The World Trade Organization’s director-general, Roberto Azevêdo, has called for an urgent shakeup of his institution, and one of the main reform proposals is to abandon consensus-based decision-making. That might boost efficiency, but it could jeopardize one of the WTO’s greatest assets: its legitimacy.
OXFORD – The World Trade Organization’s director-general, Roberto Azevêdo, has called for an urgent shakeup of his institution. Last week, he declared the WTO to be in “the most serious situation [it] has ever faced,” and now he is convening crisis talks with member countries. One of the main reform proposals, reportedly advocated by the United States and the European Union, is to move away from consensus-based decision-making – one of the WTO’s founding principles. That might boost efficiency, but it also could jeopardize one of the WTO’s greatest assets: its legitimacy.
OXFORD – The World Trade Organization’s director-general, Roberto Azevêdo, has called for an urgent shakeup of his institution. Last week, he declared the WTO to be in “the most serious situation [it] has ever faced,” and now he is convening crisis talks with member countries. One of the main reform proposals, reportedly advocated by the United States and the European Union, is to move away from consensus-based decision-making – one of the WTO’s founding principles. That might boost efficiency, but it also could jeopardize one of the WTO’s greatest assets: its legitimacy.