Ministers from 164 member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) were negotiating intensively overnight on Thursday (16.06.2022) to achieve several fair outcomes at the XNUMXth Ministerial Conference.
It is the first meeting in nearly five years of the WTO's top body, whose members account for 98% of world trade.
What is being discussed?
The topics being discussed include food security and fisheries, as well as those related to the suspension of intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines, agricultural issues, e-commerce and reforms to the WTO itself.
Why is it difficult?
The problem is that all 164 members must agree for new global trade rules to be approved. This consensus-driven negotiating function means that only one member can block deals. This makes reaching a multilateral agreement extremely difficult. Since its establishment in 1995, the WTO has concluded only one new multilateral agreement, the Trade Facilitation Agreement, although it is very close to a second if negotiations on fishing subsidies can be concluded at this meeting as long as India does not continue to block negotiations to obtain additional concessions.
The WTO has never been more necessary than it is today. International trade is paralyzed by the supply chain crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and has been dealt a further blow by the parallel impact of global supply shortages of wheat, fertilizers and other grains, as well as rising energy prices. And all this is combined with chaotic policy responses and endless pandemic-related shipping problems. This The Organization has lowered its forecast for merchandise trade volume growth to 3% in 2022 from its previous prediction of 4,7% and to 3,4% in 2023.
Members of the 164 countries may disagree on many issues, but one thing is recognized: the Geneva-based WTO remains the only multilateral economic body with treaty-making power and has a secretariat capable of forging international cooperation on new issues, such as plastic pollution, as well as legacy issues, such as agricultural subsidies. The choice now is whether its members are prepared to overcome frustrations and reach constructive outcomes among themselves.
With information from WTO, Reuters and DW
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