- Trade & Market Access
ERT Position on WTO Reform
The WTO is fundamental as the backbone of the rules-based multilateral trade system and a guarantor for stability in trade relations.
As Europe and the wider world grapple with the slowdown in globalisation and increasingly volatile geopolitics, ERT stresses that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) must remain the core instrument for global trade rulemaking and dispute settlement.
WTO rules however need to keep up with today’s constantly evolving environment. They have to be modernised, in order to meet new challenges and continue to ensure free and fair competition for all businesses across all regions.
In this Position Paper, ERT outlines its recommendations for WTO reform, including:
- Save the WTO dispute settlement system on an urgent basis
- Revise and modernise the current WTO rules
- Modify and improve the WTO monitoring function
- Increase the flexibility of the WTO rule making function by facilitating plurilateral negotiations
- Set up a stakeholder advisory body at the WTO