The Fifth review of the trade policies and practices of Sri Lanka takes place on 15 and 17 October 2025. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of Sri Lanka.

The new WTO Monthly Merchandise Trade Statistics interactive tool provides access to bilateral trade data for over 120 economies and more than 200 of their trading partners across 72 product categories. The tool, contained in the WTO's Tariff and Trade Data portal, is updated weekly and draws on statistics from Trade Data Monitor (TDM), which sources trade data from government offices and agencies across the world.

At a meeting of the Committee on Import Licensing on 10 October, the Chair reported on his efforts to work with members on improving transparency in licensing notification procedures. The Committee also reviewed 11 specific trade concerns raised by members, a very high number for a Committee meeting.

Members participating in the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP) on 10 October reviewed progress on key issues. They also spotlighted a

Women-led businesses in Jordan can now apply for grants and technical support through the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund. The initiative, jointly funded and managed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat and the International Trade Centre (ITC), aims to help women entrepreneurs strengthen their digital capabilities and expand into global markets.

Following exchanges on the 2025-2026 Work Plan for advancing gender equality in trade, members of the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender (IWG) met on 8 October to review a proposed implementation roadmap. The document will guide the group's work in the coming months, including initiatives linked to the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference. IWG members also welcomed Ambassador James Baxter of Australia as the Group's new co-chair.

At a meeting of the WTO's General Council on 6-7 October, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala once again underlined the need for fundamental reform of the organization but also highlighted that the WTO

Global merchandise trade outpaced expectations in the first half of 2025, driven by increased spending on AI-related products, a surge in North American imports ahead of tariff hikes, and strong trade among the rest of the world. In response, WTO economists raised the 2025 merchandise trade growth forecast to 2.4% (up from 0.9% in August). However, the 2026 projection has been lowered to 0.5% (from 1.8%). Global services exports growth is expected to slow from 6.8% in 2024 to 4.6% in 2025 and 4.4% in 2026.

The WTO Council for Trade in Services met on 2 and 3 October to discuss how to facilitate the recognition of professional qualifications to promote services trade and development. Members also considered the way forward for a proposal in support of least-developed countries and discussed various services trade concerns.

The Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) on 3 October reviewed recent initiatives in international fora aimed at empowering small businesses through trade and highlighted preparations for the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14). Several small businesses were showcased and participants shared experiences on helping companies transition from the informal economy.

At a meeting of the WTO’s General Council on 6-7 October, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala once again underlined the need for fundamental reform of the organization but also highlighted that the W...

The WTO Council for Trade in Services met on 2 and 3 October to discuss how to facilitate the recognition of professional qualifications to promote services trade and development. Members also considered the way forward for a proposal in support of least-developed countries and discussed various services trade concerns.

The Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) on 3 October reviewed recent initiatives in international fora aimed at empowering small businesses through trade and highlighted preparations for the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14). Several small businesses were showcased and participants shared experiences on helping companies transition from the informal economy.

Global merchandise trade outpaced expectations in the first half of 2025, driven by increased spending on AI-related products, a surge in North American imports ahead of tariff hikes, and strong trade among the rest of the world. In response, WTO economists raised the 2025 merchandise trade growth forecast to 2.4% (up from 0.9% in August). However, the 2026 projection has been lowered to 0.5% (from 1.8%). Global services exports growth is expected to slow from 6.8% in 2024 to 4.6% in 2025 and 4.4% in 2026.

WTO members participating in the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform (FFSR) initiative met on 2 October to share experiences on fiscal tools and programmes for subsidy reform, as well as on fossil fuel subsidies provided to emissions-intensive sectors. They also reviewed work on rolling back crisis-related energy support measures and enhancing transparency of fossil fuel subsidies.

<!--WTH:INSERT_OGINTRO-->At a meeting on 2 October, the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) advanced preparations for thematic discussions on critical and emerging technologies, good regulatory practices and metrology in trade to be held in November. WTO members also considered further refining their notification processes and the way their TBT measures are tracked in the ePing platform<!--/WTH:INSERT_OGINTRO-->

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On 2 October, the WTO circulated the panel report in the case brought by Indonesia in

Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala welcomed recent calls of support for the WTO and the multilateral trading system from world leaders and urged members to show the political will and flexibility to...

In remarks delivered to a visiting group of Chinese business entrepreneurs on 26 September, Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang underlined the continued importance of the WTO and the rules-based t...

More women entrepreneurs will be able to expand their digital and export skills following a new contribution from the Kingdom of Bahrain to a global fund set up to help expand opportunities for women-...

Speaking at the sixth meeting of the Working Party on Ethiopia’s accession to the WTO on 26 September, Ethiopia’s Minister of Trade and Regional Integration and Chief Trade Negotiator, Kassahun Gofe Balami, said that Ethiopia’s accession “has entered a decisive phase”. He also reaffirmed the country’s commitment to meeting the requirements for Ethiopia to join the WTO at the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in March 2026.

On 25 September 2025, the Dominican Republic notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 19 September 2025 a safeguard investigation on sweet and savoury biscuits of all kinds, industrially or mass-produced, and made primarily from wheat.