WTO members conclude month-long reform discussions in Geneva

During a transparency session with all the membership on 5 March, Ambassador Ølberg said that he will submit the most recent revised draft ministerial statement and work plan to the General Council for ministers' consideration at MC14. The General Council is scheduled for 10-11 March 2026.

In the past week, the facilitator shared a revised plan that incorporated views and suggestions expressed by members during the month-long consultations.  

Ambassador Ølberg said: "Since June 2025, we have invested nine months of sustained, collective effort in good faith. That effort has produced a draft Yaoundé Ministerial Statement on WTO Reform and a draft Work Plan. If full satisfaction remains elusive, it is because the balance we have struck is genuine - and because we have reached the practical ceiling of what can responsibly be achieved here in Geneva."

Ambassador Ølberg noted that the revisions aimed at keeping the texts "high-level", while providing the political direction needed from ministers. The revised texts also avoid prejudging the direction of the work while reflecting the diversity of members' views - both on substance and process.

Starting on 5 February, Ambassador Ølberg held several rounds of group consultations with WTO members to discuss a revised version of the work plan and to discuss the framing of ministerial conversations in breakout sessions, including key questions for ministers, in Yaoundé. 

The current draft statement contains commitment from ministers to pursue work on advancing reforms following MC14. It also instructs officials in Geneva to intensify their work and provide concrete and substantive recommendations for action by the next Ministerial Conference. 

The work plan outlines the scope of the future work, starting with the areas where members have recently focused their initial efforts, including decision making, development and special and differential treatment, and level playing field issues. It sets out modalities of how the work will be carried out, with indicative timelines and check points. It also includes a reference to reform of the WTO's dispute settlement system, noting that consultations will continue after MC14 under the auspices of the Dispute Settlement Body. 

The work plan is also designed to be flexible to ensure the responsiveness of the work to members' needs and institutional agility. The plan includes an annex that reflects members' discussions since January, which is intended to be a guide for members' work.  

At the meeting, China, Paraguay and the United Kingdom presented proposals they have put forward on reform. 

The facilitator acknowledged that some members may find the current version of the draft "less specific" than they would have preferred, while others may feel it remains "more prescriptive" than desired. He also noted that this draft carefully balances the perspectives of all 166 members, reconciling differing levels of ambition and specificity. The facilitator recognized that concerns amongst members on the draft persists, and he noted that further drafting alone will not resolve them. 

Ambassador Ølberg said: "Some members seek a ministerially endorsed work plan to provide capitals with clarity on process and substance, and to signal that work will continue beyond MC14 toward meaningful reforms at MC15." He added:  "Others see no need for that, believing discussions will advance organically after MC14. I respect both perspectives. But both lead to the same conclusion: our next steps depend on members' political will to drive reform after MC14."

At MC14, ministers' discussions on reform will include foundational issues regarding the WTO, decision-making and past mandates, development and level-playing field issues. Summaries from those discussions will act as reference points for work post-MC14, said Ambassador Ølberg.