The United States criticized the World Trade Organization on Thursday at the opening of a ministerial conference in Yaoundé, with China taking the opposite stance by defending the WTO and calling for opposition to “acts of unilateralism and protectionism.”
“The trade policy measures of the United States are a corrective response to a trade system, embodied by the WTO, which has endorsed and contributed to serious and persistent imbalances,” said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Members of the organization are gathering in Cameroon until Sunday to try to revive an institution weakened by geopolitical tensions, negotiation blockages, and the rise of protectionism, as the war in the Middle East poses a serious threat to global trade.
“The global trading system is facing its worst disruptions in 80 years,” declared WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, pointing out the “unilateralism we are witnessing.”
The WTO, struggling to reach agreements due to the consensus rule, must reform on several fronts to overcome a deep crisis that questions its central role in regulating international trade.
“The reform should lead to a WTO (…) capable of meeting today’s challenges and restoring trust in the multilateral trading system,” argued Cameroonian Minister of Trade Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana.
Several African countries, including Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Senegal, have emphasized the importance of maintaining the “special and differential treatment” which grants more flexibility to developing countries.
Countries differ on the goals of the reform.
While the US Trade Representative highlighted the “failure of multilateral institutions and negotiations to establish fairness in market access and fair rules,” Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao came to the institution’s defense.
He called on countries to “unite and stay the course to firmly support the multilateral trading system based on rules,” as well as to “jointly oppose acts of unilateralism and protectionism.”
“The European Union is committed to an open, fair, rule-based multilateral trading system, with a modernized WTO at its core,” also supported EU Trade Ministers in a statement adopted on the sidelines of this 14th ministerial conference.
Regarding the US, one of the main demands is revising the fundamental principle of the WTO known as “most favored nation” (MFN), which ensures that a country offers equal treatment to all its trading partners. This system contradicts Donald Trump’s trade policy.
For now, only the EU has indicated not to be opposed to a discussion on this topic, while developing countries strongly urge to maintain this principle.
No significant agreement is expected in Yaoundé, but the WTO hopes its members will succeed in adopting a roadmap for reform, aiming for a more concrete result at the next ministerial.
Several members wish to change the organization’s decision-making procedures, which follow the consensus principle, as well as review the rules related to developing countries and those concerning fair competition conditions, and restore the functionality of the dispute settlement mechanism.
(Photo caption: The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Yaoundé on March 26, 2026 in Cameroon)
