December 15, 2021

he spread of the new coronavirus variant has sparked the postponement of a major gathering of the world’s top trade officials. But it has not quelled the quest for substantive reforms to the lumbering and ineffective World Trade Organization.

The meeting of trade ministers at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva was slated for Nov. 30 through Dec. 3 just as news broke about the omicron COVID variant. The WTO is considering rescheduling the meeting of top-level trade officials from around the globe to early March.

U.S. industries are hopeful that governments will use the interregnum to map out reforms that go deep and wide — well beyond a bureaucratic facelift for a global institution whose mission is the monitoring of trade between nations and the policing of those that flout the rules. Many hope to finally turn the WTO into the effective organization it was always intended to be, one that promotes the freest trade possible between nations.

It’s a prospect that has tremendous implications for U.S workers and industries, some of which have fallen victim to unfair trade practices because of the WTO’s failures.

Improving the WTO is an enduring priority for many global leaders. Members of the G-7, a group representing the world’s wealthiest economies and liberal democracies, have long complained that the WTO averts its gaze from foreign subsidies that are skewing markets and damaging whole sectors of the economy. The G-7 is comprised of the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.K.

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