On 15 July 2025, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General, at its Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC), said that the world was looking to the WTO to respond to issues that impacted lives, livelihoods and the prospects of the businesses that drive trade.
Speaking in her capacity as chair of the TNC, the WTO DG stated that, with trade in the global spotlight, a “genuine shift in negotiating mindset and political will” was needed to deliver results that address these concerns.
In her report to the TNC, she noted that, despite rising trade measures, 74% of global goods trade still flowed under most-favoured-nation tariff terms. “But in today’s climate of record trade policy uncertainty, safeguarding the stability and predictability the WTO provides has never been more urgent.
“It’s precisely because of today’s challenges that call for reform, deep reform, repositioning and real delivery are growing louder,” she said. From recent interactions with leaders in various fora, “one message is clear — they understand the stakes, they understand the urgency, and they want results.
“Clearly, we are far from where leaders and stakeholders expect us to be,” she added. “We are not yet adhering to the call for results.”
The challenges facing the organisation and its members were highlighted in the update reports from the negotiating chairs to the membership.
Reporting in his capacity as the chair of the fisheries subsidies negotiations, the Iceland ambassador noted that in a readout to the negotiating group on 14 July 2025 on his recent consultations with members, he “unfortunately did not see any indication, nor pick up any signals, of a possible pathway” that could lead to a successful conclusion of negotiations on additional provisions to discipline subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing.
While most members continue to believe that a draft text circulated in July 2024 and revised the following November remains the basis for reaching an agreement, “gaps that had prevented members from concluding in 2024 remain and, in some respects, have possibly widened,” the chair said.
“My honest assessment, therefore, remains that the (negotiating group) is not ready to reach consensus now, nor in the coming months,” he said.
The “vast majority of members” saw value instead in focusing on the entry into force and implementation of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies adopted in June 2022, which is now awaiting six additional instruments of acceptance for entry into force, and the setting up of the new Committee on Fisheries Subsidies.
“A successful start to the work of the Committee on Fisheries Subsidies could build trust and confidence conducive to giving the negotiations on the additional provisions the necessary push forward,” he said.
Reporting in his capacity as chair of the agriculture negotiations, the Pakistan ambassador stated that his recent meetings and those of the negotiating group on 25 June 2025 had revealed that “long-standing divergences on substantive issues continue to persist.
“I have not been able to pick signals from the revealed preferences of the members that can lead me to be optimistic about the unlocking of outcomes on the main agricultural pillars before the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in March 2026.”
Various ideas, such as securing a mini-package at MC14 focusing on food security and development support, or transparency in the application of export restrictions, had met resistance, he noted. Several options for an MC14 outcome remain on the table, including a political declaration reaffirming the value of existing WTO disciplines, establishing a work programme for continued negotiations beyond MC14, and an agreement on comprehensive disciplines on all negotiating pillars, the chair added.
“My objective remains to have, by the end of September, a better sense of what could constitute the best path forward, including the nature of any outcome we can aim for at MC14.”.
Reporting in her capacity as chair of the negotiations on trade and development, Ambassador Kadra Hassan (Djibouti) said that while the work “remains challenging, as much as we are making incremental progress at this juncture, it is important that we focus on identifying elements for possible outcomes”. She said she was encouraged by discussions on the implementation of special and differential treatment provisions in the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Trade.
The Panama ambassador, chair of the negotiations on the multilateral register for wines and spirits, stated in a video that no new proposals had been submitted, but that industry stakeholder groups he had been in touch with were eager for further dialogue. The chair said he would further assess the appetite for renewed substantive work after the WTO’s summer break.
In a written report to members, the Nigerian ambassador, chair of the services negotiations, stated that there was broad recognition of the growing importance of services in world trade and the need to respond to the call of ministers at MC13 in 2024 to reinvigorate work at a meeting of the negotiating group on June 12.
The leading suggestions for future work included examining the levels of market access achieved in regional trade agreements, assessing the applied levels of market access, and discussing sectors and modes of supply of interest to developing countries. However, the Panama ambassador said several delegations shared reservations about the different suggestions made. Discussions would continue at the next negotiating group meeting in October, he added.