Speaking at the Shaping the Future of Shipping Summit on 23 June 2026 in Rome, Italy, the World Trade Organization (WTO) deputy director-general (DDG) underscored the role of international trade in cushioning the impact of global disruptions. Since the early 2020s, the DDG has observed that economic shocks and disruptions to shipping routes have become a recurring feature of the global trading landscape. However, the system has shown resilience in absorbing and adapting to these shocks.
The DDG cautioned that resilience could not be taken for granted. The DDG underscored the need to recognise the value of what is already working well within the system, while intensifying efforts to ensure its future resilience by investing in and strengthening the multilateral trading system. Rising trade tensions, the DDG added, only sharpen the urgency of the reform efforts members are embarking on.
Against this backdrop, the DDG suggested that the key question facing businesses and policymakers was no longer whether another disruption will occur, but which trading route it will affect. Meeting that reality, the DDG argued, demands close cooperation among governments, industry and international organisations. The DDG cited a recent dialogue with senior executives of leading global shipping companies, convened by the WTO director-general (DG), as an example of such efforts.
Addressing the potential impact of trade disruptions on supply chains, the DDG noted that cross-border flows continued at near-historic levels, even as the logic of value creation shifted toward resilience. A 2025 Global Value Chains report notes that GVC-related trade appears to have stabilised at around 46% of total exports in 2024, down modestly from a peak of 48% in 2022.
The challenge that the DDG sees for the multilateral trading system is to preserve the benefits of interdependence without tipping into overdependence. The DDG stressed the importance of trade diversification across both supply and demand. The DDG also highlighted the value of WTO rules in preserving stability and predictability in international trade and the shipping ecosystem.
At the same time, she acknowledged that some of the assumptions that have underpinned the trading system were being questioned. The DDG highlighted, in this context, WTO members’ efforts to reposition the WTO through much-needed reform to make it more effective and responsive to contemporary trade realities.
Above all, the DDG noted, cooperation is essential to building supply chain resilience. The WTO, she concluded, can work alongside governments and partner organisations to support members as they identify new solutions to navigate global trade through turbulent waters.
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