Trade Chiefs Say WTO No Longer Sustainable and Needs Reform

A group of trade ministers from around the world voiced their support for strengthening the World Trade Organization at a time when the Trump administration has threatened to pull out of the body if it doesn’t treat the U.S. more fairly.

“The current situation at the WTO is no longer sustainable,” top trade officials from 12 nations and the European Union said in a communique after discussions in Ottawa over how to reform the global body. The U.S. and China were absent from the meeting.

Ministers identified three areas for “urgent consideration,” including negotiation, dispute settlement and the implementation of WTO agreements.