A Tariff Crisis Is Exactly the Right Time to Reform the WTO

“‘Liberation day,’ as US President Donald Trump triumphantly branded his tariff announcement on April 2, could deal a fatal blow to the already faltering international trading system governed by the World Trade Organization (WTO),” writes Hector Torres, in this op-ed first published by the Financial Times.

Built on the fundamental principles of “national treatment” and “most favoured nation,” the WTO was designed to provide predictability to trade, but Trump’s tariffs threaten to unravel this already diminished and outdated framework, Torres says, “turning a rules-based system into a chaotic web of bilateral deals. Yet amid the chaos lies an opportunity: the chance to finally push through long-overdue reforms that could modernize and revitalize global trade governance.”

“DeepSeek’s success marks a significant boost for China’s AI innovation. It shows that even in the face of US chip restrictions, Chinese companies can adopt innovative solutions to drive cost-effective development….What sets DeepSeek apart from other AI giants and start-ups in China? Before answering these questions, we need to explore what DeepSeek has actually done to achieve its breakthroughs in AI innovation.”

In this opinion, Alex He discusses two myths about DeepSeek’s success and then looks at the implications of DeepSeek’s innovations for the future of AI development.

“Canadians, with a cherished mythology as the world’s peacekeepers, are going to have to get used to a radically new outlook on national security and defence, one that pivots toward an unprecedented threat to our sovereignty. This threat is no longer confined to some distant set of authoritarian states, but now comes from our closest neighbour and long-time friend….Trump aides have advised Canadian officials, including visiting ‘Team Canada’ premiers and territorial leaders, that the president means what he says.”

In this op-ed co-published with The Walrus, Wesley Wark discusses the annexationist and imperial threats made against Canada in recent weeks, warning we are going to have to “work hard — and fast — if we want to avoid becoming Trump’s fifty-first state.”

How should Canada react? Wark says “it starts, where all strategic policy should start, with Canadian intelligence.”

The United States’ recent and potential tariffs on certain Canadian goods, energy and fertilizers raise significant questions about legal courses of action available to Canada.

In this op-ed, first published in French by the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, Bernard Colas explores the legal avenues Canada can use to challenge these measures under the World Trade Organization or the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. Colas argues that while the immediate impact of these actions might be limited, using the mechanisms available would provide several strategic advantages, including the “setting of important legal precedents for future trade disputes, helping to shape future international trade law.”