World Trade Organisation (WTO) members have continued to show some restraint in introducing new trade-restrictive measures and have also adopted a record number of trade facilitation measures between October 2014 and October 2015, Director-General Roberto Azevedo’s yearly report on trade-related developments has shown.

However, the report, which was discussed at the meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB), on Wednesday, also raised concerns over the increase in the stockpile of trade-restrictive measures recorded since 2008.

In the period under review, the rate at which new trade-restrictive measures were introduced was stable, at roughly 15 new measures a month, comparable with the previous period.

Members also implemented 222 new trade-facilitating measures over this period or an average of almost 19 measures a month, the second-highest number since the beginning of the monitoring exercise in 2008.

Nevertheless, only 25%, or 642, of the restrictive measures recorded since October 2008 had been eliminated. Thus, the stockpile of restrictions had now risen to 2 557 as of October, up 17% from the previous period.

WTO deputy Director-General Yonov Frederick Agah, addressing the TPRB, said members should reflect on the central role of the multilateral trading system as a predictable and transparent framework helping members resist protectionist pressures.

He said the report encouraged members to consider the multilateral trading system's part in fostering a stable and inclusive platform for pursuing further multilateral trade liberalisation.

Further, he noted that the fact that 75% of all trade-restrictive measures implemented since 2008 were still in place was a key policy issue that had to be dealt with.

“The addition of new trade-restrictive measures, combined with a slow removal rate, remains a persistent concern. As noted in the mid-year monitoring report, the longer-term trend in the number of trade restrictive measures requires continued vigilance.

“Members must do more to resist the temptation to impose new trade restrictions, to eliminate existing trade restrictions and to contribute actively to enhancing transparency with regard to nonborder measures,” he said.

He pointed out that a second main development that emerged form the report was that members' compliance with the various transparency mechanisms in the WTO remained unsatisfactory. “This is not a new issue and, although we have seen important improvements – especially in the area of notifications from developing countries – a lot more work remains outstanding,” Agah maintained.

Regional trade agreements (RTAs) were another development, with 11 RTAs notified to the WTO during the period under review, compared with nine in the previous period.

In addition to their existing RTAs, most WTO members were actively negotiating new RTAs and a few have elicited recent interest as they were between several members rather than bilateral.

“Of course, much of this interest is owed to the fact that if these negotiations are brought to fruition, they will consolidate the existing bilateral preferential relationships that already exist among several parties.

“I think it is clear that we must continue the work to further deepen our understanding in this area to ensure that RTAs and the multilateral system can move forward together in the most effective way possible,” Agah stated.