News and insights on WTO Technical Assistance programmes |
- Our LinkedIn profile has a new name
- Explore upcoming in-person activities
- E-Learning corner: New module on WTO trade and tariff data
- Round-Up: top news and highlights
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đź“ť Editor's note
Dear readers,
Starting with this September edition, the WTO Technical Assistance Newsletter will be published on a quarterly basis.
Each edition will bring together a selection of upcoming training opportunities, recent technical assistance activities and results, new learning resources, and relevant updates on WTO Technical Assistance. Our aim is to provide you with a concise and regular overview of what is coming up, what has recently taken place, and where to find further information and opportunities to engage.
If you are attending the WTO Public Forum, taking place from 15 to 17 September 2026 at the WTO Secretariat in Geneva, we invite you to visit the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) stand in the Atrium to learn more about WTO technical assistance activities, training programmes and resources.
We hope you find this new format useful and look forward to keeping you informed in the months ahead. |
📢Our LinkedIn profile has a new name
WTO e-Learning is now WTO Technical Assistance on LinkedIn.
Originally established with a focus on e-Learning, the LinkedIn page has increasingly reflected the wider range of WTO technical assistance and training activities, from workshops and trade policy courses to capacity-building programmes, partnerships and beneficiary experiences.
The new name better reflects this broader scope. The channel will continue to share learning opportunities, programme updates, results and experiences from across WTO TA. In doing so, it will keep Members, Observers and partners up to date on the wide range of activities and programmes offered by the ITTC to build trade-related capacity.
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You can follow WTO Technical Assistance here. |
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Explore upcoming activities this autumn |
Note: The above list reflects only the TA activities scheduled as of the publication date of this newsletter. For the most up-to-date schedule of TA activities, please consult TAMS regularly. |
📍 Geneva | 📅 14 September – 9 October 2026
Advanced Trade Policy Course: in-person component |
The Advanced Trade Policy Course (ATPC) will enter its four-week in-person phase at WTO headquarters in Geneva on 14 September. This is the first ATPC delivered under the new blended format, which combines live virtual sessions and guided self-study with face-to-face training. The virtual segment, held in June and July, brought together 60 participants, who are now taking part in two consecutive in-person segments in Geneva. The first will run from 14 September to 9 October, while the second is scheduled for November–December.
The in-person component places particular emphasis on case studies, practical exercises, simulations and group work, enabling participants to apply WTO rules and analytical tools to realistic trade-policy situations. The programme includes exercises on market access and WTO data sources, agriculture, SPS and TBT, trade remedies, TRIPS and dispute settlement, as well as dedicated discussions on trade in services, a multi-day trade negotiation simulation and a moot court. Participants will also engage directly with WTO experts and meetings in Geneva.
Following the Geneva component, participants will continue working on an individual assignment designed to translate the knowledge and experience gained during the course into practical action in their national context. |
📍 Geneva | 📅 23–25 September 2026
Workshop on Import Licensing and Notifications |
This activity will bring together government officials responsible for the preparation and coordination of import licensing notifications for a three-day specialist workshop in Geneva. The workshop is designed to strengthen participants’ understanding of the WTO Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, its notification requirements and the tools available to support Members in preparing and submitting notifications.
The programme combines presentations with practical exercises, hands-on drafting and experience sharing among Members. Participants will work with the WTO Import Licensing website and Notification Portal and practise preparing notifications based on mock legislation as well as their own national legislation.
Particular attention will be given to the annual questionnaire under Article 7.3, with participants preparing or updating a draft questionnaire and presenting their work to the group. |
📍 Geneva | 📅 12–16 October 2026
Services Trade Statistics Academy |
The WTO will host the first Services Trade Statistics Academy, a new inter-agency capacity-building initiative designed to help statistical compilers in developing economies implement the new Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services (MSITS 2026). This inaugural edition will focus primarily on participants from LDCs and bring together statisticians from central banks, national statistical offices and other government agencies involved in measuring trade in services.
The five-day programme will provide an in-depth introduction to the innovations introduced by MSITS 2026 and their practical application. Structured around the dimensions of “What”, “With”, “Who” and “How” services are traded, the Academy will cover statistical concepts, classifications, compilation guidance and approaches to data collection, helping participants produce more detailed and policy-relevant services trade statistics.
A strong emphasis will be placed on hands-on learning, with technical sessions complemented by practical exercises, quizzes, games and country experiences presented by experts involved in developing the new Manual. This first global Academy will be followed by a progressive roll-out of regional, subregional and national editions. |
E-Learning corner: New module on WTO trade and tariff data |
A new training module, Navigating the WTO Trade and Tariff Data Platform, is now available on the WTO e-Learning platform under the Tools and resources category.
