BRUSSELS: The European Union put reform of the World Trade Organization at the heart of its trade strategy for the next decade on Thursday, saying global rules on commerce must be greener, take more account of state subsidies and be enforced.
The 27-nation bloc’s executive body also said it would seek to work with President Joe Biden’s US administration to address a crisis of confidence in the WTO, where settlement of trade conflicts and negotiations are deadlocked.
“A key driver of the crisis is that China’s accession to the WTO has not led to its transformation into a market economy,” the European Commission said in a communication. “The WTO has not been able to negotiate new rules to tackle this.”
The Commission, which oversees EU trade policy, is making combating climate change a central part of its new “open, sustainable and assertive” strategy. It wants to incorporate green action into trade deals and also wants a more environmentally conscious WTO.
This could include liberalisation of trade in certain green goods and services, or agreements to reduce fossil fuel subsidies.
The Commission said it was encouraged by Monday’s appointment of Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the first woman and the first African to head the WTO.
The EU executive said it would propose a set of WTO reforms focusing on sustainable development, which also includes gender and labour rights, and launch negotiations on new rules to avoid distortions to trade from state-owned enterprises.
It would also seek to restore the WTO’s Appellate Body, the ultimate arbiter on global trade, which was paralysed by the previous US administration. — Reuters
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