Macron Calls for Comprehensive WTO Reforms

It is against this tense backdrop that ministers and business leaders from around the world gathered in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday for the annual Organisation for Economic Co-operation (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting, chaired by France, on the heels of which was held an informal meeting of global trade ministers – or “mini-ministerial” – that will conclude on Thursday 31 May.

Speaking at the forum, Secretary Ross gave the strongest indication yet that EU demands for a full exemption from Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs would not be met.

Discussions at the “mini-ministerial” were expected to echo the 8 May WTO General Council during which virulent exchanges were for the most part devoted to Section 232 and Section 301 concerns, as well as frustrations over the current Appellate Body impasse, rather than the post-Buenos Aires negotiating agenda.

In addition, a ministerial dialogue between the EU, US, and Japan is slated for Friday 1 June. This builds on a similar meeting held on the sidelines of the WTO ministerial in Argentina where trade ministers from these economies pledged to undertake “trilateral cooperation” aimed at getting rid of “unfair market distorting and protectionist practices by third countries,” with a firm eye on Beijing.

In a much anticipated keynote speech delivered by Emmanuel Macron at the OECD council meeting on Wednesday evening, the French President called for comprehensive reform of the WTO and a “complete update of global competition rules.”