Talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Yaoundé ended without any significant agreements early on Monday, with negotiators failing to bridge deep divisions over reform, agriculture, and e-commerce.
After four days of negotiations marked by high tensions between the United States, India and Brazil, the conference chair, Cameroonian Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, said time had run out. “We find that it is not possible, simply for reasons of time, not for reasons of will or desire, to reach an agreement,” he told delegates.
The deadlock has been widely seen as a setback for global trade cooperation. Britain’s Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle described the outcome as disappointing, saying,
“This is not the outcome we wanted. The UK worked hard to deliver the change that WTO needs, and the failure to get a collective decision this week is a major setback for global trade,” he said.
Geopolitical tensions
The meeting, held as part of the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference, brought together representatives from 166 member states against a backdrop of escalating geopolitical tensions, including conflicts in the Middle East that have disrupted global supply chains and energy markets.
Delegates were tasked with addressing a worsening global economic environment marked by rising protectionism and strained trade relations.
Beyond e-commerce, ministers also sought progress on long-stalled agricultural negotiations and rules governing fisheries subsidies, while grappling with deeper structural concerns about the effectiveness of the WTO itself.
Negotiations will begin afresh on a new moratorium, a senior WTO official who asked to remain unidentified told Reuters News Agency.
Trade ministers from around the world gathered in the central African nation of Cameroon on Tuesday for the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) amid escalating military conflicts in the Middle East, casting a shadow over global supply chains.
Established in 1995, the organisation serves as the central legal and institutional framework for global trade, designed to mediate disputes and curb unilateral economic actions.
Efforts to modernise the WTO have intensified in recent years, particularly since the 2017 Buenos Aires conference, amid calls to update rules for digital trade and investment.
