Boosting G20 Cooperation for WTO Reform

In order to preserve the central role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in global trade it is necessary to revive the negotiating function of the organization. According to Fabrizio Botti, Senior Fellow in the field of Economics and Finance at IAI, plurilateral cooperation can be a stepping stone towards closer integration on issues where multilateral consensus is not yet in sight. However, a closer analysis of older and current plurilaterals reveals that they are largely initiated by developed countries but that they are not a generally accepted negotiation method for all WTO members.

His policy brief "Boosting G20 Cooperation for WTO Reform: Leveraging the Full Potential of Plurilateral Initiatives" analyses plurilaterals on grounds of key criteria such as treatment of non-members, scope and membership. Also, it clarifies the key challenges of using plurilaterals as a negotiation approach to advance new sets of rules.