Argentina, Costa Rica, Japan and the European Union are supporting a U.S. drive to enforce greater transparency in World Trade Organization notifications, a proposal published by the WTO showed on Friday.
The United States, which is pushing for tighter discipline at the WTO, surprised many diplomats last year with an initiative for administrative sanctions on countries that failed to file documents and notify subsidies and other policies.
The updated version, reflecting the outcome of discussions to broaden support for the U.S. proposal, includes some leniency for developing countries struggling with their obligations.