Description

WTO's 13th Ministerial Conference (Tue -- Fri, being held in Abu Dhabi), and prospects for (i) reform of WTO's Appellate Body, which has been inoperative since 2019, (ii) the difficulty of making progress under the WTO's requirement for universal consensus among its 164 (increased to 166 in MC13) members, (iii) India seeking a permanent waiver from WTO caps on domestic agricultural subsidies, because it wants to continue operating its domestic Food Security Programme without restriction, (iv) the slow emergence of US-centered and a China-centered trade 'blocks', with a noticeable reduction in cross-block trade having emerged since the beginning of the RUS-UKR war, (v) the prospect of less US support for and leadership of WTO under (the increasingly likely) scenario of Donald Trump winning the Nov 2024 US Presidential Election, and (vi) the effects of shipping being re-routed around Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea -- Suez Canal route due to increased risk of highjack and missile attack from Houthi fighters based in Yemen.