“The more than two-decade long conversation about how to modernize the WTO dispute settlement system has suddenly become urgent, which might be just what’s needed to spur reform.”
Oonagh E. Fitzgerald introducing the Modernizing the World Trade Organization essay series
Calls to reform the WTO have been growing steadily, but with the resignation of Director-General Roberto Azevêdo in 2020 uncertainty around the organization’s future came to a head. CIGI experts were out in front of the turmoil with an exhaustive review of the issues facing the trade body and of what a modern WTO should look like.
In her introduction to the essay series, Oonagh E. Fitzgerald suggested the WTO is “seemingly lacking the infrastructural resilience needed to weather today’s geopolitical storms.” Experts weighed in on issues around dispute settlement, digital trade and negotiating strategies for reform. The series has generated a lot of interest, with Debra Steger, Canada’s senior negotiator when the WTO was established, talking with the Canadian Press, and Rohinton P. Medhora interviewed by The Economic Times.