Femi Ashekun/
The World Trade Organisation (WTO), led by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is facing one of its toughest tests yet as Donald Trump’s administration continues to challenge the foundations of global trade.
Although Trump has dismissed the WTO as “toothless,” his government still shows selective support for some of its key initiatives, suggesting Washington has not completely abandoned the multilateral trading system.
Under Trump’s “America First” trade agenda, the US has imposed unilateral tariffs that go against the WTO’s principle of fairness and reciprocity. Yet, behind the scenes, American officials are quietly backing parts of the WTO’s work.
For example, the US has supported the extension of the “e-commerce moratorium,” a global agreement preventing tariffs on digital goods like software and e-books. The deal, which expires in March 2026 unless renewed, is a priority for many WTO members.
In a surprise move, the US even persuaded Indonesia to drop its opposition to making the moratorium permanent, as part of a recent bilateral tariff agreement. Washington has also backed efforts to curb harmful fishing subsidies and has not blocked new rules to encourage investment in developing countries.
A European diplomat described the US attitude as “à la carte,” which means it chooses what it likes and ignores the rest, but admitted, “At least they are still at the table.”
For WTO Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former Nigerian finance minister, this cautious US engagement is a small but important victory.
“The US still has one eye on the WTO,” she said at the WTO Public Forum in Geneva, attended by more than 4,000 diplomats and business leaders.
She pointed to several positive signs, including Trump’s nomination of Joseph Barloon, a former US trade counsel, as America’s ambassador to the WTO. The White House has also removed the WTO from its list of international bodies it planned to defund.
More significantly, Okonjo-Iweala noted that when Brazil challenged Trump’s 50% tariff on its exports in August, Washington followed proper WTO legal channels instead of ignoring the complaint.
“That’s a demonstration that the US is engaging,” she said. “The trading system is dented, maybe bent, but it is working.”
Despite these gestures, Trump’s top trade adviser, Jamieson Greer, has made clear that the US will not allow itself to be “constrained by global rules.” Speaking in New York, Greer accused previous administrations of surrendering US trade policy “to unelected judges in Geneva.”
Still, even among skeptics, there is recognition that completely abandoning the WTO would be far worse. Many diplomats argue that any future reforms or agreements must still be built on WTO foundations.
Matthew Wilson, the WTO ambassador from Barbados, put it simply: “We’re not going to have the WTO of 30 years ago but we must have the US at the table.”
For Okonjo-Iweala, keeping the WTO relevant means modernising how it works.
She has pushed for reforms to speed up decision-making and address long-standing complaints from developing countries, including Nigeria and others in Africa, about fairness and inclusiveness.
Her goal is to ensure the WTO remains the anchor of the global trading system, even amid growing nationalism and trade wars.
Encouragingly, she notes that about 72% of world trade still operates under WTO rules, a sign that the system retains significant influence despite recent tensions.
China’s decision to give up some of its special privileges as a “developing country” under WTO rules has also been welcomed as a step toward restoring balance and credibility in trade negotiations.
Okonjo-Iweala summed it up, “If three-quarters of global trade still works under WTO rules, then the system has not collapsed. It is dented, maybe bent, but it is working.”
World trade ministers will meet next March in Cameroon for the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference, a crucial moment that could determine whether Okonjo-Iweala’s reforms succeed and whether Trump’s selective engagement can be turned into genuine cooperation.
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