and LDCs.

More on e-commerce negotiations: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/ecom_e/joint_statement_e.htm

With more than 600 registered disputes and more than 500 adjudications since 1995, the Dispute Settlement Mechanism has been by far the most active function of the WTO.  This system of peaceful resolution of disputes between sovereign states or customs territories is the feature that most distinguishes the WTO from all other international organisations, past and present.

The EU is one of the most active supporters of the WTO Dispute Settlement system and has consistently intervened as a Third Party in all WTO disputes.  The EU has also been involved in many cases as a complaining or defending party.

The operation of the Appellate Body was blocked in December 2019.  However, the EU has continued to participate in Panel proceedings both as a main party and as an intervening Third Party.  Moreover, the EU actively participates in all initiatives and negotiations that aim to restore the Appellate Body.  In order to preserve the smooth functioning of the WTO Dispute Settlement system during the absence of the Appellate Body, the European Union has participated in the creation of a Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement, which aims to reproduce as much as possible the operation of the Appellate Body.

Crucially, during MC12, Ministers agreed to restore a fully functioning dispute settlement system no later than 2024.

The WTO is in crisis, affecting all three functions of the WTO: negotiations have failed to modernise the rules, the dispute settlement system has de facto reverted to the days of the GATT where panel reports could be blocked, and the monitoring of trade policies is ineffective. In addition, the trade relationship between the US and China, two of the three largest WTO members, is currently largely managed outside WTO disciplines.

During MC12, Ministers committed to undertaking a major reform of the WTO looking into all aspects of its activities. This should reinforce its capacity to be a credible forum for negotiations and to monitor global trade policy developments. Reforming the WTO is an essential priority for the EU since it is key to ensure stability and to promote a rules-based approach to international trade. This is why the EU has played the leading role on WTO reform and intends to continue to do so as discussions advance in Geneva.

The EU plays an active role in the regular work of the WTO. This work is mainly carried out in the Councils and Committees tasked with the administration of various WTO agreements and with monitoring their implementation. Additional and important regular work in the WTO includes trade policy reviews as a central part of the surveillance of WTO members' trade policies.