In this special edition of Current Accounts, the Hinrich Foundation’s podcast on global trade, Alan Herrera of the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States (AFPC-USA) and Hinrich Foundation Head of Trade Policy Deborah Elms explore the complexities of decision-making within the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the 13th Ministerial Conference looms.
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Getting 166 diverse staff to agree on a single lunch order without a boss is a difficult exercise. This is, roughly, an analogy to the situation facing the WTO. Consensus-based decision making has become increasingly strenuous as membership grows and the agenda for managing global trade expands.
Over the years, the WTO and its predecessor the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade have tried to provide alternative pathways to getting to yes. Key among these are agreements between smaller subsets of members before they are offered organization wide. While recent experiences with the Joint Statement Initiatives puts forward some reason for optimism, the broadening scope of challenges facing the trade policy landscape is poised to underscore more questions than answers for the future of the multilateral trading system.
Tune in to this special episode of Current Accounts, based on our policy brief titled “The challenge of getting to yes at the WTO” authored by Hinrich Foundation Head of Trade policy Deborah Elms.

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Tune into the Hinrich Foundation’s podcast series for insights on international trade.