World Trade Report

The World Trade Report is an annual publication that aims to deepen understanding about trends in trade, trade policy issues and the multilateral trading system. The theme of this years Report is Trade policy commitments and contingency measures. The Report examines the range of contingency measures available in trade agreements and the role that these measures play. Also referred to as escape clauses or safety valves, these measures allow governments a certain degree of flexibility within their trade commitments and can be used to address circumstances that could not have been foreseen when a trade commitment was made. Contingency measures seek to strike a balance between commitments and flexibility. Too much flexibility may undermine the value of commitments, but too little may render the rules unsustainable. The tension between credible commitments and flexibility is often close to the surface during trade negotiations.