めぼしい成果なく閉幕　紛争解決制度改革、年内実現目指す―ＷＴＯ閣僚会議

　【ロンドン時事】アラブ首長国連邦（ＵＡＥ）のアブダビで２月２６日から開かれた世界貿易機関（ＷＴＯ）の閣僚会議は３月２日未明、閣僚宣言を採択して閉幕した。一部の国の強硬な反対に遭うなどして、多くの分野でめぼしい成果に結びつく妥協点を見いだせなかった。機能不全に陥っている紛争解決制度改革を巡っては、年内の機能回復を目指すことを合意文書に明記した。
　ＷＴＯの意思決定は１６４の加盟国・地域による全会一致が原則。意見は割れ、主要な農業や漁業分野で成果実現に至らなかった。
　一方、閣僚宣言では、地政学的緊張などを背景に世界各地で保護主義的な政策が見られる中、ＷＴＯの機能強化に向け、改革継続を再確認した。アプリや音楽配信サービスなど電子商取引での関税を課さない措置に関し、次回会合まで延長することで合意。ただ、次回以降の延長はしない。（2024/03/02-09:18）

A ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization that started Monday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, ended Saturday without notable results, as participants failed to find a compromise in many areas partly due to strong opposition from some countries.
   The ministers, however, adopted a statement in which they vowed to pursue efforts to restore dispute settlement system functions of the WTO by the end of this year.
   For WTO decision-making, unanimous agreement among 164 member countries and regions is required in principle. In the latest ministerial meeting, opinions were divided and achievements were not realized in key areas of negotiations such as agriculture and fisheries.
   Meanwhile, a ministerial declaration was adopted, with the member economies reaffirming the continuation of reforms to strengthen the functions of the WTO at a time when protectionist policies are emerging in various parts of the world against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions.
   The ministers agreed to extend until their next meeting, which will be held in Cameroon in 2026, measures not to impose tariffs on e-commerce, such as apps and music distribution services. But the measures will not be extended beyond the next conference.