Why G20 must work to restore WTO's dispute settlement system
WTO, became defunct, thus affecting developing countries adversely. One hopes that PM Narendra Modi can impress upon US President Joe Biden at the G20 summit to restore it and help the global south and multilateralism.
Under India's G20 presidency, it was hoped that G20 economies would demonstrate their collective commitment to AB's restoration.
However, despite trade minister Piyush Goyal's persuasive statement before the recently held G20 Trade and Investment Ministers' Meeting (TIMM) in Jaipur, the outcome document does little to inspire confidence that they are prioritising this issue. G20 has emphasised the role of WTO-driven multilateral trade liberalisation since its founding.
This was aligned with the primary mandate of the G20: improving global economic conditions through broad-based economic development.
It must be recognised that a core pillar supporting the multilateral trading system from 1995 into the late 2010s has been a well-functioning WTO dispute-settlement mechanism. Resolving trade disputes has been a central tenet of WTO's role as a guarantor of an enforceable regime of predictable and rules-based trade.
Most of the disputes were won by poor countries.
However, the global trade landscape has transformed in the past few years. Growing concerns raised by WTO members on AB's functioning led to an impasse in 2019 that has rendered the stage inoperative.
