Reflections on the last three years of the WTO

The multilateral trading system has been an astonishing achievement in international economic cooperation. The power of trade to raise living standards is widely recognized and so too is the capacity for trade tensions to escalate with severe economic consequences and also repercussions that go way beyond economics. As many have observed, when trade cannot cross boarders, then armies will. For these reasons, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is one of the most indispensable international organizations that exists today. It is a system based upon the rule of law and not the law of the jungle, equipped with appropriate legal instruments to defuse and resolve trade conflicts as well as providing a forum for Member governments to negotiate trade rules and trade liberalization.