The World Trade Organization (WTO) has been urged to expand its role beyond merely removing barriers to trade, to one that embraces sustainable development as its central mission.
The call on the global trade body for this fundamental shift in its operations was made by the Director of the Shridath Ramphal Centre for International Trade Law, Policy and Services at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Dr. Jan Yves Remy, along with a team of international trade experts.
Dr. Remy and co-authors Joel P. Trachtman, Professor of International Law and Henry J. Braker, Professor of Commercial Law both of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; Daniel Esty, Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy, Yale School of the Environment and Yale Law School; Trevor Sutton, Research Director of Remaking Trade for a Sustainable Future Project made the call in their report, titled the Villars Framework for a Sustainable Global Trade System, Version 2.0.
They argue for a redefined mission that prioritises sustainable development and advocate for the WTO to collaborate more closely with other key trade policy arenas, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC), and various regional trade initiatives.
The Villars Framework for a Sustainable Trade System seeks to revitalise the global trade system by making it more sustainable, people-centered, effective, inclusive, and transparent. This comprehensive reform package challenges the WTO to adopt a broader perspective, recognising that sustainable development is essential for maintaining the relevance and legitimacy of the global trade system in the 21st century.
“The trade system needs to undergo a fundamental transformation to meet the needs of the current moment and to be seen as fit for purpose in the decades ahead,” the report emphasises, echoing sentiments expressed by WTO Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The document stresses the importance of integrating sustainability into all facets of global trade governance and encourages the WTO to support its members in aligning their trade policies with climate change commitments, including those outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement and the 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact.
Among its key proposals, the report recommended that the WTO 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in February 2024 in Abu Dhabi should express support for a people-centred trade system and reaffirm the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement’s commitment to sustainable development. It also called for the development of a new WTO approach to subsidies that considers their sustainability impact, along with initiatives to reform the WTO’s processes for setting sustainability-related standards.
In addition to its focus on the WTO, the report advocated for the involvement of other organisations, such as the ITC, which it proposed should be rechartered as a Sustainable Trade Center with an expanded mandate to help micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the developing world meet market expectations regarding sustainability.
The report’s authors believe that these reforms will not only enhance the WTO’s effectiveness but also restore its legitimacy in global governance. They argued that by prioritising sustainable development, the trade system can better address the interrelated economic, environmental, and social challenges facing the world today.
