World Trade Organization members on May 30 held the first formal dispute settlement reform meeting centered on appellate review and accessibility, the WTO announced. Mauritius' Usha Dwarka-Canabady, facilitator of the talks, said that she heard a "strong appreciation for the dispute settlement system" from most of the 46 delegations that shared their views during the discussion.

World Trade Organization members met on May 24 with a delegation from Uzbekistan to discuss the Central Asian nation joining the global trade body, the WTO announced. Members at the meeting highlighted areas where more work is needed, including on the completion of market access agreements. Jamshid Khodjaev, deputy prime minister of Uzbekistan, said his goal is for Uzbekistan to join the WTO by the 14th Ministerial Conference in 2026. The chair of the talks, South Korea's Yun Seong-deok, said the talks occurred just six months after the seventh meeting, demonstrating the "accelerated pace" of the discussions.

Qatar formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies May 22, bringing to 76 the total number of countries that have accepted the deal. The WTO requires 34 more to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for the agreement to be able to enter into effect.

The EU and Australia will implement recent World Trade Organization panel rulings that found the nations lost in their respective disputes, the countries said during the May 24 meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body. The EU dispute involved the bloc's measures on palm oil and biofuels from Malaysia, while Australia's dispute focused on Australian antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese imports.

World Trade Organization members of the Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology elected Lithuania's Raimondas Alisauskas the 2024 chair of the group and granted the World Intellectual Property Organization "observer status," the WTO announced.

The World Trade Organization's published agenda for the Dispute Settlement Body's May 24 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 also are expected from Indonesia on measures related to the import of horticultural products, animals and animal products; from the EU on measures affecting the approval and marketing of biotech products; and from China on AD measures on stainless steel products from Japan.

Mauritius formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies May 13, moving the total number of countries that have accepted the deal to 75. The WTO requires 35 more to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for the agreement to be able to enter into effect.

Cambodia formally accepted the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies May 6, moving the total number of countries that have accepted the deal to 73. The WTO requires 37 more to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for full acceptance of the agreement.

World Trade Organization members taking part in the Committee on Rules of Origin's April 29 meeting discussed ways to improve the "functioning of the committee" and use digital tools to "facilitate the work of delegates," the WTO said. Members discussed various measures to improve the committee, which included revamping the "rules of origin gateway page on the WTO website" by adding a guide for new delegates on the committee's work and an events page.

Australia, Japan and Singapore, the co-convenors of the e-commerce negotiations at the World Trade Organization, said during their April 22-25 talks that work will shift to the "final decision-making phase" during which members will focus on "domestic consultations and conduct political outreach to try to close the gaps on remaining issues," the WTO said.