Policy Backgrounders

WTO Thirteenth Ministerial Conference

March 07, 2024

Trusted Insights for What’s Ahead™

The Thirteenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) took place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from February 26-29, with 160 trade ministers in attendance.

• The Conference produced few concrete results, particularly in the most important area, reform of the WTO’s dispute resolution procedures, which have been unable to function fully since 2019. Ministers will continue discussions on the subject, but agreement is very unlikely this year.
• Trade ministers could not reach new agreements on subsidized fishing nor on the very difficult topic of agricultural trade, including export bans and special exemptions for developing countries.
• India’s attempt to achieve essentially a permanent exemption for domestic agriculture subsidies was rebuffed, but India showed itself an increasingly important player in the WTO.
• Ministers did agree to extend a moratorium on imposing tariffs on e-commerce for two years, a positive result for business.