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The Ministry of Economy and Commerce has announced that Sheikh Ali Bin Al Waleed Al Thani, the director of Qatar’s World Trade Organization (WTO) Office, has been unanimously appointed as Chairman of the WTO’s Committee on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMS) with broad support from the organization’s member states.
 
Sheikh Ali Bin Al Waleed Al Thani chaired on Monday November 6, 2017 the TRIMS meeting at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva.
 
The meeting touched on the policies of some member states that imposed local content requirements in a number of investment fields, particularly in the energy and telecommunications sectors. Participants also reviewed comments on new or amended legislation in member states in accordance with the WTO provisions.
 
The TRIMS Committee oversees the implementation of the agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures, which was negotiated in Uruguay. The agreement stipulates that no member shall apply any measures that are prohibited in the provisions of Article III (National Treatment) or Article XI (Quantitative restrictions) of GATT as some investment measures can restrict or distort international trade.
 
This is the first time that a Qatari representative assumes the chairmanship of a committee at the WTO.