G-20 agree on need to reform World Trade Organization

Senior officials from G20 countries have agreed on the need to begin work on reforming the World Trade Organization (WTO), as concerns over rising trade tensions and protectionist policies continue to grow globally.

Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said on Friday that the participating nations shared the view that the WTO needs to become more responsive to the changing realities of international trade.

"It is clear that we all share the idea that it is extremely important to draft proposals so the WTO can be more responsive to the current challenges in trade," Faurie said at a press conference following a G20 ministerial meeting in the Argentine coastal city of Mar del Plata.

Detailed discussions on possible reforms are expected to begin in November in Geneva, Switzerland, where the WTO is headquartered.

Faurie said the countries agreed on the need for an effective international institution capable of establishing and enforcing rules for global trade. He stressed that reform had become urgent as technological advances were rapidly changing the way goods and services are produced, traded and delivered.

The discussions come at a time when the global trading system is facing considerable uncertainty. US President Donald Trump's administration had adopted an increasingly protectionist trade policy, including the imposition of tariffs on imports, raising concerns about a possible escalation of trade disputes between major economies.

The meeting brought together senior trade officials from major economic powers, including US Deputy Trade Representative Dennis Shea, Chinese Deputy Trade Minister Wang Shouwen, European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo.

China and the European Union have for months called for discussions on WTO reform, arguing that the organisation needs to adapt to changes in the global economy and help prevent growing trade disputes from undermining the international economic system.

The WTO's ability to settle trade disputes and enforce common rules has become increasingly important as major economies pursue competing trade policies. Reform discussions could therefore focus on strengthening the organisation's dispute-settlement mechanism, updating trade rules and addressing challenges created by technological change and new forms of international commerce.

The agreement reached in Mar del Plata does not itself establish a specific reform package, but it represents an important step towards opening formal negotiations among major economies.

G20 leaders are scheduled to meet in Buenos Aires at the end of November for their annual summit, where global trade and the future of the multilateral trading system are expected to remain important issues.