By TIOL News Service

GENEVA, DEC 19, 2013: AS per the latest WTO-UNCTAD Report, in the past six months, most G-20 members have put in place new trade restrictions or measures that have the potential to restrict trade. A total of 116 new trade restrictive measures were identified since the last WTO report, up from 109 measures recorded for the previous seven-month period.

The WTO's trade monitoring shows that most G-20 members continue to put in place trade restrictive measures. The trend in the imposition of restrictions is upwards. Over the six-month review period, 116 new trade restrictive measures were implemented, up from 109 measures recorded for the previous seven-month period. Import restricting measures cover around 1.1% of G-20 merchandise imports and the equivalent of 0.9% of world merchandise imports. As was the case in previous periods, some G-20 members also took measures that facilitate trade, although fewer than in the previous period.

Moreover, the accumulation of trade restrictions continues; measures adopted since October 2008 cover today close to 5% of G-20 merchandise trade. Only around 20% of the total number of trade-restrictive measures taken since October 2008 has so far been eliminated, added the Report.

With respect to international investment, findings for this reporting period as well as for the five years since the Washington G-20 Summit in November 2008 are more encouraging. G-20 members have, for the most part, honoured their pledge not to introduce new restrictive policies. Most of the policy changes that governments have introduced tended to eliminate investment restrictions and to facilitate inward or outward investment. Some G-20 members have also reversed restrictions that they had introduced in earlier years.

Strong and continued leadership by the G-20 economies is crucial for the world trading system, in particular to move forward on the positive momentum generated by the adoption of the Bali package. The success in the WTO's 9th Ministerial Conference in Bali should not be the end of the road, but the beginning of the process towards conclusion of the Doha Round. The WTO must be reinforced and strengthened to help global trade liberalization continue and so that trade rules are updated to reflect issues of the 21st century, underlines the Report.