Restoring Multilateral Trade Cooperation

The document argues that the WTO is facing a systemic crisis due to the failure of the Doha Round and the rise of Mega-Preferential Trade Arrangements (MPTAs). It recommends terminating or suspending the Doha Round, finalizing the Trade Facilitation Agreement, and creating mechanisms to 'dock' plurilateral agreements into the WTO system to maintain the organization's central role. The authors emphasize the need for new leadership from both developed and emerging economies, particularly China, to align trade liberalization with development needs.

• The Doha Round is considered no longer viable and its continued existence hinders the pursuit of constructive alternatives. The authors recommend that the Round be terminated or, at minimum, suspended indefinitely.
• The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) is highlighted as a successful and innovative model for the WTO because it addresses 'behind the border' issues and links implementation to 'Aid for Trade' commitments and self-selection for Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
• To prevent the WTO from being bypassed, the authors propose 'docking' plurilateral agreements into the WTO system. This is intended to ensure consistency with existing WTO rules and subject these agreements to the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding.
• The document identifies a leadership vacuum in multilateral trade. While the U.S. previously led the GATT, current OECD members have lost focus on multilateral liberalization, and emerging economies have not yet stepped forward to fill this role.
• There is a fundamental conceptual divide regarding the relationship between trade liberalization and national development policies. The authors argue that meaningful multilateral negotiations cannot resume until a consensus is reached on this balance.
• The WTO should increase its role as a steward of the global trading system by more effectively monitoring and assessing Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) to identify trade and investment diversion.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2015). Restoring Multilateral Trade Cooperation. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2015-12-01-WTO-Restoring_Multilateral-Project_Recomendations_Final.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Restoring Multilateral Trade Cooperation. 2015. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2015-12-01-WTO-Restoring_Multilateral-Project_Recomendations_Final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Restoring Multilateral Trade Cooperation |date=1 December 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2015-12-01-WTO-Restoring_Multilateral-Project_Recomendations_Final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2015restoring, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Restoring Multilateral Trade Cooperation}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2015}, month = dec, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2015-12-01-WTO-Restoring_Multilateral-Project_Recomendations_Final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }