WTO Members Intensify Substantive Discussions on Reform Ahead of 15th Ministerial
Conference
At a transparency session on 23 October, WTO members welcomed progress in
the WTO reform process and acknowledged a clear shift toward more substantive and
focused discussions. Ahead of the meeting, facilitators for the discussions on WTO
reform reported on their engagement with members during October on the four tracks
of reform: decision-making, foundational issues, development, and level playing
field.
·
WTO
members welcomed progress in reform discussions at the 23 October transparency session,
calling for more focused, issue-based negotiations across four key tracks: decision-making,
foundational issues, development and level playing field.
·
Members
supported detailed examination of specific issues, mapping areas of agreement and
ensuring that reform discussions remain transparent, balanced and member-driven.
·
Under
decision-making, proposals from China, India and the United Kingdom addressed flexibility
for members with different capacities and the role of plurilateral initiatives.
·
Discussions
on foundational issues covered existing WTO rules, changes in the global economy,
development concerns, non-market policies and excess capacity, with differing views
among members.
·
The
development track focused on identifying common themes, while level-playing-field
discussions examined transparency, notifications and compliance with WTO agreements.
·
Members
called for streamlined meetings, timely circulation of documents and representative
small-group consultations to improve efficiency and participation.
·
Delegations
sought a clearer roadmap towards the 15th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC15), emphasising that substantive progress should determine the pace
and outcomes of reform.
·
Further
reform meetings are scheduled for the week of 9 November and 16 November, followed
by a transparency session envisaged for 9 December 2026.
[ABS News Service/27.10.2026]
At the transparency session,
the General Council Chair Ambassador Clare Kelly sought members' views on how to
achieve further progress in WTO reform and move the process into the next phase
of interactive and substantive discussions.
Several members expressed support
for moving from broad tracks for discussion toward more thematic or issue-based
discussions. Several argued that discussions would benefit from a more granular
examination of specific topics, while ensuring that the selection of themes remains
member-driven, transparent and balanced.
Several delegations suggested undertaking mapping or stocktaking exercises
to clarify areas of agreement and facilitate work across the four tracks.
Members generally welcomed efforts
to streamline meetings and improve efficiency in response to constraints faced by
smaller delegations. Members also reiterated the importance of timely circulation
of facilitator reports, guiding questions and meeting documents to enable adequate
preparation and consultations with capitals.
There was support for complementing
plenary meetings with small group consultations to facilitate more candid and solution-oriented
exchanges, provided these formats remain transparent and representative.
Looking ahead, members expressed
interest in a clearer roadmap towards the 15th Ministerial Conference (MC15), with
a prevailing sentiment that substance should drive both the pace of work and the
eventual form of any outcomes.
Ahead of the transparency session,
facilitators shared their reports on the latest round of discussions on WTO reform
addressing each of the four tracks, which focussed on proposals submitted by members.
Under the decision-making
track, members discussed proposals from China, India and the United Kingdom, which
focussed on the flexibilities for members with differing capacities and the role
of plurilateral initiatives.
Under the foundational issues
track, members discussed proposals from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)
Group, the African Group, China, Japan, the Least Developed Country Group, the United
Kingdom and the United States on the challenges WTO reform should address. Views
differed on whether existing rules should be revisited, how the WTO should respond
to changes in the global economy, and the role of development in the reform process.
Some members also highlighted non-market policies and practices, and excess capacity,
as contributing to current challenges.
The facilitator for the development
track held small group consultations to identify recurring themes for future discussions.
The session on level playing field
issues considered submissions by Australia and Paraguay. It also reviewed a presentation
by the WTO Secretariat on members' notifications in the Council for Trade in Goods
and its subsidiary bodies. Participants also continued discussions on transparency,
notifications and compliance with WTO agreements. It was noted that Ambassador Schialer Salcedo of Peru, the facilitator for this track, is
due to leave Geneva for a new posting and he will be replaced by Ambassador Kairat
Torebayev of Kazakhstan.
Upcoming meetings on WTO reform
will take place in the week of 9 November and on 16 November, with a transparency
session envisaged for 9 December.