ABSTRACT
The disappointing achievements realized from the Doha Development Round raise serious questions about the WTO’s future. The WTO and its predecessor the GATT have been at the center of the international trade system for 70 years. Yet, today, the rise of new issues and the associated emergence of the mega-regionals highlights the willingness of some WTO member governments to pursue their trade policy goals outside the WTO framework, The Trump administration’s reliance on aggressive bilateralism and extended review of WTO rules constitutes another challenge to an organization struggling to justify its relevance. Today, perhaps more than at any previous point in time, the centerpiece of the postwar multilateral trade system is under threat. Do the world’s governments still need the WTO?
