A group of 66 member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed on March 28 to a provisional pathway for the Global Agreement on Electronic Commerce, which is currently 70 % complete.

The decision was announced in a statement during the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14), held in Yaoundé. In this regard, the provisional agreements “will facilitate the entry into force of the Agreement on Electronic Commerce while work continues on its formal incorporation into the WTO legal framework, a process that requires the full consensus of all Members of the organization.”

The initiative was supported by Australia, Japan, Singapore, Canada, China, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Costa Rica, Peru, the Philippines, Mauritius, Gambia, the European Union — which participates as a WTO Member — and Argentina, along with other participants in the plurilateral initiative.

The WTO stated that “the Agreement on Electronic Commerce establishes rules that legally recognize digital transactions, facilitate paperless electronic trade and payments, promote interoperability and digital trust, and seek to expand the participation of developing countries in the digital economy.”

The agreement will enter into force for WTO members that complete their internal procedures. After this process, and once ratified by at least 45 countries, “it will begin to be effectively implemented, benefiting businesses, consumers, and developing economies.”

M.Pino

Source: aduananews

(Reference image source: Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash)

Follow our news on Google! For current, interesting, and accurate information, click here to see all the content on Bitfinance.news. You can also find us on X/Twitter and Instagram

La entrada 66 WTO member countries sign Agreement for Global Digital Trade apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The World Trade Organization established the projections for world trade growth for 2024 and 2025, placing them at 2.7 % and 3 %, respectively.

According to the international institution, it has established the estimates taking into account destabilizing factors such as the increase in geopolitical tensions and economic policies, in addition to inflation and the reduction of interest rates in the different regions.

“World merchandise trade is set to rise by 2.7 % this year, after a 1.1 % decline in 2023, which would mean a recovery pace slightly higher than the 2.6 % projected last April by the World Trade Organization (WTO).”

On inflation, a factor that increases distrust in the world’s economies, the WTO stresses that by mid-2024 it had fallen enough “to allow central banks to begin lowering interest rates, adding that lower inflation should increase household real income and encourage consumer spending, while lower interest rates should increase business investment.”

However, it is forward-looking and warns that “divergent monetary policies among major economies could lead to financial volatility and changes in capital flows, as central banks reduce interest rates, which could make debt service more difficult, particularly for poorer economies.”

The organization is optimistic but alert, according to the director general of the WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, regarding possible setbacks that may arise from the worsening of regional wars, such as those in the Middle East.

She stressed that since the creation of the organization, three decades ago, per capita income in middle- and low-income economies has almost tripled, so in her opinion it is necessary to continue “working collectively to guarantee global economic stability and sustained growth, since they are essential to improve the well-being of people around the world.”

The WTO has detailed that the short-ter short-t m outlook for trade in services is more positive than for goods, “with an 8 % year-on-year growth in dollars in trade in commercial services during the first quarter of 2024.”

M.Pino

Source: americaeconomia

(Reference image source: Amira El Fohail en Unsplash)

Visit our news channel on Google News and follow us to get accurate, interesting information and stay up to date with everything. You can also see our daily content on Twitter and Instagram

La entrada WTO: world trade to grow 2.7 % in 2024 and 3 % in 2025 apareció primero en Bitfinance.

Venezuela entered the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, carried out by the World Trade Organization, according to the announcement by the country’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez.

The official highlighted that the votes in favor of this entry were achieved thanks to “the diplomatic effort led by President Nicolás Maduro. The result of this work was that as of June 11, 2024, the country formally entered into this agreement.”

With this important achievement, the country will benefit from a 14 % reduction in foreign trade management costs. This will result in important relief amid the sanctions that weigh on the nation.

The president, Nicolás Maduro, called on the productive sectors to continue with import substitution and increase exports.

During the announcement, Rodríguez highlighted that the pact “includes 120 countries, including the 27 of the European Union, also including Russia, China, Mexico, Argentina, Cuba and the United States, among others.”

The main objective of the International Trade Facilitation Agreement, which came into force on February 22, 2017, and applies only to the States that comprise it, is “to address obstacles to trade caused by bureaucratic border requirements.”

M.Pino

Source: laprensademonagas

(Reference image source: @CancilleriaVE, X)

Visit our news channel on Google News and follow us to get accurate, interesting information and stay up to date with everything. You can also see our daily content on Twitter and Instagram

La entrada Venezuela admitted to the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation apareció primero en Bitfinance.

According to the latest report by the World Tourism Organization (WTO), international tourism is on track to reach levels similar to pre-pandemic this year, recovering an impressive 88% of the volume recorded before the arrival of Covid-19 in 2023.

With around 1.3 billion international arrivals, unlocking accumulated demand, increasing air connectivity and recovering Asian markets and destinations are expected to drive a full recovery by the end of 2024, with an initial projected growth of 2% compared to 2019.

