Reuters cover: WTO chief: world order has irrevocably changed

Record ID: 2370153

  • Title: Reuters cover: WTO chief: world order has irrevocably changed
  • Date: 26th March 2026
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE WTO, NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA, SAYING:  "It's no secret that the world trading system is experiencing the worst disruptions in the past eighty years. But these disruptions are a symptom of the wider disruptions shaking the international order created after the Second World War to prevent a repeat of the horrors of the first half of
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Commerce Economy Finance Government International Organisation Politics Relations Trade WTO World
  • Location: YAOUNDE, CAMEROON
  • City: YAOUNDE, CAMEROON
  • Country: Cameroon
  • Topics: Africa,Government/Politics,International Trade
  • Reuters ID: LVA004770826032026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The head of the World Trade Organization said on Thursday (March 26) the multilateral system has fundamentally changed and that countries must look to the future to consider how to reform the global trade system.
    "The world order and multilateral system we used to know has irrevocably changed. We will not get it back...We must look to the future," WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told delegates at the opening of the 14th WTO ministerial conference in Yaounde, Cameroon.
    While 72% of global trade still takes place under WTO rules, with growth in AI-related trade providing a bright spot, Okonjo-Iweala said the world trading system faces significant uncertainty due to the Middle East conflict and impact of U.S. tariffs on countries around the world.
    Okonjo-Iweala set out a list of problems facing the WTO, including the paralysis of the WTO's dispute settlement body and transparency in notifying the use of subsidies.
    Only 64 members had filed subsidy notifications at the WTO for 2025, meaning 102 had not, Okonjo-Iweala said.
    "Lack of transparency leads to lack of trust, and that breeds suspicions of unfairness and anti-competitive behaviours," she told delegates, which she said leads to mistrust and holds members back from agreeing new rules and reforms. 
    (Production: Joel Kouam, Catherine Schenck)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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