World Trade Organization holds biennial meeting in UAE as challenges loom

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The World Trade Organization announced Monday that the United Arab Emirates The meeting is held every other year.

The 164 WTO members plan to negotiate a deal to ban subsidies that contribute to overfishing and extend tax deferrals on fish. Digital media such as movies and video gamesand agricultural issues.

But headwinds persist for organizations and the global economy, particularly as countries continue to recover unevenly from the coronavirus pandemic. meanwhile, More than 50 elections affecting half of the planet’s population are planned this year —Perhaps nothing is more important to the WTO than the November 5 US presidential election.

Former President Donald Trump is running again Who threatened to withdraw the US from the WTO? And he repeatedly imposed similar tariffs, or taxes on imported goods, on his supposed enemies and friends. Trump’s victory could once again disrupt global trade.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the United States, maintains that the WTO remains important as 75% of world trade is conducted under WTO terms.

“Our focus at the WTO is, regardless of who is in power and when, what are the appropriate reforms that we need to make?” Okonjo-Iweala earlier this month, the industry group maintained that it remains relevant. “If we get to what you’re saying, where the WTO becomes irrelevant, everyone will be in trouble, including you and me.”

However, even if President Joe Biden is re-elected, the United States has deep concerns about the WTO. The United States has blocked appointments to the Court of Appeals under the past three administrations, and the Court of Appeals is no longer functioning. Washington said judges too often overstep their authority in deciding cases.

The United States also criticizes China for continuing to refer to itself as a developing country, as it did when it joined the WTO in 2001. Washington, Europe and others say Beijing is unfairly blocking access. Steal technology from emerging industries or pressure foreign companies to hand over technology. The United States also says China is flooding global markets with cheap steel, aluminum and other products.

Then there is the voting format of the WTO itself. Important decisions require consensus. This means that countries must actively vote in favor of the proposal for it to take effect.