COMMENTARY / World

The death of the WTO has only been delayed

For the organization to recover its relevance, China and the U.S. both need to compromise

The World Trade Organization has been dead for years as a place for trade governance and for holding negotiations. | REUTERS

By Mihir Sharma
Bloomberg

Jun 29, 2022

That the World Trade Organization was able to come to any kind of deal at its 12th ministerial meeting this month was something of a miracle.

The organization has been dead for years as a location for trade governance — and even longer as a place for successful negotiations.

In fact, reports of the WTO’s continued existence are greatly exaggerated. Until the two most influential trading powers in the world — the United States and China — commit to reform, the organization will continue to decline into irrelevance.

The death of the WTO has only been delayed

For the organization to recover its relevance, China and the U.S. both need to compromise

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