14 - WTO 2025: WTO Reform

Summary

Negotiations at the WTO have produced too few results during the more than quarter-century of the Organization’s history. Until some results were reached at MC12, most of the action had been among groups of like-minded members, either regionally outside the WTO or in open plurilateral agreements (OPAs) at the WTO, and these contain much of the promise for the Organization. Additional challenges require multilateral – that is, global – agreements: the pandemic, food security, and climate change among them. A breakthrough is needed to make the WTO a more productive venue for reaching new agreements.