Reforming global trade rules is tough but doable: WTO chief
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[December 01, 2021] By
Emma Farge
GENEVA (Reuters) -The head of the World
Trade Organization stressed the importance of reforming the global trade
body to prevent further trade wars but warned it would be "very tough"
amid high geopolitical tensions.
The 27-year-old global trade body, under pressure to prove its
relevance, was due to have held a major ministerial meeting this week
and a plan to update the global trade rule book was among the key
topics.
However, it was postponed
https://www.reuters.com/business/
wto-postpones-major-meeting-over-covid-19-concerns-sources-2021-11-26
due to travel curbs linked to the COVID variant Omicron, further
dampening already dim hopes
https://www.reuters.com/world/
wto-postponement-significant-blow-possible-covid-vaccine-fishing-deals-2021-11-29
for progress.
Asked if the WTO was capable of reform, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in an
interview at the Reuters Next conference: "Absolutely. Whether it will
be easy to do is another thing."
"I think it will be very tough because of the lack of trust among
members."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Dec/01/images/ads/current/sirrennatea_sda_HFH_2021.png)
The WTO's top appeals chamber, the Appellate Body, has been disabled
since 2019 when the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump
blocked judge appointments.
Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters the WTO's dispute settlement system had to be
saved to prevent future trade wars, adding that Washington's "legitimate
concerns" about overreach needed to be addressed.
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![](../images/120121pics/busine45.jpg)
World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
speaks during an interview for Reuters Next, ahead of the 12th
Ministerial Conference (MC12), in Geneva, Switzerland, November 25,
2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Dec/01/images/ads/current/watkins_lda_HFH_2021.png)
Describing the current atmosphere as "fraught with geopolitical tensions", she
warned of the risk of the rules-based trade system being replaced by a
power-based system and said smaller countries would lose out the most from this.
"It’s absolutely important that we support multilateral trade and we don’t take
it for granted," she said.
Okonjo-Iweala, director-general since March, said she saw many opportunities for
the Geneva-based trade body, including in the area of climate change such as
through the development of a global carbon price.
From laying down the law on fossil fuel subsidies to promoting low-carbon supply
chains, there is no shortage of ways
https://www.reuters.com/business/
cop/big-climate-change-job-awaits-wto-if-it-can-step-up-2021-11-23 in which the
World Trade Organization could be at the forefront of the global fight against
climate change.
To watch the Reuters Next conference please register here: https://reutersevents.com/events/next
(Reporting by Emma FargeEditing by Bernadette Baum)
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