The European Union and the World Trade Organization

The EU Mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) represents the interests of the EU and its 27 Member States in the WTO. The EU Mission is part of the European External Action Service (EEAS) established following the Lisbon Treaty of 2007. The Permanent Delegation of the EU to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva deals with other international organisations in Geneva, such as UN, WIPO etc. whereas the Delegation of the European Union in Bern focuses on bilateral relations with Switzerland. Visa and consular matters are dealt with by delegations of EU Member States in Bern.

The overall objective of the WTO is to help its members use trade as a means to raise living standards, create jobs and improve people’s lives. The WTO is run by its member governments. All major decisions are made by the membership as a whole, either by ministers (who usually meet at least once every two years) or by their ambassadors or delegates (who meet regularly in Geneva).

The EU supports the central role of the WTO in rule-making, trade liberalisation and sustainable development. EU plays a major role in the WTO since the EU is the world’s biggest trading bloc. And the WTO is at the centre of trade because around 70% of global trade is conducted on WTO terms. The EU is therefore a strong supporter of the multilateral trading system. The EU and its Member States are collectively the largest Aid for Trade donor, representing a third of all support provided globally. The EU and its Member States are also by far the biggest contributors to the WTO budget with a share of more than 30%. However, the global trade landscape has changed fundamentally since the system was established in 1995. The growing mismatch between the current WTO rulebook and today’s trade realities has contributed to the Organization’s crisis. The status quo is not an option. Without meaningful reform, the WTO risks a continued loss of relevance, with broader consequences for the rules-based global trading system. The WTO and its Members must therefore deliver on a deep and comprehensive reform. The EU will continue to play a leading role in this effort, working closely with its WTO partners to shape a multilateral trading system that reflects today’s economic realities and responds to future challenges.

The WTO provides a forum for its members to negotiate trade agreements and to resolve the trade problems they face with each other.

The WTO is at a critical and, in fact, an existential juncture. [this is optional: The crisis in the WTO reflects broader shifts in the global trade landscape which has changed fundamentally since the system was set up in 1995. Another root cause for the crisis is the increasingly impactful and far-reaching State interventions leading to overcapacities and systemic imbalances, with negative spillovers on other Members. The outdated WTO rules cannot tackle these negative externalities. This is a well-known priority of the EU already included in our previous Communication on WTO reform in 2023 as a key global trade policy challenge (WT/GC/W/864).] Without a strong political commitment by the Membership to a process of deep and comprehensive reform, the organization will slide into irrelevance, and with that the rules-based global trading system will further erode. 

Against this background, the EU has put forward several ideas to modernise the WTO and to develop world trade rules that are fit to face modern challenges.

On 21 January 2026, the EU tabled a submission on WTO reform setting out its vision for a substantially reformed WTO based on three pillars:

1. maintaining predictability through a rules-based system, underpinned by an effective dispute-settlement system;

2. ensuring fairness by revisiting at the balance of rights and obligations, strengthening level-playing-field rules and promoting a more targeted approach to development;

3. injecting more flexibility via improved governance and facilitating plurilateral approaches.

The 14th Ministerial Conference of the WTO (MC14) took place from 26-29 March in Yaoundé, Cameroon. It was expected to be a springboard for reform. Despite very broad support by the Membership for a WTO Reform, no agreement on a pathway forward was reached. The EU remains committed to reforming the multilateral trading system and invites other WTO Members to come forward with submissions and contributions on reform in a member driven process. The European Union stands ready to contribute with concrete proposals on reform in the coming months.

AGRICULTURE

MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

The current WTO negotiations were launched in November 2001 in Doha (Qatar) with a view to further liberalising trade, whilst making it easier for developing countries to integrate into the WTO multilateral system. They are intended to continue on the path of the successful agreement reached in 1994 in the Uruguay Round with the creation of WTO. Such  an agreement made the agriculture sector much more open and reactive to markets and allowed trade in agriculture commodities to strive and contribute addressing the development and food security needs of an increasing world population. Under this new approach, the EU reformed its Common Agriculture Policy out of trade distorting support into a more attentive policy to the environmental, social  and economic sustainability of the entire EU food system,  from farmers to consumers. The EU main aim is to bring such a transformative approach into the agriculture negotiations. 

