World Trade Organization members elected Argentina's Gustavo Nerio Lunazzi the new chair of the Council for Trade in Goods, the WTO announced.

World Trade Organization members confirmed the appointment of Nigeria's Adamu Mohammed Abdulhamid to serve as chair of the special session of the Council for Trade in Services, the council's "negotiating arm," the WTO announced. Abdulhamid will lead discussions to achieve a "progressively higher level of liberalization, as reflected in members' specific commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services," it said.

Moldova formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on April 8, bringing the number of countries that have accepted the deal to 96. The WTO needs 15 more countries to accept to get to two-thirds of the membership, the threshold for the agreement to take effect.

China opened a dispute at the World Trade Organization on April 8 on the U.S. reciprocal tariffs, claiming that the duties violate the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, the Agreement on Customs Valuation and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. China's challenge covers the 34% additional tariff on Chinese imports that is set to take effect April 9, along with the 10% duty on imports from all trading partners, which took effect on April 5.

Canada filed a dispute consultation request with the U.S. at the World Trade Organization on April 7, alleging that the U.S. government's 25% additional tariff on automobiles and automobile parts violate WTO obligations. The request said the duties "appear to be inconsistent with" U.S. obligations under Articles II and VIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.

Antigua and Barbuda formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on April 3, bringing the number of countries that have accepted the deal to 95. The WTO needs 16 more countries to accept to get to two-thirds of the membership, the threshold for the agreement to take effect.

World Trade Organization members on April 1 appointed Pakistan's Ali Sarfraz Hussain the new head of the Committee on Agriculture in a special session, the WTO announced. Hussain will lead agriculture talks with the goal of achieving a "meaningful outcome" at the 14th Ministerial Conference, which is set for March 26-29, 2026, the WTO said. Hussain takes over for Turkey's Alparslan Alcarsoy. The new chair will also head the Committee on Agriculture's special session subcommittee on cotton and will meet with "delegations and group coordinators over the coming days." After these meetings, Hussain said he will invite members to an informal special session meeting and dedicated sessions on "public food stockholding and the 'special safeguard mechanism' in the third week of April."

Costa Rica and Albania edged closer to acceding to the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Government Procurement after members of the Committee on Government Procurement "welcomed the market access offers recently submitted" by the two nations, the WTO said. During a March 26 meeting of the committee, WTO members acknowledged the final market access offers from Costa Rica and Albania, which were submitted in January. WTO members also agreed to boost access to historical government procurement agreement documents.

The U.S. has halted contributions to the World Trade Organization, Reuters reported. The global trade body has a $232.06 million annual budget, 11% of which is set to come from the U.S. based on a fee system that requires payment proportionate to a member country's share of global trade, the report said. A U.S. delegate reportedly told the WTO that payments for 2024 and 2025 are on hold pending a review of contributions to international organizations.

Canada requested dispute consultations at the World Trade Organization with China regarding Chinese duties on Canadian agricultural and fishery products, the WTO announced on March 24. Canada alleged that the measures violate the WTO's Understanding on the Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.