WTO reform urgent as global trade faces inflection point, status quo not sustainable: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

The World Trade Organization (WTO) needs urgent structural reform as the global trading system undergoes rapid economic and technological shifts, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said, warning that maintaining the current framework is no longer viable, AFP reported.Speaking in Geneva on Wednesday, Okonjo-Iweala said the global trade body and the broader multilateral system are at a decisive moment. “We are meeting today at an inflection point, not just for the WTO, but... for the multilateral system,” she said, adding that failure to preserve the global trading framework could trigger instability. “I don't think the status quo is an option,” she said.Reform is expected to be a central agenda item at the WTO ministerial meeting scheduled in Cameroon next month.The WTO, which governs large parts of global trade flows, has been facing operational challenges due to its consensus-based decision-making structure and a dispute settlement mechanism that has been weakened amid tensions with the United States. The organisation has also faced growing geopolitical pressures, which intensified after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year and trade tensions escalated.Okonjo-Iweala stressed that global institutions must evolve alongside rapid technological and economic transformation. “The world is moving so fast... If you look at the speed at which technology is moving, and AI is moving and quantum technologies are moving,” she said.“If your organisation doesn't adapt, then you'll be left behind,” she added.Highlighting the WTO’s role in providing trade certainty, she said the system continues to remain foundational despite growing challenges. “This organisation provides stability and predictability,” she said, adding that “in spite of all the knocks, it is still the bedrock for so much of world trade”.She cautioned that a breakdown of the multilateral trading framework would create widespread uncertainty for businesses and global commerce.“If we don't have this system, what does it mean? I'll be very honest with you: there'll be chaos,” she said.“It means a business will send goods somewhere without the knowledge of how those goods will be valued when it arrives at customs... you wouldn't know how your goods will be valued before you're tariffed. You wouldn't know whether you're going to make money or not.”“You'll be confronted when your goods arrive with rules that you were never aware of,” she added.