Despite the EU's efforts to join and promote on several occasions, an inclusive and balanced agreement  negotiations in agriculture have stalled. There are several reasons behind it. Changes in levels of economic development have in particular increased the importance of some developing countries as major exporters and players in agricultural trade. Negotiations are blocked particularly due to the unwillingness of some WTO members to reform their agricultural policies. Nevertheless, the EU and the WTO members continue to negotiate to reform agricultural trade.

These multilateral negotiations on agriculture take place in the framework of special sessions of the committee on agriculture with a view to making proposals for the WTO ministerial conferences (MC).  For example at MC12 (2022), in a joint Declaration on Food Security, WTO members committed to avoiding unjustified export restrictions on food and improving transparency on any export restrictions that do occur. Moreover, a Decision was taken to completely exempt humanitarian purchases for the World Food Programme from export restrictions. At MC13 (2024) the  EU regrets that members were not able to overcome their differences on a work programme for agriculture and at MC14 (2026) despite being very close to adopting the Declaration on Agriculture, Trade and Food Security in Yaoundé, that was finally not possible. Despite this, the EU continues to be committed to take forward the negotiations work by building on the common challenges by Members, out of which food security remains one of the most relevant. 

 More in detail, the EU remains involved in the negotiations on all pillars:

• On Domestic support: reducing trade-distorting measures is an important step towards a fairer agricultural trading system. The EU has transformed its domestic support system, which now mostly comprises non-trade distorting measures. This has improved the functioning of the market for agricultural goods and trade. The EU continues to press other members to move away from trade distorting support measures. 
• On Market access: market access for agricultural products forms an integral part of the global trading system. Improvements in market access at the WTO could be best achieved by inclusive and comprehensive negotiations that encompass both agricultural and non-agricultural market access and services. Market access issues are naturally at the heart of bilateral negotiations for free-trade agreements.

FISHERIES SUBSIDIES

MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

The fisheries subsidies negotiations have taken place in stages. The first stage was concluded by the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) which entered into force on 15 September 2025, leading to the establishment of a new Committee on Fisheries Subsidies. The AFS contains rules on subsidies contributing to illegal fishing, subsidies for fishing on overfished stocks, a complete ban on fishing in the unregulated high seas, and transparency obligations to ensure the Agreement’s implementation. The agreed text can be seen here.

The second stage of the negotiations continued after the AFS was agreed at the twelfth Ministerial Conference in June 2022. However, neither at the thirteenth Ministerial Conference in 2024 nor at subsequent General Council meetings could a deal be reached. That said, one of the outcomes of the fourteenth Ministerial Conference (MC14) was a Ministerial Decision on fisheries subsidies, under which the Negotiating Group on Rules (NGR) is mandated to continue negotiations on additional provisions with a view to achieving a comprehensive agreement on fisheries subsidies. This is linked to Article 12 of the AFS, which provides that: “If comprehensive disciplines are not adopted within four years of the entry into force of this Agreement, and unless otherwise decided by the General Council, this Agreement shall stand immediately terminated.” The deadline to conclude the second-stage negotiations is therefore 15 September 2029.

TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT

PLURILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

The EU promotes WTO work on the role of trade in advancing climate policy objectives and preserving the environment. 

At multilateral level, the Committee on Trade and Environment has launched a progressive dialogue on Trade-related climate measures focussing on transparency, paving the way for future work on policy coherence and interoperability of Members’ measures.

The EU actively contributes to the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Dialogue (TESSD), the Dialogue on Plastic Pollution (DPP), and the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform initiative (FFSR). These plurilateral initiatives provide flexible platforms to advance trade and environment topics by producing best practices, compilations, and common approaches. They delivered concrete, though non-binding, outcomes for the last WTO Ministerial Conference in Yaoundé.

The Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate, while outside the WTO, is closely linked and helps advance discussions on trade and climate issues among WTO members.

