Deputy Director General World Trade Organization (wto) the Wto: Present Challenges and Perspectives Bbl Seminar 31 Rieti Highlight 2010 Special Edition

drop in trade. For now, we know that the drop was caused by the contraction of economic activity around the world, thus leading to less demand and less trade. Trade financing dried up very quickly, as did most of the credit around the world. Banks, in their preoccupation to not be seen as exposed in terms of liability, were forced to cut back on trade financing, even though letters of credit are virtually risk free. In spite of the crisis, many countries have in fact liberalized their trade, for example Malaysia, Mexico and Canada. Many countries are also continuing to conclude FTAs, thus opening more of the markets to trade. But, measures that restrict trade have also been applied, though not at the level of past crises, like the depression of the 1930s. The WTO began issuing quarterly reports on trade measures at the beginning of the crisis, mainly drawing on information from the press. Although governments were not happy to be exposed, they soon saw the value of having nearly complete and up-to-date information of trade measures around the world. Other sources include the OECD, UNCTAD and the Global Trade Alert (globaltradealert.com). There are reasons to be concerned with the trade measures applied in this crisis. Most of the measures applied are foreseen in the agreements of the WTO. These include antidumping, countervailing duties, subsidies, safeguards, sanitary/phytosanitary regulations, standards, etc. The The state of trade and trade policy responses to the current crisis Trade last year fell by 12% in volume, which is huge, and in a synchronized manner around the world, which shows the integration of economies and the production chains. Economists will, in the future, look at the facts and the sequencing that determined the impact of this crisis and the At our recent RIETI BBL seminar, Alejandro Jara, Deputy Director General of WTO, discussed the state of trade and trade policy responses to the current crisis. Although many countries continue to conclude free trade agreements (FTAs), measures that restrict trade have also been applied. Also, despite rumors to the contrary, Mr. Jara says that the Doha Round is still active and moving forward, although slowly, as negotiating a multilateral trade agreement is fundamentally different from a bilateral trade agreement. Mr. Jara offers some proposals for concluding the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), as doing so is essential for enhancing competitiveness, innovation, and facilitating job creation. BBL Seminar