World government

The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has said global commerce was going through troubling times, with protectionism on the rise.

WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the future of trade lay in services, digitalisation and the green economy, in the global trade body's annual report.

The European Parliament is the most democratic of all our institutional bodies

A high-level WTO conference ended Saturday with a temporary extension of an e-commerce moratorium but no deals on agriculture and fisheries, throwing into doubt the effectiveness of the multilateral trade body.

The World Trade Organization Tuesday enshrined new rules facilitating trade in services between more than 70 member states, the European Union's trade commissioner said, despite initial objections from India and South Africa.

The set of rules will streamline authorisation requirements and ease procedural hurdles faced by businesses, according to a press release.

More than 120 WTO member states have finalised an agreement that aims to facilitate investment in developing countries by improving transparency and clearing bureaucratic hurdles, the global trade body said Sunday.

Beijing has asked the United States, Japan and the Netherlands to confirm the existence of an alleged agreement between the three countries to curb semiconductor exports to China, state media reported yesterday.

Beijing's representatives issued the request during a regular meeting this week at the World Trade Organization (WTO), according to a state television broadcast.

China has not adopted the rules of the World Trade Organization even after 20 years' membership, the United States said yesterday, adding that the world's second-biggest economy had "retained and expanded" its statist approach to the detriment of businesses and workers globally.

Brussels – Attending a session of the EU’s Trade Policy Council, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek discussed the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with his EU counterparts in Brussels on Thursday. Počivalšek said that Slovenia was ready to cooperate to affirm the importance of the WTO during its EU presidency.

The US election results brought great relief to the friends of American democracy (and liberal democracy in general) around the world. The election of an experienced, moderate, dignified, "institutional" new president, a decent man to boot, raises hopes in Europe.

US President Donald Trump revealed Monday night that the country is ready to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Trump said it would make the final decision by the end of this week.

The president noted that he was dissatisfied with the work of both organizations, claiming that his country had been "abused" by both.