The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced that the deadline for registering for a conference to mark the 30th anniversary of its Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) has been extended to 20 November 209.
The conference, to be held on 27 November 2019, will focus on the role of the TPRM in providing enhanced transparency, accountability and monitoring of the multilateral trading system.
The event will allow participants to exchange views on the achievements of the TPRM over the past 30 years in reviewing WTO members' trade policies and to discuss the challenges facing the mechanism. It will also be an opportunity to reflect on ten years of the WTO's role in monitoring trade policy trends across the WTO membership, which is also part of the TPRM mandate.
One of the main aims of the TPRM is to increase the transparency and understanding of WTO members' trade policies and practices through a regular review process. The mechanism constitutes an objective, independent evaluation of the trade and economic situation of individual members and acts as a forum where trade policies can be discussed, information sought, and concerns expressed.
The WTO also produces, on a regular basis, trade monitoring reports looking into trade-policy trends across the WTO membership. Launched in early 2009 following the outbreak of the global financial crisis, these WTO-wide trade monitoring reports have further strengthened the transparency objectives of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism.
Story by: Riaan de Lange
