Institutional reform is at the heart of the debate leading up to the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), scheduled for March 2026. After three decades of operation, the multilateral trading system faces increasing pressures stemming from geopolitical tensions, industrial policies, technological transformations, and global challenges such as climate change—factors that call into question the effectiveness of the current rules.
In this context, this Tuesday (March 17, 2026) the The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) warned in its new Global Trade Update – March 2026 report that “a stable and predictable multilateral trading system is essential for global economic growth and sustainable development.”
The organization—whose mandate is to promote economic and trade development, with a special emphasis on developing countries—notes that the rules of international trade have become increasingly unpredictable due to the rise in discriminatory measures, such as tariffs, investment controls, and technological restrictions adopted by major economies. This trend—illustrated in the following graph—particularly impacts developing countries, which depend on stable access to international markets to sustain their growth strategies. These include Latin American countries considered developing economies, such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, among others. Although they exhibit disparate levels of income, services, and productive activities, none are internationally classified as developed countries, placing the region at an intermediate stage of economic growth.
Trade as an engine of development
According to UNCTAD, international trade remains a pillar of economic development by facilitating investment, technology transfer, and job creation. In particular, South-South trade is gaining prominence within the global economy.
South-South trade is defined as the exchange of goods, services, and technical resources between developing countries —primarily from Latin America, Africa and Asia—, also known as the Global South.
“South-South trade represents an increasingly large part of global trade.” Its share rose from 17% of global trade in 2005 to 28% in 2021, and since 2019, its value has increased by nearly 50%. Latin America saw growth of approximately 45%, while South Asia and East Asia exceeded 65%.
According to UNCTAD, “open and rules-based trade is essential for rapidly growing developing economies to share their expansion with other developing economies,” thus contributing to a more resilient and inclusive trading system.
Reforms needed to preserve the multilateral system
The report argues that WTO reform must prioritize Three central pillars: restoring predictability to market access, strengthening special and differential treatment for developing countries, and fully reactivating the dispute settlement system, weakened after the paralysis of the Appeals Body.
“Rules-based trade allows commitments to be binding regardless of the economic size of countries,” UNCTAD emphasizes, highlighting that this mechanism is fundamental to balancing the asymmetries between large and small economies.
The organization also warns that emerging sectors such as services, digital trade, and the green transition will define future growth, so clearer multilateral rules will be key to preventing developing countries from being left out of these new opportunities.
Looking ahead to CM14, UNCTAD concludes that keeping development at the heart of trade reform will be crucial to preserving the relevance of multilateralism and ensuring that trade continues to be an engine of inclusive and sustainable growth in the coming decades.
◼Download the full report «Global Trade Update (March 2026): Reforming trade rules to drive development (UNCTAD/DITC/INF/2026/3), 17 Mar 2026 «https://unctad.org/publication/global-trade-update-march-2026-reforming-trade-rules-drive-development
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