Chair of International Trade committee on WTO negotiations outcome

The 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation has ended. The EP delegation had strived for an ambitious reform.

The chair of the International Trade committee (INTA), Mr Bernd Lange (S&D, DE) comments on the outcome of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation:

“Today, supporters of the multilateral trading system are waking up with a hangover. We knew that a breakthrough might not materialise, but that doesn’t make it any less painful. I am especially concerned about the failure to agree on a work plan for WTO reform. Also, without an agreement to extend the moratorium on digital tariffs, a period of great uncertainty could soon begin for businesses and consumers. Unpredictability is the greatest enemy of growth and prosperity.

Fortunately, there is also some silver lining. I am encouraged by the fact that plurilateral negotiations are still taking place and being concluded. The decision to apply the plurilateral e-commerce plurilateral on an interim basis is an important step forward. Many members still want agreements to be negotiated in the WTO. The WTO may seem down, but it is far from out. Now is the time to steer it back on course.

To conclude, maybe this uncertainty can also serve as a wake-up call. The WTO Director-General’s appeal to take much-needed decisions at the next General Council meeting now deserves a strong response. The ambassadors in Geneva should left no stone unturned to get to results in the coming weeks, especially to get an agreement on a work programme for reform.”

Background

A delegation of INTA Members, led by Committee Chair Bernd Lange travelled to Yaoundé in Cameroon from 24 to 27 March 2026 on the occasion of the Ministerial Conference of WTO (MC14) and Parliamentary Conference on WTO. The mission participated in high level meetings that were dedicated mainly to WTO reform and challenges - how to modernise the functioning of the WTO while preserving multilateralism in trade.