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WTO Trade Policy Review programme for 2016
Surveillance of national trade policies is a fundamentally important activity running throughout the work of the WTO. At the centre of this work is the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM). All WTO members are reviewed, the frequency of each country’s review varying according to its share of world trade.
The reviews take place in the Trade Policy Review Body which is actually the WTO General Council – comprising the WTO’s full membership – operating under special rules and procedures. The reviews are therefore essentially peer-group assessments, although much of the factual leg-work is done by the WTO Secretariat.
What are Trade Policy Reviews?
Trade Policy Reviews analyse the trade policies and practices of every member of the World Trade Organization. As well as analysing by sector and by trade measure, the reports also look into the country’s wider economic environment.
The reviews consist of three main parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body following discussion of the review by the WTO membership.
A key trade facts section at the front of the review provides a handy visual overview of the country’s major exports/imports, its main export destinations, the main countries of origin for its imports and other key economic data.
The WTO has announced the schedule for the programme of Trade Policy Reviews for 2016:
Georgia | 19 and 21 January |
Morocco | 2 and 4 February |
Fiji | 23 and 25 February |
Turkey | 15 and 17 March |
Maldives | 21 and 23 March |
Saudi Arabia | 4 and 6 April |
Ukraine | 19 and 21 April |
Malawi | 27 and 29 April |
Honduras | 2 and 4 May |
Albania | 11 and 13 May |
United Arab Emirates | 1 and 3 June |
Democratic Rep. of Congo | 15 and 17 June |
Zambia | 21 and 23 June |
China | 5 and 7 July |
Tunisia | 13 and 15 July |
Singapore | 26 and 28 July |
El Salvador | 14 and 16 September |
Russian Federation | 28 and 30 September |
Rep. of Korea | 11 and 13 October [to be confirmed] |
Sri Lanka | 1 and 3 November |
Guatemala | 16 and 18 November |
Mozambique | 28 and 30 November |
Solomon Islands | 13 and 15 December |
United States | 19 and 21 December |