The World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Safeguards has announced that the United States had notified it of the initiation of a safeguard investigation by the US International Trade Commission (USITC) on 13 July 2026 into imports of fresh, chilled and frozen lamb meat, following a request from the United States Trade Representative. The investigation will examine whether increased imports have caused, or threaten to cause, serious injury to the domestic lamb industry. The notification states that imports have risen in recent years and alleges that lower-priced imported lamb meat has resulted in lost sales, reduced revenue and market share for domestic producers, as well as business closures, job losses, lower capacity utilisation and reduced profitability. The request does not allege critical circumstances and does not identify unforeseen developments, although these may be considered later if required. The notification also sets out procedures for participation, including registration, written submissions and hearings, with the serious injury hearing scheduled for 16 October 2026 and, if necessary, a remedy hearing on 1 December 2026.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has outlined the processes which will be followed in the coming months to ensure that the dispute settlement system is fully and well-functioning by the end of 2024. There will be monthly Head of Departments (HoDs) meetings and thematic meetings among experts representing WTO members. The first HoDs meeting that is expected to take place on 30 May 2024, will be centred around appeal/review and accessibility and will be open to capital-based officials through remote access. Thematic meetings among experts representing WTO members will focus on technical work, including drafting texts and at least one of these will be open to remote access by capital-based officials. Members have further been invited to nominate experts to be co-conveners for a variety of areas of technical work in the process.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Negotiations Committee has announced plans for comprehensive institutional reforms ahead of the 14th Ministerial Conference in March 2026. The Director-General proposed establishing workstreams on dispute settlement reform, WTO agreement modernisation, and future trade rules development. The reform programme includes a three-phase approach: pre-conference scoping, ministerial guidance at MC14, and post-conference implementation. Ongoing negotiations continue in agriculture, fisheries subsidies, e-commerce, investment facilitation and development issues, with a July 2025 progress review planned to determine which items will proceed to MC14.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has reported strong engagement in early consultations on institutional reform, with members aiming to present structured proposals at the 14th Ministerial Conference in March 2026. The update, delivered on 22 July 2025, highlights progress on governance, fairness, and contemporary trade issues, with dispute settlement and digital trade also under discussion.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has published a panel report in a dispute brought by China against the US concerning domestic content conditions contained in the US’ clean energy tax incentives. The panel found that domestic content bonus credits provided under the US Inflation Reduction Act 2022 are inconsistent with several WTO agreements and that those credits nullified or impaired benefits accruing to China under the agreements. The panel also found that the measures are not justified under the public morals exception in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994. It recommended that the US withdraw the measures by 1 October 2026.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has published a panel report in a dispute brought by China challenging Türkiye's measures affecting imports of electric vehicles (EVs) and certain other vehicles, finding that Türkiye acted inconsistently with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) by imposing additional duties on EVs and certain hybrid vehicles that exceeded its tariff commitments and by operating an import permit licensing scheme that accorded imported EVs and externally rechargeable hybrid vehicles less favourable treatment than like domestic vehicles. The panel recommends that Türkiye bring its measures into conformity with its obligations under GATT 1994.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has published a panel report in a dispute brought by Indonesia challenging the EU's anti-dumping measures on imports of fatty acid, finding that the EU acted inconsistently with the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement by failing to use the correct exchange rate when calculating the dumping margin for certain export transactions and, as a consequence, by imposing anti-dumping duties exceeding the permissible margin. The panel found that the European Commission should have used the applicable exchange rate on the date of sale when converting currencies for 11 export transactions, resulting in an inflated dumping margin and correspondingly higher anti-dumping duties. It recommends that the EU bring its measures into conformity with its obligations under the Anti-Dumping Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994).

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has published a panel report in the case brought by Indonesia against the European Union concerning countervailing and anti-dumping duties imposed on stainless steel cold-rolled flat products (SSCRFP) from Indonesia. The panel found that the EU acted inconsistently with Article 1.1(a)(1) of the SCM Agreement by attributing Chinese financial contributions to Indonesia based on an 'inducement' theory, which was not supported by the closed list of government conduct defined in the Agreement. The panel also rejected the EU’s sector-wide classification of all Indonesian nickel ore mining companies as 'public bodies,' finding that the Commission relied too heavily on regulatory obligations and failed to assess the core characteristics and government relationships of individual entities.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has circulated a panel report finding that certain European Union measures concerning palm oil and oil palm crop-based biofuels violate international trade rules. The panel determined that the EU's high ILUC-risk cap and phase-out measures were inconsistent with provisions of the TBT Agreement and GATT 1994, citing the EU's failure to conduct timely data reviews and deficiencies in low ILUC-risk criteria implementation. Additionally, the panel ruled that France's TIRIB measure discriminated against palm oil-based biofuels in violation of GATT 1994. While some measures were found to fall under GATT Article XX exceptions, their administration was deemed arbitrary or unjustifiably discriminatory.

A person is a WTO Proprietor where he or she is a national of, or is domiciled in, a country which is a member of the World Trade Organisation or he has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in such a country.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has published its 2024 Annual Report, which details the activities of the WTO in 2023 to early 2024. The Report also highlights key events over this period, such as the 13th Ministerial Conference, and how the WTO addressed the challenges and opportunities in world trade.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has published its 2024 Trade Monitoring Update. It shows WTO members continue to introduce more trade-facilitating measures than trade-restricting measures on goods, signalling their commitment to keep trade flowing despite geopolitical uncertainties. During the review period from mid-October 2023 to mid-May 2024, members implemented 169 trade-facilitating measures and 99 trade-restricting measures on goods imports and exports. However, there was a rapid increase in industrial policy subsidies, particularly related to climate change and national security areas. The trade coverage of the facilitating measures was estimated at $1.2tn, up from the previous report, while restricting measures covered $433.6bn in trade. The number of new anti-dumping investigations increased after years of decline, with G20 economies initiating most cases. In services, most new measures aimed to facilitate trade through liberalisation or improved regulations. The stockpile of import restrictions in force has grown steadily since 2009, now covering an estimated 9.7% of world imports valued at $2.2tn.