INVESTMENT FACILITATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

PLURILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

The investment facilitation for development was among the three plurilateral initiatives launched at MC11 in Buenos Aires end of 2017. It gradually evolved as structured discussions among the participating members (initially 70) into actual negotiations of an Agreement, which started in 2020 and concluded on 25 February 2024 with the adoption of a Joint Ministerial Declaration in Abu Dhabi just before MC13. 

The request for the legal incorporation of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement (IFDA) into Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement was not discussed at MC13 as one Member blocked any ministerial discussion. Following MC13, IFDA members have re-submitted their request for legal incorporation in the form of a draft General Council decision over two years ten times and most recently at the MC14. The incorporation of IFDA did not materialise at MC14, due to the objection of one Member. 

The Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement aims to improve the transparency and predictability of investment measure as well as streamline and speed up administrative procedures and requirements applying to foreign investors. Furthermore, such an Agreement aims to enhance international cooperation and regulatory coherence, increase the impact of capacity building and technical assistance and contribute to sustainable development. The Agreement does not cover market access, investment protection and investor-state dispute settlement.

The Agreement now has 130 participants, with many developing country and LDCs being part of it.  WTO’s research has projected that implementation of the IFD Agreement's mandatory obligations would increase global real GDP by 0.8 per cent over the next ten years, driven by a substantial expansion in global FDI flows and foreign affiliate sales

 (https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/ersd202602_e.pdf).

The EU attaches a great importance to the integration of the Agreement and has contributed actively to the incorporation efforts in Geneva and most recently at the MC14

On the final day of MC14, IFDA member issued a Joint Ministerial Declaration, which reiterates the commitment to 1) ensure the timely entry into force and implementation of the IFD Agreement within the WTO framework; 2) intensify collective efforts to advance IFD needs assessments and relevant technical assistance and capacity-building for implementation; and 3) convene regularly within the WTO

(https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news26_e/infac_30mar26_353_e.htm).

DOMESTIC REGULATION JOINT INITIATIVE

PLURILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

In December 2021, a group of WTO members participating in the Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation adopted a Declaration announcing the successful conclusion of negotiations on services domestic regulation aimed at increasing transparency, predictability and efficiency of procedures for authorisation of service providers. The resulting disciplines entered into force in February 2024 and have so far become legally binding for 56 WTO members, including the European Union.  72 WTO Members, representing 92.5% of global services trade, have committed to implementing these new disciplines.   

These disciplines bring longstanding work on good regulatory practice for services within the ambit of the WTO. With services representing the fastest growing sector of the global economy, this landmark agreement will help cut red tape in services trade and its implementation is expected to help reduce the costs of global services trade by over USD 125 billion worldwide.  The disciplines will benefit all WTO members, and especially small businesses and women entrepreneurs, by facilitating services trade and by promoting more transparent, predictable and efficient regulatory frameworks.

The disciplines aim to mitigate the unintended trade restrictive effects of measures relating to licensing requirements and procedures, qualification requirements and procedures, and technical standards. In addition, they apply on a “most-favoured nation” basis, meaning they will benefit all WTO members. They have been designed to apply to all sectors where participants have undertaken commitments in their GATS schedules. 

According to WTO research, the implementation of the disciplines is projected to lead to a reduction in trade costs by 10% for lower-middle income economies and by 14% for upper‑middle income economies, resulting in global savings of USD 127 billion.

For more information: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/jsdomreg_e.htm

DIGITAL TRADE AND E-COMMERCE

PLURILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS

Global rules are needed to develop a common, coherent approach that tackles global challenges effectively, fosters new opportunities, and encourages the expansion of digital trade (or 'e-commerce' as it is historically called in the WTO).

In December 2017, the EU and a group of other WTO Members decided to explore the opportunity to negotiate rules on e-commerce in the WTO. Plurilateral negotiations under this Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on E-Commerce were officially launched in January 2019 and successfully concluded in 2024.

The resulting WTO Agreement on Electronic Commerce strengthens the rules-based multilateral trading system by establishing the first ever set of global baseline rules on e-commerce.  These aim to facilitate e-commerce and digital trade, ensure an open digital environment, promote trust in e-commerce for online consumers and businesses, and support access and inclusion of developing economies, including least-developed countries, in the digital economy. 

