Despite the increasing complexity of negotiations and a membership with a wide range of different interests, new decisions are regularly achieved at the biennial ministerial conferences. The most recent agreements include some plurilateral agreements (i.e. with a group of WTO members) as well as agreements reached in the framework of the Doha Round.
Agreements concluded within the Doha Round
Plurilateral agreements concluded
Three major interim outcomes have been achieved to date in the course of the Doha Round. At the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali (3–7 December 2013), WTO members successfully concluded negotiations on the Agreement on Trade Facilitation (ATF). This was the first time since the WTO was founded in 1995 that members agreed on the content of a new multilateral agreement. The ATF clarifies and improves on certain provisions in relation to customs procedures and creates more transparency, predictability and legal certainty.
The second milestone was reached at the following ministerial conference in Nairobi (15–19 December 2015) with the decision to fully eliminate export subsidies. This key agricultural decision with a direct impact on Switzerland seeks to strengthen export competition by banning all export subsidies and restricting the subsidy options for other export support measures in relation to export financing, exporting state trading enterprises and international food aid. Moreover, additional transparency requirements for monitoring implementation of these provisions became mandatory.
The third milestone is the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, an outcome of the Twelfth Ministerial Conference in Geneva (12–17 June 2022) and a major step towards meeting UN Sustainable Development Goal 14.6. Once this agreement enters into force, the most harmful subsidies to ocean fisheries, e.g. for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and subsidies for fishing in stocks that are already overfished, will be prohibited. Subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing have been and still are under negotiation. Despite not being directly affected by this agreement, Switzerland has worked to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion and has adopted domestic regulations DE FR IT EN that go beyond those required by the agreement.
Expansion of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA II)
Revised Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA 2012)
The Information Technology Agreement (ITA) abolished customs duties on information technology (IT) products. It was originally signed by 29 members, including Switzerland, at the first WTO Ministerial Conference on 13 December 1996. In 2015, the number of participants grew to 82 and it now covers 97% of world trade in IT products. Tariff reductions benefit not only the participating countries but the entire WTO membership (MFN principle).
To reflect technological progress, Switzerland and 32 other participating members launched negotiations in June 2012 to expand the scope of products covered by the ITA.
At the Tenth WTO Ministerial Conference on 16 December 2015, 53 members concluded these negotiations and adopted a list of 200 IT products with associated tariff dismantling schedules. This agreement covers a trade volume of USD 1.3 trillion, accounting for around 10% of global trade in goods. These products are, for example, touch screens, GPS navigation systems, medical devices (e.g. pacemakers), telecommunications equipment (telecommunications satellites) and chemical and physical analysis instruments. The expansion of the Information Technology Agreement is the first tariff reduction agreement to be concluded in the WTO in 18 years. The ministerial declaration can be found below.
In order to fulfil public tasks, the state regularly purchases goods and services using public funds. This expenditure falls under public procurement. The Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) ensures equal access to public procurement markets abroad and promotes transparency. The fundamental objective of the GPA is to ensure equal access to public procurement markets.
The GPA is a plurilateral agreement with preferential treatment. This means that not all WTO members have signed the agreement, and only participating members can enjoy the preferences (unlike other plurilateral agreements which give all WTO members improved market access). There are currently 21 parties to the agreement, including Switzerland. With one party representing all 27 EU member states, the GPA thus covers 48 WTO members. Other WTO members, including China, Brazil and Russia, are in the process of joining the agreement.
The GPA, initially adopted in Marrakech on 15 April 1994, became part of the WTO set of rules once the WTO was established. It was revised in 2012 and came into force on 6 April 2014 for those parties that had ratified the agreement. For Switzerland, the revised GPA entered into force on 1 January 2021, in parallel with the revised Swiss legislation on public procurement.
The revised GPA expands the scope of market access for the parties based on the principle of reciprocity. The WTO Secretariat estimates that the additional market access created by the revised GPA is worth between USD 80 billion and USD 100 billion annually. The revised GPA also aims to improve international transparency and governance in government procurement. It strengthens efforts to combat abusive practices, e.g. in fighting corruption and preventing conflicts of interest. At the same time, it reflects technological change and also provides for the possibility of implementing environmental objectives. Like the 1994 GPA, the revised agreement is again based on the principles of non-discrimination and national treatment.
Revised WTO Agreement on Government Procurement DE FR IT
Last modification 09.03.2023
