While 72% of global goods trade still takes place under the WTO’s most-favored-nation tariff terms, according to the report, that number stood at 80% two years ago, signaling a system under strain.
“The WTO remains an important force shaping world trade, but the economy it governs is now far more integrated, digital, multipolar, and complex than the one its rules were designed for, and the stakes of reform are high,” he said.
According to the report, there are four structural developments putting pressure on the global trading system: the changing distribution of economic power, the growing role of state intervention, the changing nature of trade — and geopolitics.
Governments are increasingly viewing trade through the lens of national and economic security, supply-chain concentration, access to critical technologies, resilience and dependence on geopolitical rivals, Staiger said.
The Geneva-based forum has been tested, particularly during the Trump administration, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff regime shreds the global trade rulebook and openly flouts WTO rules.
Digital dilemma
The weakening of the organization comes as members struggle to reform it.