Quo Vadis, World Trade Organization?

This research paper by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes the urgent need for reform within the World Trade Organization (WTO). It identifies systemic failures in the organization's negotiating function, dispute settlement system, and transparency mechanisms, while detailing the conflicting priorities of major member blocs and the potential pathways for institutional reform.

• The WTO's negotiating function is hindered by its consensus-driven nature, which allows a single member to block decisions. Since 1995, the organization has only concluded one new multilateral accord, the Trade Facilitation Agreement, leading to the emergence of 'coalitions of the willing' to address issues like the environment and e-commerce, though these plurilateral processes are contested by members who prefer focusing on the Doha Development Agenda.
• The WTO dispute settlement system has been crippled since 2019 because the United States has refused to appoint new members to the Appellate Body. While some members created the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Agreement (MPIA) as a temporary solution, most members still prefer a multilateral solution to restore the two-tier system.
• There is a significant lack of transparency and information sharing within WTO regular committees. Specifically, the Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Committee suffers from a lack of data on government support from members, a problem that affects both developing and developed countries.
• Member priorities for reform are deeply divided: the European Union focuses on sustainable development and modernization; the United States emphasizes transparency and the 'level playing field'; and the African Group, Cuba, and India prioritize the preservation of consensus-based decision-making and the unconditional rights of developing countries to special and differential treatment (SDT).
• The WTO has lowered its merchandise trade volume growth forecasts due to the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which caused supply shortages of wheat, fertilizer, and grains, alongside rising energy prices. The forecast for 2022 was reduced to 3% from 4.7%, and for 2023 to 3.4%.

APA

BarƬauskaitė, I., & Tipping, A. (2022). Quo Vadis, World Trade Organization? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/quo-vadis-world-trade-organization

Chicago

BarƬauskaitė, Ieva, and Alice Tipping. Quo Vadis, World Trade Organization? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/quo-vadis-world-trade-organization.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=BarƬauskaitė |first1=Ieva |last2=Tipping |first2=Alice |title=Quo Vadis, World Trade Organization? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=7 June 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/quo-vadis-world-trade-organization |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{barauskait2022quo, author = {BarƬauskaitė, Ieva and Tipping, Alice}, title = {{Quo Vadis, World Trade Organization?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/quo-vadis-world-trade-organization}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }