Failure to ratify first agreement in 20 years could be fatal if countries move to cut their own bilateral and regional deals
Obituaries for the World Trade Organisation have been prepared many times over the past decade but proved premature. This time they may be needed.
Make no mistake, the failure of WTO members to ratify a deal designed to streamline customs procedures by preventing needless delays and corruption at borders is a huge setback to the multilateral trading system. It paves the way for countries to cut their own bilateral or regional deals. For the WTO, it threatens to be fatal.
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