Unilateral moves leading to reset in global trade: WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
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Members of the World Trade Organization have avoided a tit-for-tat with the US and that is why the most favoured nation (MFN) trade is high, says the Geneva-based global trade watchdog's director-general, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Currently on a visit to India, she tells Kirtika Suneja that the global system is resetting due to disruptions caused by unilateral actions and countries diversifying their trade and looking for new trading partners. Edited excerpts:What outcome do you expect from the 14th ministerial conference (MC14, in March 2026)? What are the expectations from India?There's an expectation that MC14 will be the venue to look at what reforms the WTO and the multilateral trading system need. The system, in spite of being in the midst of the biggest disruption in 80 years, has some resilience; 72% of world trade is still taking place on WTO terms. So, there'll be three angles. The first is to look at what works in the WTO and how to sustain the good part...