The Agreement will apply only to those WTO Members that accept it and will not create obligations or rights for those that do not.  As the first global agreement on digital trade amongst a large group of WTO Members, the Agreement establishes a strong baseline for regulating the digital trade landscape. It contributes to a more predictable digital trading framework for businesses, workers and consumers.

The EU is among the 72 WTO Members that support the incorporation of the Agreement into Annex 4 of the Agreement establishing the WTO, under the procedure foreseen under Article X.9 of the WTO Agreement.  The Agreement’s co-sponsors have requested to incorporate the Agreement twice – at the WTO General Council meetings in February and December 2025 – but while this was supported by a large majority of Members, a consensus could not be reached.  The EU and other co-sponsors continue to pursue this objective as a key objective.

Meanwhile, interested Members have developed Interim Arrangements for implementation of the Agreement that provide a pathway for its entry into force pending incorporation.  67 participating WTO Members announced these Interim Arrangements on 28 March 2026 at a side event during the WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé. 

Under the Interim Arrangements, co-sponsors will be able to proceed with their required domestic procedures for acceptance of the Agreement, including in the EU. The Agreement will enter into force, for those parties that have accepted it, 30 days after the 45th WTO Member has become a party. The EU supports this interim arrangements approach as an important step towards securing a more open, predictable and trusted digital trading environment. As the global economy becomes increasingly digitalised, such common international rules will help businesses and consumers - in developed and developing countries alike – to participate fully in global digital trade.

WTO E-COMMERCE WORK PROGRAMME AND MORATORIUM 

The WTO Work Programme on Electronic Commerce was first adopted by the General Council in September 1998, while earlier the same year, WTO Members agreed at the second WTO Ministerial Conference (MC2) in Geneva to a Moratorium to maintain the practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions. Both the Work Programme and the Moratorium on customs duties have been regularly extended since then.

At MC13 in Abu Dhabi in 2024, WTO Members renewed the Work Programme and the Moratorium until MC14 or 31 March 2026, whichever came earlier.  At MC14 in Yaoundé, despite concerted efforts, Members were unable to reach consensus on an extension of the Work Programme and Moratorium, which as a result have lapsed.  The EU regrets the failure to reach agreement on an extension at MC14 and will continue to work with other WTO Members towards restoring the multilateral Moratorium on customs duties along with the Work Programme. 

More on the Joint Statement Initiative negotiations on e-commerce: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/ecom_e/joint_statement_e.htm

More on the Agreement on Electronic Commerce: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/ecom_e/information_on_agreement_ecom.pdf

More on the WTO Work Programme and the Moratorium: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/ecom_e/ecom_work_programme_e.htm

With more than 600 registered disputes and more than 500 adjudications since 1995, the Dispute Settlement Mechanism has been by far the most active function of the WTO.  This system of peaceful resolution of disputes between sovereign states or customs territories is the feature that most distinguishes the WTO from all other international organisations, past and present.

The EU is one of the most active supporters of the WTO Dispute Settlement system and has consistently intervened as a Third Party in all WTO disputes.  The EU has also been involved in many cases as a complaining or defending party.

The operation of the Appellate Body was blocked in December 2019.  However, the EU has continued to participate in Panel proceedings both as a main party and as an intervening Third Party.  Moreover, the EU actively participates in all initiatives and negotiations that aim to restore a fully- and well-functioning dispute settlement system.  Pending the establishment of a fully- and well-functioning WTO dispute settlement system, in order to preserve the smooth functioning of the WTO Dispute Settlement system, the European Union has participated in the creation of a Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA). The MPIA offers to the WTO members participating in this arrangement an appeal arbitration procedure to solve their trade disputes, which preserves the essential principles and features of the WTO dispute settlement system, including its binding character and two levels of adjudication.

The EU plays an active role in the regular work of the WTO. This work is mainly carried out in the Councils and Committees tasked with the administration of various WTO agreements and with monitoring their implementation. Additional and important regular work in the WTO includes trade policy reviews as a central part of the surveillance of WTO members' trade policies.