The module provides a practical introduction to the WTO Trade and Tariff Data Platform, guiding learners through its main features and showing how to search for information, compare economies and access tariff and trade data relevant to their work. Through demonstrations and guided exploration, learners can become familiar with key functions such as profiles, reports and tariff-line data, and develop the skills needed to retrieve basic tariff and trade information more efficiently.
Access the new module here. |
Explore the WTO e-Learning Programme |
With over 180 online courses available in English, French and Spanish, the WTO e-Learning programme offers a comprehensive catalogue ranging from introductory courses on the WTO and its Multilateral Trade Agreements to advanced, topic-specific training.
Learners can study at their own pace, anytime, from anywhere.
The programme provides an engaging digital learning experience, combining multimedia content such as animations, interactive exercises, infographics, audio and visual materials, as well as quizzes, exams and live webinars with WTO experts. |
📍 Geneva | 📅 1–4 September 2026
Advanced workshop strengthens capacity on agriculture notifications |
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Government officials responsible for preparing and analysing notifications under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture took part in a four-day advanced workshop in Geneva. Delivered in the WTO’s three official languages with simultaneous interpretation, the activity focused on strengthening participants’ practical capacity to meet notification obligations relating to market access, domestic support, export competition and export restrictions.
The programme combined technical guidance with practical exercises, case studies, group work and hands-on use of the Agriculture Information Management System (AG IMS). Participants worked on tariff-rate quota and special agricultural safeguard notifications, domestic support tables and export competition notifications, while also exchanging national experiences and discussing the Committee on Agriculture’s review process.
The workshop concluded with a notifications clinic, giving participants the opportunity to discuss outstanding notification obligations and receive direct feedback from WTO experts on draft notifications and country-specific challenges. |
đź“Ť AsunciĂłn | đź“… 21-23 July 2026
Workshop on Trade Remedies |
Government officials and private-sector representatives took part in a three-day national workshop in AsunciĂłn focused on trade remedy investigations under WTO rules. The programme provided a practical overview of anti-dumping measures, countervailing measures and safeguards, including the conditions for their application, investigation procedures, due process requirements and the respective roles of investigating authorities and interested parties.
Participants worked through a detailed simulation on the calculation of dumping margins, including the determination of export price and normal value, and later examined the assessment of injury and causality.
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📍 Geneva | 📅 1–3 July 2026
WTO Chairs Programme Annual Conference strengthens links between research and policymaking |
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The 2026 WTO Chairs Programme Annual Conference brought together the global network of WTO Chairs in Geneva for three days of exchanges on how academic research and policy expertise can contribute to strengthening the multilateral trading system. Opening the conference, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called for deeper engagement between WTO Members and academics, research institutions and other stakeholders, stressing the growing importance of evidence-based analysis, fresh ideas and practical policy solutions in the context of geopolitical tensions, technological change, climate pressures and development challenges.
Discussions focused on WTO reform and the follow-up to MC14, the 2026 World Trade Report, digital trade, sustainability and development, as well as opportunities to deepen collaboration between the Chairs, WTO Members and the Secretariat. Regional and thematic breakout sessions also explored priorities for future research, training and outreach, while dedicated sessions examined synergies in curriculum development and teaching and ways to strengthen the impact of the Programme.
Since its launch in 2010, the WTO Chairs Programme has grown into a network of 39 academic institutions worldwide, supporting trade-related research, curriculum development and policy outreach and helping connect academic expertise with the practical needs of policymakers. |
📍 Dakar | 📅 1–2 July 2026
Workshop on WTO Databases |
Government officials took part in a two-day national workshop in Dakar aimed at strengthening their ability to access, interpret and use WTO trade data and databases. The programme covered a broad range of tools and information sources, including the WTO website and HS Tracker, services trade tools, the Integrated Database (IDB), the Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS), tariff analysis tools, I-TIP for non-tariff measures and the WTO database on regional trade agreements.
Delivered by WTO experts through a combination of presentations, demonstrations, practical exercises and Q&A sessions, the workshop helped participants develop a more practical understanding of how WTO data can be used to analyse international trade, tariffs, services, non-tariff measures and regional trade agreements. |
WTO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Coordinated and managed by ITTC |
A core function of the WTO, technical assistance and capacity-building activities seek to enhance professional and institutional trade capacities in developing and least-developed WTO member and observer governments. They provide beneficiaries with enhanced know-how to take full advantage of the opportunities from the rules-based multilateral trading system and address potential challenges. Within the WTO Secretariat, the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC) oversees these activities. |
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