, Columnist
The Death of the WTO Has Only Been Delayed
For the organization to recover its relevance, China and the US both need to make more serious compromises.
Don’t celebrate too soon.
Photographer: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
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That the World Trade Organization was able to come to any kind of deal at its 12th ministerial meeting last week was something of a miracle. The organization has been dead for years as a location for trade governance — and even longer as a place for successful negotiations.
In fact, reports of the WTO’s continued existence are greatly exaggerated. Until the two most influential trading powers in the world — the United States and China — commit to reform, the organization will continue to decline into irrelevance.