At a meeting of the WTO’s General Council on 6-7 October, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala once again underlined the need for fundamental reform of the organization but also highlighted that the WTO “provides important tools that are worth preserving.” The facilitator for the ongoing reform talks delivered his latest update report on the exchanges. WTO members also addressed current developments in global trade, ongoing work and initiatives, and other issues during their two-day meeting, while Saudi Arabia indicated its readiness to host the organization’s 15th Ministerial Conference.

The WTO Council for Trade in Services met on 2 and 3 October to discuss how to facilitate the recognition of professional qualifications to promote services trade and development. Members also considered the way forward for a proposal in support of least-developed countries and discussed various services trade concerns.

The Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) on 3 October reviewed recent initiatives in international fora aimed at empowering small businesses through trade and highlighted preparations for the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14). Several small businesses were showcased and participants shared experiences on helping companies transition from the informal economy.

Global merchandise trade outpaced expectations in the first half of 2025, driven by increased spending on AI-related products, a surge in North American imports ahead of tariff hikes, and strong trade among the rest of the world. In response, WTO economists raised the 2025 merchandise trade growth forecast to 2.4% (up from 0.9% in August). However, the 2026 projection has been lowered to 0.5% (from 1.8%). Global services exports growth is expected to slow from 6.8% in 2024 to 4.6% in 2025 and 4.4% in 2026.

WTO members participating in the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform (FFSR) initiative met on 2 October to share experiences on fiscal tools and programmes for subsidy reform, as well as on fossil fuel subsidies provided to emissions-intensive sectors. They also reviewed work on rolling back crisis-related energy support measures and enhancing transparency of fossil fuel subsidies.

<!--WTH:INSERT_OGINTRO-->At a meeting on 2 October, the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) advanced preparations for thematic discussions on critical and emerging technologies, good regulatory practices and metrology in trade to be held in November. WTO members also considered further refining their notification processes and the way their TBT measures are tracked in the ePing platform<!--/WTH:INSERT_OGINTRO-->

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On 2 October, the WTO circulated the panel report in the case brought by Indonesia in

Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala welcomed recent calls of support for the WTO and the multilateral trading system from world leaders and urged members to show the political will and flexibility to...

In remarks delivered to a visiting group of Chinese business entrepreneurs on 26 September, Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang underlined the continued importance of the WTO and the rules-based t...

More women entrepreneurs will be able to expand their digital and export skills following a new contribution from the Kingdom of Bahrain to a global fund set up to help expand opportunities for women-...

Speaking at the sixth meeting of the Working Party on Ethiopia’s accession to the WTO on 26 September, Ethiopia’s Minister of Trade and Regional Integration and Chief Trade Negotiator, Kassahun Gofe Balami, said that Ethiopia’s accession “has entered a decisive phase”. He also reaffirmed the country’s commitment to meeting the requirements for Ethiopia to join the WTO at the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in March 2026.

On 25 September 2025, the Dominican Republic notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 19 September 2025 a safeguard investigation on sweet and savoury biscuits of all kinds, industrially or mass-produced, and made primarily from wheat.

At a meeting of the WTO Committee on Agriculture on 25-26 September, members discussed key issues surrounding trade and food security. Led by chairperson Diego Alfieri of Brazil, the meeting provided members with the opportunity for a frank exchange of views on a range of topics.

The European Union notified its decision to appeal the panel report in the case brought by Indonesia in

The 2025 edition of the World Trade Report reveals that, with the right enabling policies, artificial intelligence (AI) could boost the value of cross-border flows of goods and services by nearly 40% ...

At a special General Council meeting on 15 September, WTO members celebrated the entry into force of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which commits members to curbing billions of dollars in a...

YouTube video by World Trade Organization

On 22 August the WTO circulated the panel report in the case brought by Indonesia in “European Union — Countervailing Duties on Imports of Biodiesel from Indonesia” (DS618).

The Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund, launched by the WTO Secretariat and the International Trade Centre (ITC) in 2024, announced on 14 August the first cohort of women-led micro, s...