DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: In the most recent indication of unrest inside the international organization, negotiators attending a World Trade Organization conference in the United Arab Emirates concluded their summit early on Saturday due to an inability to achieve agreements on key significant projects.
Due to difficulties in reaching an agreement on matters pertaining to agriculture, fisheries, and other topics, the 166-nation WTO postponed its closing ceremony in Abu Dhabi by more than a day.
The sole noteworthy deal was the extension of a tax moratorium on digital content, including video games and movies. The WTO resolved to continue the suspension on the matter until their subsequent biannual meeting.
The conference was held “against an international backdrop marked by greater uncertainty than at any time I can remember,” according to WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Similar to Monday’s opening remarks at the meeting, she refrained from mentioning Israel’s assault against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. She had previously drawn attention to the continuous maritime problems in the Red Sea brought on by the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Each member of the WTO has an equal voice, which is beautiful, but there is a price for it, according to Okonjo-Iweala. However, since we are a special group, I believe the expense is justified. Let us continue in order to get our views heard.
Elections in over half of the world’s population may provide the WTO with fresh difficulties. The US presidential election on November 5th may be the most important one for the WTO.
The former president, Donald Trump, is campaigning once again. He has threatened to remove the United States from the World Trade Organization and has imposed tariffs, or fees on imported products, on both allies and enemies. Global commerce may be disrupted once again if Trump wins.
However, the United States has serious misgivings about the WTO, even in the event that President Joe Biden is reelected. The United States has banned nominations to its appeals court for the last three administrations, and it is now closed for business. Washington claims that too many times when the WTO courts have rendered decisions, they have overreached themselves.
China continues to identify as a developing nation, as it did when joining the WTO in 2001, a move that has drawn criticism from the United States as well. Beijing is accused by Washington, Europe, and other quarters of illegally impeding access to developing markets and stealing technology or pressuring international corporations to do so. The United States claims that China oversupplies global markets with low-cost steel, aluminum, and other goods.