WTO | 2026 News objects

The Secretariat report lists 51 commerce considerations raised within the CMA which have been reported as resolved or partially resolved by at the least one member elevating the priority. This represents 35.2% of the 145 commerce considerations raised within the committee between April 1995 and March 2026. Of the 51 commerce considerations listed, 34 are recorded as resolved and 17 as partially resolved. These outcomes are based mostly on data offered by 16 members.

The data from the report will even be mirrored shortly within the WTO’s Trade Concerns Database. At its final assembly in March, the CMA adopted a decision on recording the resolution of trade concerns, beneath which the Secretariat was directed to keep up a document of all commerce considerations raised within the CMA the place members have indicated that the considerations have been resolved or partially resolved. 

The CMA Chair, Luis Oña-Garcés (Ecuador), invited members that haven’t but responded to the request for details about the decision of considerations, in addition to those that have extra data to share, to contact the Secretariat in order that data concerning their commerce considerations is correctly mirrored within the database.

Trade considerations

The committee additionally heard a presentation a couple of paper by the Secretariat which confirmed that the variety of commerce considerations within the CMA has been steadily rising, highlighting the worth members connect to discussing particular and systemic commerce points in a multilateral setting (see chart). The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was the WTO settlement cited most regularly in these discussions, significantly in relation to tariffs and quantitative restrictions.

Members mentioned 36 commerce considerations on the assembly, a document for a CMA assembly, of which eight have been raised for the primary time. 

The eight considerations associated to trade-restrictive measures on metal merchandise in Canada; alleged discriminatory clauses within the European Union’s proposed Industrial Accelerator Act and proposed Cybersecurity Act; Indonesia’s import regime for peanuts and pre-shipment inspection necessities for overseas halal merchandise; Türkiye’s import surveillance regime based mostly on unit-value thresholds; and the United Kingdom’s proposed modification of tariff concessions on metal merchandise in addition to trade-restrictive measures on metal merchandise.

The full record of commerce considerations mentioned throughout the assembly is out there here.

Work associated to the Harmonized System 

The CMA addressed a number of issues associated to the Harmonized System (HS), a world product classification system broadly used for customs issues, together with tariffs and commerce statistics. 

The committee thought-about seven sub-items associated to the transposition of WTO Schedules of Concessions to every of the newer variations of the HS nomenclature. This involved the HS1996, HS2002, HS2007, HS2012, HS2017 and HS2022 transposition work and consideration of a Secretariat status report summarizing the general state of play of the completely different transposition workouts for every WTO member.

A consultant of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Secretariat gave an replace on latest HS developments, briefing members on:

• the outcomes of the 78th session of the HS Committee, together with its consideration of the CMA proposal on menstrual merchandise;
• the HS Committee’s position throughout the WCO’s institutional construction; and
• the WCO’s technical help and capacity-building to assist members implement and apply the HS.

Improving and clarifying the tariff classification of menstrual merchandise was one of many subjects mentioned earlier by the CMA following a thematic session held in January 2026 proposed by Barbados and Canada. Noting the limitations of the HS on this respect, members had agreed to request the WCO to determine extra particular tariff codes for menstrual merchandise to allow a better monitoring of commerce in these merchandise and facilitate entry to them. 

At the assembly, the Chair reported that, on the request of the CMA, the WCO Harmonized System Committee had agreed to work in direction of enhancing the visibility and traceability of menstrual merchandise and agreed to contemplate a particular proposal in that sense later in 2026.

In relation to the opposite thematic areas being explored within the committee, members: 

• adopted an total abstract report on previous thematic classes on “greening” the HS and the linkages to the WTO to function a reference doc; and
• agreed to carry consultations on a set of doable actions proposed by the United Kingdom about how the CMA may react to a disruption to international commerce to make sure provide chain resilience.

Supporting the rules-based multilateral buying and selling system in a altering international trade

Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland as soon as once more made statements underlining their robust help for the rules-based multilateral buying and selling system amid rising international uncertainty. The 4 pressured the significance of transparency, well timed notifications and WTO reform, whereas reaffirming that the WTO stays the central framework for delivering predictability, stability and prosperity in international commerce.

Ten delegations took the ground to reply to the statements of the 4 co-sponsors.

Next assembly

The subsequent assembly of the Committee on Market Access is scheduled for 10-11 March 2027.