Reforming the World Trade Organization (WTO) has become a matter of survival for the global trade body, according to Petter Olberg, Norway’s ambassador to the WTO and facilitator of reform talks, ahead of the organization’s ministerial conference in Cameroon from March 26–29.
Olberg warned that the WTO, which oversees rules governing around 72% of global trade, faces deep structural and geopolitical challenges that threaten its relevance. Chief among them are the organization’s consensus-based decision-making system and a paralyzed dispute settlement mechanism, crippled by the United States continued blocking of judicial appointments since 2019.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Olberg said he will present a reform work plan in Yaounde for ministers to endorse, stressing that failure to act would put the organization’s future at risk. While discussions on reform have been ongoing for years and formally recognized in 2022, urgency has intensified following the return of US President Donald Trump, whose administration has imposed wide-ranging tariffs and questioned core WTO principles.
Concerns have also grown over recent US trade agreements that have not been notified to the WTO, raising questions about compliance with the most-favored nation (MFN) rule. Washington has described the MFN principle as increasingly unsuitable; a position Olberg called a “game-changer” for the multilateral trading system.
With broad agreement among members that change is necessary, Olberg said the coming ministerial conference represents a critical moment to restore confidence in the WTO and adapt it to today’s global trade realities.