However, these projections are conditioned by the pace of recovery in Asia and the evolution of the current unfavourable economic and geopolitical situation, warns the WTO.

The current environment will continue to present challenges for the recovery of international tourism in 2024, highlighting the possible influence of factors such as inflation, high interest rates and volatile oil prices on transport and accommodation costs.

The UNWTO also warns about the staff shortfall faced by tourism companies to cope with growing demand, stressing the need to address this challenge in the sector.

K. Tovar

Source: 800noticias

(Image reference: Phil Mosley, Unsplash)

Visit our news channel on Google News and follow us to get accurate, interesting information and stay up to date with everything. You can also see our daily content on Twitter and Instagram

La entrada Tourism in 2024 will recover pre-pandemic levels apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced that global merchandise trade growth in volume this year will be just 0.8 %, which represents less than half of the initial April projection of 1.7 %. This drastic slowdown is attributed to rising geopolitical tensions and inflation.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala expressed concern about this slowdown and its impact on global living standards. In a statement, she warned that “the slowdown in trade expected for 2023 is worrying, as it has unfavorable effects on the standard of living of people around the world.”

According to the organization’s report, this slowdown began in the fourth quarter of 2022 and has led to the downward revision of business projections for this year. However, a more positive outlook remains for 2024, with trade growth forecast at 3.3 %, slightly higher than the 3.2 % previously forecast. Regarding real GDP, stable growth of 2.5 % is expected.

WTO chief economist Ralph Ossa noted that “positive growth in exports and imports should recover in 2024, but we must remain vigilant.”

The slowdown in merchandise trade affects numerous countries and sectors, including iron, steel, office and telecommunications equipment, textiles and clothing.

Despite the challenging outlook for this year, the WTO remains cautiously optimistic for 2024. However, it continues to warn of the potential negative impact of a split of global trade into two geopolitical blocs in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The director general of the WTO urges strengthening the global trading environment and avoid protectionism to avoid a “fragmentation of the global economy.”

K. Tovar

Source: Bancaynegocios

(Reference image source: Unsplash+)

Visit our news channel on Google News and follow us to get accurate, interesting information and stay up to date with everything. You can also see our daily content on Twitter and Instagram

La entrada World Merchandise Trade has grown less than expected apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) reported that world exports of intermediate goods (IG) continued to grow in the last quarter of 2021, registering a figure of around 21 %. However, its increase was lower than those registered in previous quarters of the same year, where 27 % and 47 % were registered for the third and second quarters, respectively.

Intermediate goods or IG is an indicator of the level of quality in supply chains and ranges from inputs used in food production to textiles and metals needed to produce goods.

On the other hand, manufacturing inputs called “Other industrial supplies” registered a year-on-year growth of around 31 % in the last quarter of 2021. These inputs include “metal structures, electrical conductors, medical and pharmaceutical products”.

While global exports of food and beverages reported a drop in the quarter, reporting a figure in the order of 23 % compared to the 28 % registered during the third quarter. The same behavior was shown by minerals and precious stones, which registered barely a 10 % growth compared to the 13 % and 40 % registered in the previous quarters.

China maintains IG export leadership

During the fourth quarter of last year, China ranked first among the countries with the largest IG exports in terms of value in the global market, registering some 418 billion dollars in the quarter, which maintains it as the leader of that global market.

Other countries with year-on-year growth were Belgium and the United Kingdom, which registered 39 % and 34 % respectively. Then Malaysia stands out with 28 %, “with three quarters of its national production inputs sent to Asian partners.”

The largest importing country of IGs was India with 42 % growth in the fourth quarter, while in value terms China and the United States obtained 439 billion dollars and 268 billion dollars respectively.

M. Rodríguez

Click the link to subscribe to our news and media group on Telegram: https://t.me/G_ELSUMARIO_Noticias

Source: finanzasdigital.com

La entrada World exports of intermediate goods grew by 21 % apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The US, Japan and the UE renew trilateral alliance. Their objective is to address “the global challenges posed by non-market policies and practices in third countries.

The agreement, reached by the United States Trade Representative, Katherine Tai; the Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce of Japan, Hagiuda Koichi, and the Vice President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, will allow the Trilateral partners to resume their work in the next few weeks.

“I am pleased to announce that the EU, the US and Japan will restart our trilateral partnership to address the global challenges posed by non-market policies and practices,” Dombrovskis announced through his profile on Twitter.

In this sense, the three partners have expressed their willingness to meet in person on the sidelines of the next Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva (Switzerland), which will take place on November 30 and December 3.

Source: dpa

La entrada The US, Japan and the UE renew trilateral alliance apareció primero en Bitfinance.