The Evolving Dynamics of the WTO Reforms
In view of its antagonism to China as well as its dispute settlement record on lost cases, the Trump administration has little confidence in the World Trade Organisation. Regarding China, the U.S. may be right in saying that it has taken advantage of the WTO to boost its economy, which would have been done by any other smart country.

As a possible or perceived consequence, the U.S. has held up the appointment of judges in the WTO's dispute settlement body, which could lead to seizure of its dispute settlement system. After all, the dispute settlement system is what gives the WTO its reputation of being an effective multilateral body. Thus, there are calls for WTO reforms to look at the whole gamut of the WTO acquis.

This is because there is a broad consensus among many major members of the WTO that it is facing an institutional crisis and its ability to govern global trade is at stake. The need for urgent reforms is also recognised by the G20 countries, which unanimously agreed to discuss specific areas of reform at the WTO in its next meeting to be held at Buenos Aires in November 2018.
Furthermore, a group of trade ministers recently convened a meeting in Ottawa, Canada to discuss WTO reforms echoed similar sentiments by vouching  to protect and strengthen the dispute settlement system, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the WTO monitoring function and modernising rules to address new trade issues of the 21^st Century such as electronic commerce, investment facilitation.
 
However, it was surprising that neither the U.S. nor China or India were invited to this meeting. The European Union and Canada have tabled their blueprints on the modernisation of the WTO, which have been sharply criticised by the U.S. on their proposals on reforming the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism and India on proposed changes in the application of special and differential treatment provisions of the WTO agreements.

In short, it is a fact that the WTO confronts multi-dimensional challenges and each of them needs to be addressed systematically to protect and advance the rules-based global trade governance. The initiatives for improvement and reforms of the WTO will succeed if and only if diverse interests of countries at different stages of development are considered. The future rules on global trade governance should, therefore, provide adequate flexibilities for legitimate interests of all countries.

                                                                                                                                     Pradeep S. Mehta
 

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