Att återuppliva det multilaterala handelssystemet: Uppmaning till handling

The multilateral trading system is under unprecedented strain, with the WTO at the centre of calls for decisive and long-overdue reform. However, the pace and trajectory of unilateral actions and rising trade barriers raise alarming prospects of accelerating systemic collapse. But this outcome is not inevitable.  

For the global business community, MC14 is a “lifesaver” opportunity to mobilise political will to salvage the rules-based system and, in doing so, secure the jobs, investment and growth that every economy depends on.  

Preserving and strengthening the WTO is not a theoretical exercise – it is an urgent priority for sustainable development and shared prosperity for people and communities around the world.  

At MC14, ministers have the opportunity to set their countries on a historic course of long-term competitiveness by launching a reform round that will revitalise global trade for a new generation. 

ICC is therefore urging ministers to: 

• Launch formal reform negotiations at MC14 with a concrete, time-bound work programme, prioritising cross-cutting systemic issues, such as plurilateral agreements, decision-making and special and differential treatment, to unblock other specific items (e.g., industrial subsidies, digital trade, services, agriculture, etc.). If consensus is elusive at MC14, a coalition of willing members should lead the way forward. 

• Define the reform negotiating agenda around business community priorities as stated in an ICC paper from 2023, including the creation of standing consultative mechanisms with business comparable to practices adopted in other international organisations and updating the rulebook. 

• Ensure structured private sector engagement as an integral part of the reform process, leveraging business expertise as the end-users of the trading system. 

• Explore creative “variable geometry” solutions, including differentiated membership types to accommodate diverse member positions while preserving systemic integrity. 

• Commit to a standstill on new trade-restrictive measures that violate WTO rules or improve a member’s position during reform negotiations. 

• Maintain the Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We are grateful to Hamid Mamdouh of King & Spalding for his valuable advice on WTO institutional and legal matters, which informed our work in developing this Call to Action.