WTO considers reform of dispute settlement mechanism a “priority”

By: News Team

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WTO considers reform of dispute settlement mechanism a "priority"

The director-general of the World Trade Organization said on Monday that reforming the dispute settlement system is a “priority”.

Asked whether reforming the process would be one of the focal points of the rest of her mandate, which ends in 2025, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: “Absolutely. And I hope we can get there.”

He made these comments in his speech at the World Summit of Governments.

The WTO’s trade dispute arbitration system, which rules on major disagreements, has been stalled for more than two years because of Trump-era blockages on arbitrator appointments.

Under President Joe Biden, Washington has resisted calls from WTO members to approve the appointments and has instead been leading negotiations on how to restart the WTO’s dispute system.

The United States has criticized the alleged overreach and slowness of WTO processes and has vigorously challenged some of its recent rulings against the United States.

Washington is entering the third phase of talks with countries to reform the ailing arbitration system and aims to make it fully operational by the end of 2024.

“It’s not just the United States that has problems. Developing countries, especially the least developed countries, find it difficult and costly to access the system,” said Okonjo-Iweala.

On Monday, he also reiterated that world merchandise trade is expected to grow by 1% in 2023.

“There seems to be glimmers of hope on the horizon,” he said.

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