News

In accordance with the decision made by the General Council of the World Trade Organization, Lithuania’s Permanent Representative to the WTO Raimondas Ališauskas was elected as a chairman of the Committee on Balance of Payments Restrictions.

All the 153 members of the organisation approved of this decision on 22 February in Geneva.

Lithuania’s Permanent Representative was appointed to this post for a period of one year. Such confidence of the WTO members in the Lithuanian diplomat has been demonstrated for a second year in a row, as R.Ališauskas is chairing the Subsidies and Countervailing Duties Committee from spring 2009 until May this year.

The rules of the World Trade Organization allow countries with serious financial and economic problems to temporarily apply restrictions on the trade of goods and services. Such actions by the governments of individual countries have to be approved by the Committee on Balance of Payments Restrictions, which would analyze the situation of a specific country and would also refer to a detailed report of the International Monetary Fund.

Some countries sought to solve the problems, caused by the global financial crisis, through trade restrictions. Therefore, the significance of the Committee on Balance of Payments Restrictions has recently increased dramatically.

Lithuania has been member of the World Trade Organization since 31 May 2001. From the beginning of Lithuania’s membership in the organization, Lithuania’s Permanent Representative will chair one of the WTO committees for the third time. The chairmanship usually lasts for one year. The chairmen of the Committees are elected in compliance with the principle of consensus from high-ranking diplomats working in Geneva, with regard to their professional skills and the principles of geographic proportionality of representation. Besides the Lithuanian official, another EU representative is appointed to chair a WTO Committee.