The World Trade Organization just can’t find a consensus on anything—Its future looks bleak

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.If you want proof that multilateralism is limping and hobbling, all you have to do is look at the latest ministerial of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held last month. The talks ended without any consensus over a global trade deal, adding yet another episode to years of paused global trade agreements.

It also amplified widening and irreconcilable gaps between the trade ambitions of rich countries and the developing world. The stalemate closely follows the spectacle of another colossal multilateral failure: the United Nations’ impotent response to Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza and its ineffectual intervention in the pointless US-Israel war against Iran.

This collapse of the global multilateral framework unfortunately presents greater risks for developing and poor nations.The stalled WTO ministerial acted as a reminder once again of how rich nations have consistently sought to dominate global institutions and refashion global rules to the detriment of the developing and poor. Two examples from the latest failed ministerial highlight this anomaly.The first was Brazil’s refusal to allow an extension of the duty-free electronic-commerce regime, which also found support from Turkey.

Since the WTO system is based on consensus, Brazil’s refusal to sign on the dotted line led to the ministerial collapse. The tariff moratorium on all electronic commerce transactions for goods and services has been in place since 1998, with exemptions renewed every two years.

US lead trade negotiator Jamieson Greer pushed the envelope this year by demanding a permanent customs duty exemption for all manner of e-commerce. Brazil counter argued that such a regime could adversely impact the