The World Trade Organization on July 24 elected the United Arab Emirates' foreign trade minister, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, chairperson for the 13th Ministerial Conference. The ministerial conference will take place Feb. 26-29 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

The U.S. and India formally submitted their bids to end five disputes at the World Trade Organization, including a dispute surrounding India's retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods due to the Section 232 steel and aluminum duties. India and the U.S. told the WTO that mutually agreed to solutions were reached in India's disputes against U.S. countervailing duties on hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from India, measures on the renewable energy sector and Section 232 duties on steel and aluminum products. Solutions were also reached in the U.S. objection to India's measures on solar cells and modules and export-related restrictions. The deal to drop the cases was struck during a visit from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House in June (see 2306230038).

The World Trade Organization's published agenda for the Dispute Settlement Body's July 28 meeting includes U.S. status reports on the implementation of DSB recommendations on antidumping measures on certain hot-rolled steel products from Japan; antidumping and countervailing measures on large residential washers from South Korea; certain methodologies and their application to antidumping proceedings involving China; and Section 110(5) of the U.S. Copyright Act. Status reports are also expected from Indonesia on measures related to the import of horticultural products, animals and animal products, and from the EU on measures affecting the approval and marketing of biotech products.

Peru formally accepted the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on July 19, becoming the 14th nation to do so, the WTO announced. The deal, which would impose rules to crack down on subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, requires a two-thirds majority for ratification. "Peru's status as one of the leading marine fishing producers is a strong signal of the importance of the Agreement for global fisheries sustainability," WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said. Peru's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ana Cecilia Gervasi Diaz said the country is "honoured to be the first Latin American member" to accept the deal, and hopes it convinces "the rest of the membership towards a prompt entry into force of this Agreement.”

During the fourth in a series of "Fish Weeks," World Trade Organization talks on the second wave of fisheries subsidies negotiations, members increased their sense of "urgency" ahead of the text-based talks set to occur at the 13th Ministerial Conference in February, the WTO said. Iceland's Einar Gunnarsson, who chaired the July 10-14 meetings, said members' "came to this week with deepened reflections on various ideas on the proposals and texts on the table. This effort remains a real indication of the sense of urgency and seriousness with which we are approaching this process." Gunnarsson said text-based talks need to start "as soon as we come back in the fall."

The fourth "Fish Week" negotiations on fisheries subsidies opened at the World Trade Organization July 10 with the chair, Iceland's Einar Gunnarsson, fielding members' views on what parts from various proposals submitted by different countries would form the basis of the text-based talks in the fall, according to the WTO. Members are aiming to reach an agreement at the 13th Ministerial Conference set for February. The WTO will hold a July 19 meeting to discuss the "technical work related to the operation of the future Committee on Fisheries Subsidies," which will be established when the original fisheries deal, struck at MC12, comes into force. WTO Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard said "now is the right time to deepen the discussions and identify elements and approaches for the starting point of text-based negotiations in the fall."

The European Commission on July 7 opened a consultation on the use of its enforcement regulation in a World Trade Organization dispute on Indonesia's export restrictions on nickel. The move follows Indonesia's appeal of a WTO dispute panel ruling favorable to the EU. Due to the lack of a functioning Appellate Body, all appeals at the WTO are in limbo.

World Trade Organization members concluded negotiations July 6 on an Agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD). The IFD seeks to facilitate foreign direct investment, particularly in developing nations, by "making rules transparent, streamlining investment procedures, and improving the relationship between investors and administrations," the European Commission said.

Many export restrictions on food, feed and fertilizers remain in place despite "substantially more trade-facilitating than trade-restrictive measures" that were introduced on goods from October to May, the World Trade Organization said in its Trade Monitoring Report on G-20 trade measures. Sixty-three export restrictions remained on food, feed and fertilizers, down from the 1,010 that had been imposed since the start of the war in Ukraine. The report, issued July 4, said the war in Ukraine, post-COVID-19 effects, extreme weather, and high food and energy prices are causing continued uncertainty in global trade.

Japan formally accepted the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies deal, which imposes restrictions on subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Japan's pushes the number of acceptances to more than a third of the two-thirds majority needed for ratification, the WTO said July 4.