The World Trade Organization (WTO) has reported that the Philippines notified the WTO Committee on Safeguards on 26 March 2026 of the initiation of a safeguard investigation into imports of certain types of rice. The investigation seeks to determine whether increased rice imports are causing or threatening to cause serious injury to the Philippines’ domestic industry. The notification states that interested parties have five days from publication of the notice to submit evidence and views. The Trade Remedies Office within the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture has been designated as the contact point for enquiries relating to the investigation.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has reported that the Russian Federation notified the WTO Committee on Safeguards on 14 May 2026 of the initiation of a safeguard investigation, launched on 7 May 2026, into certain motor car pneumatic tyres imported into the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. The notification sets out procedural timelines for interested parties, including a 25-day deadline from the date of initiation to apply for participant status, 45 days to request a public hearing and 60 days to submit written comments. The investigation is being conducted under the Protocol on Application of Safeguard, Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures with respect to Third Countries, with the Department for Internal Market Defence of the Eurasian Economic Commission acting as the point of contact.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has reported that the Russian Federation notified the WTO Committee on Safeguards on 9 September 2026 of the initiation, on 7 September 2026, of a safeguard investigation on certain flat steel products with polymer coating imported into the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. The notification sets out procedural timelines for interested parties and participants in the investigation, including a 25-day deadline from the date of initiation for interested parties to declare their intention to seek participant status, a 45-day deadline for participants in the investigation to request public hearings and a 60-day deadline for interested parties to submit written comments. The investigation is being conducted in accordance with the Protocol on Application of Safeguard, Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures with respect to Third Countries, with the Department for Internal Market Defence of the Eurasian Economic Commission acting as the point of contact.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has reported that South Africa notified the WTO Committee on Safeguards on 8 June 2026 of the initiation of a safeguard investigation into imports of A3 and A4 office paper into the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The investigation was launched on 5 June 2026 following an application by Mondi South Africa (Pty) Ltd, supported by Sappi Southern Africa Limited. The application alleges a sharp import increase between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2024, causing serious injury in the form of declining sales, output, net profit, market share and employment. Interested parties must register with the International Trade Administration Commission within 20 days of the date of initiation. The investigation will consider whether increased imports of A3 and A4 office paper are causing, or threatening to cause, serious injury to South Africa’s domestic industry.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has reported that South Africa notified the WTO Committee on Safeguards of the initiation of a safeguard investigation into imports of certain cold-rolled iron and steel products into the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The investigation was launched on 10 July 2026 following an application by ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd, which accounts for 100% of SACU production of the products concerned. Interested parties must submit comments or hearing requests to the Directorate: Trade Remedies II within 20 days of the investigation's initiation. The investigation will consider whether increased imports of certain cold-rolled products of iron and steel are causing serious injury to the SACU domestic industry.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has reported that the UK has notified the WTO Committee on Safeguards of the initiation of a safeguard investigation into imports of certain polyethylene terephthalate (PET) products. The Trade Remedies Authority, which is conducting the investigation, will consider whether it would be appropriate to impose a safeguard measure on PET imports into the UK. The investigation follows an application from ALPEK Polyester Limited alleging that increased import volumes have caused and are causing serious injury to UK PET producers. Interested parties may register their interest and submit comments through the Trade Remedies Service by 19 August 2026. They may also request a hearing through the same service.

The World Trade Organization (WTO), along with the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Bank, have published a report titled, 'Working Together for Better Climate Action: Carbon Pricing, Policy Spillovers, and Global Climate Goals'. The report explores the scope for coordinated approaches on climate action, carbon pricing, and policy spillovers.

The World Trade Organization has released its annual trade monitoring report, revealing a significant increase in trade-restrictive measures. The WTO has reported that new trade restrictions introduced by members covered USD 887.7bn worth of trade, a substantial rise from the previous year's USD 337.1bn. Despite a parallel increase in trade-facilitating measures, the WTO has warned of a growing stockpile of import restrictions affecting 11.8% of world imports. The organisation has also noted a rise in export restrictions and trade remedy initiations, alongside emerging evidence of trade fragmentation linked to geopolitical tensions.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has reviewed the safeguard notifications from 11 member countries received singe the WTO Committee on Safeguards' last meeting in April 2024. Members discussed the EU's and UK's safeguard measure on certain steel products, Viet Nam's safeguard measure on certain semi-finished and finished products of alloy and non-alloy steel, and Indonesia's safeguard measure on articles of apparel and clothing accessories. Indonesia's request regarding Türkiye's proposed suspension of concessions against its exports was also addressed. Representatives from Japan and Australia emphasised that these safeguards are emergency measures and members taking any safeguard actions must comply with relevant rules. In addition, the WTO Secretariat confirmed that a prototype online portal for safeguard notifications was ready for delegate testing. The next Committee on Safeguards meeting is scheduled for the week of 28 April 2025.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) revised its global merchandise trade growth forecast for 2025 to 2.4%, up from 0.9% in August 2025—while lowering its 2026 projection to 0.5% from 1.8%, according to the October 2025 update. AI-related goods, including semiconductors and telecommunications equipment, drove nearly half of the trade expansion in the first half of 2025, with a 20% year-on-year increase. WTO attributed this growth to the frontloading of North American imports ahead of planned tariff increases and noting that South-South trade grew 8% year-on-year. However, it warned that higher tariffs and ongoing trade policy uncertainty are likely to slow growth in 2026.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has announced arrangements for a dispute settlement arbitration hearing between the EU and US regarding anti-dumping and countervailing duties on ripe olives from Spain. The hearing is scheduled for 25-26 March 2025 in Geneva. The Arbitrator retains discretion to restrict public viewing to maintain confidentiality. The hearing will be conducted exclusively in English without interpretation services, and those who successfully register will be notified by 19 March 2025. Strict security and confidentiality protocols will be enforced, including prohibition of recording and mandatory identification checks for attendees. Proceedings will be accessible to registered members of the public via closed-circuit broadcast, with registration closing on 17 March 2025.

The World Trade Organization has announced that China has requested consultations with the United States regarding additional tariffs imposed on Chinese goods. China alleges that the 10% ad valorem duties, along with measures affecting drawback and duty-free de minimis treatment, violate US obligations under GATT 1994. The request for consultations marks the formal initiation of a WTO dispute, providing both parties 60 days to resolve the matter before China may seek panel adjudication.