The World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body met on April 26 and was introduced to the new facilitator of the dispute settlement reform talks: Mauritius's Usha Dwarka-Canabady, the WTO announced. The chair of the DSB, Norway's Petter Olberg, said that Dwarka-Canabady accepted the role on April 18 after the "convenor" of the reform process left.

South Africa on April 24 requested dispute consultations with the EU at the World Trade Organization concerning the bloc's regime on imports of South African citrus fruit, the WTO announced.

Turkey's Ambassador Alparslan Acarsoy, chair of the World Trade Organization's agriculture negotiations, said "fresh thinking" is needed to end the stagnation in current agriculture talks, the WTO said. Addressing the participating members of the ag negotiating body during the first meeting since the 13th Ministerial Conference, Acarsoy urged members not to ditch "past efforts" despite the disappointment felt after a deal was not struck at MC13.

A World Trade Organization dispute panel issued its report on Australia's dispute against Chinese antidumping and countervailing duties on Australian wine after the parties reached a mutually agreed solution to the case. Australia argued that China's AD/CVD violated numerous elements of both the Anti-Dumping Agreement and the Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreement. The parties told the dispute settlement body that they reached a settlement on March 29.

World Trade Organization members at the Committee on Trade Facilitation's April 16-17 meeting discussed using digital trade tools to "optimize the movement of goods across borders in line with the committee's decision to focus on this topic in 2024," the WTO announced.

World Trade Organization members, during an April 11 Committee on Trade and Development meeting, reviewed developments in regional trade agreements and ways to increase developing nations' role in the global trading system, the WTO announced. The committee noted that developing nations face challenges to participating in international trade, including "dependence on commodity exports and higher trade costs." The members addressed policy spaces for developing nations to boost industrial development, including under the WTO's framework of the Agreements on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, Trade-Related Investment Measures and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

The World Trade Organization's Committee on Regional Trade Agreements met April 8 to consider six regional trade agreements and discuss how to enhance the committee's functionality, the WTO announced. The committee chair, New Zealand's Clare Kelly, said that members agreed to include an "executive summary in the factual presentations, to be drafted and circulated under the responsibility of the Secretariat."

Turkey opened a safeguard investigation on ethyl acetate, the nation told the World Trade Organization's Committee on Safeguards, the WTO announced. Turkey opened the investigation April 6 and said interested parties must file a questionnaire response within 30 days from the start of the investigation.

Australia and China recently notified the World Trade Organization that they are ending their dispute involving Chinese antidumping and countervailing duties on wine from Australia (see 2310230060. The WTO circulated the notification to WTO members April 3, the trade body announced.

A World Trade Organization dispute panel found that certain elements of Australian antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings on wind towers, deep drawn stainless steel sinks and railway wheels from China violate WTO commitments. Issuing its findings March 26, the panel recommended that Australia bring its measures into conformity with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.