On 11 February 2026 the director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) indicated that the WTO ministerial meeting in Cameroon in March 2026 will aim to make progress in reforming the organisation. The director-general has emphasised that the status quo is not satisfactory and the challenges to the global trading system must be confronted.
Against a background of the fragmentation of global trade, the WTO members have had difficulty making progress on important issues such as digital commerce, climate change and balancing the trading relations between developing and developed economies. The increasing trend towards protectionism, industrial policy and national security interests is leading governments to greater use of trade as a form of economic coercion.
The WTO rules have long been recognised as in need of reform, but rising protectionism and an increased number of bilateral trade deals have increased the urgency of the problem. The international trading system has been increasingly challenged by significant economic, demographic and technological changes. The Ministers’ conference in Yaoundé from 26 to 29 March 2026 will discuss a detailed program of potential reforms to the trading system and will be asked to agree on a work program.
One priority will be to find a way to accelerate the WTO’s decision-making process. The need for consensus among all WTO members has led to prolonged discussions before an issue can be agreed. For example, the agreement on fisheries subsidies concluded in September 2025 was preceded by more than twenty years of negotiations. In a world where trade problems can arise very quickly, there must be a way of finding solutions within a reasonable timeframe. Decisions will continue to be taken by consensus, but a mechanism must be found to deliver decisions more rapidly.
The March 2026 Ministerial meeting will need to look at the issues around the most-favoured nation (MFN) principle. The MFN obligation refers to an advantage granted by one member state to another, which obliges it to grant the same privilege to all other parties with which it has contracted. Currently around 72% of world trade is conducted under MFN principles. However, a memo from the US in December 2025 suggested that the MFN era was over, and more recently the EU has suggested that the rule should be modified, giving WTO members more freedom to raise tariffs.
The WTO and other international organisations are currently facing funding problems and other more general issues around their role in the international system. However, the director-general stressed that these organisations are needed to tackle the geopolitical challenges. Reform of the WTO is necessary to allow it to be fit for purpose in a changing world.
