Key takeaways

1. WTO reform is no longer optional

Maintaining the WTO as it was established in 1995 is no longer tenable. Brazil’s Secretary of Economic and Financial Affairs, Ambassador Philip Fox-Drummond Gough, emphasized that reform should be understood as closer to revolution than evolution, with the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) expected to initiate work on the institution’s consensus-based decision-making model, updating existing agreements such as the Agreement on Agriculture, and addressing new issues including digital trade and industrial policy.

2. MC14 will set direction, not deliver resolution

Bright Okogu, Chief of Cabinet at the WTO Office of the Director-General, emphasized that MC14’s purpose is to endorse a reform package, provide political guidance to negotiators, and nominate ministers with clear timelines and checkpoints — not to deliver a comprehensive settlement. He urged the audience not to be disappointed if Yaoundé does not produce a declaration that "everything has been solved." Gough said Brazil sees a credible basis for a ministerial declaration in the text prepared by Ambassador Petter Ølberg of Norway, Facilitator on WTO reform.

3. The MFN principle under pressure

The “most-favoured-nation” (MFN) principle remains a foundational pillar of the multilateral trading system but is increasingly contested. Elms asked how much change an institution can absorb before it no longer functions as originally designed.

4. Regional frameworks are gaining traction but are no substitute

With multilateral progress stalled, attention has turned to regional trade architectures such as CPTPP, RCEP, the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership (FIT-P), and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Elms cautioned that while the integration impulse remains strong, these arrangements face practical constraints, with CPTPP members already stretched and implementation challenges persisting across regions.

5. Developing nations, the Global South, and policy space

A recurring theme was the need to preserve and expand policy space for developing countries to pursue industrialization and development objectives.

6. The UK perspective: Navigating a fragmented world

Trade Director at the British Chambers of Commerce Steven Lynch identified three priorities for UK trade policy:

Understanding the pace of change and building adaptive capacity for governments and businesses alike.
Diversification as a resilience strategy.
Closer collaboration between government and business, citing geopolitical uncertainty as the primary barrier for UK firms considering international expansion.