Russian envoy says it's time to talk about reforming WTO
GENEVA, April 16. /TASS/. The Russian side has brought up to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) leadership that it might be time that members talk about reforming the organization, Russia’s Permanent Representative for the WTO Nikolay Platonov told TASS following bilateral technical consultations with WTO Chairman of the General Council Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel.
During the meeting, the chairman expressed concern over the state of affairs in global trade amid a rise in the application of unilateral restrictions, Platonov noted.
"In turn, I voiced the idea that it’s probably about time, instead of being shrouded in uncertainty, to jointly start discussing the issue of the WTO’s reform," he said, adding that those discussions should be aimed at ensuring that the multilateral trade system remains afloat, and increasing its overall effectiveness.
The notion of reforming the WTO has made it on to the organization’s radar in recent years. This is mostly related to the WTO Appellate Body, which hears appeals in trade disputes. But after the arbitrator's powers expired in December 2019, the body stopped functioning. The US is blocking the appointment of new arbitrators. According to WTO rules, the consensus of all 164 member-nations is required to appoint new arbitrators.
