Marrakesh Agreement
WTO Reform: Assessment of the Facilitator’s Communication and Process Ahead of the 4 November 2025 Plenary
An Informal Note Reviewing the Reform Tracks and Process in Advance of the 4 November Plenary, 2 November 2025
By Vahini Naidu, Trade for Development Programme, South Centre
This note provides an analytical assessment of the Facilitator’s Communication and process ahead of the WTO reform plenary held on 4 November 2025. It highlights the growing procedural opacity surrounding the reform process, characterised by informal, facilitator-led configurations that lack clear mandates, participation criteria, or official records of discussions. These methods have blurred the lines between Member-driven deliberation and Secretariat-managed processes, creating uncertainty over accountability, legitimacy and inclusiveness.
Substantively, the Facilitator’s synthesis elevates certain reform tracks, notably decision-making and level playing field, as forward-looking agendas, while confining the Development and S&DT track to a diagnostic or exploratory stage. This imbalance risks entrenching asymmetries rather than addressing them. By conflating S&DT with the broader development mandate, the Communication effectively narrows the systemic development agenda of the Marrakesh Agreement to a limited discussion of differentiation and eligibility.
Read together, the procedural and substantive dynamics reveal a process that is fragmented, imbalanced and at risk of being shaped by informal interpretations rather than by Member-driven decisions. The note calls for restoring transparency, reaffirming the primacy of consensus and re-centring development as the organising principle of WTO reform.
(more…)
Reeling Towards Termination: Assessing the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies and the Future of Fisheries Disciplines
By Vahini Naidu
The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS, “Fish 1”) entered into force on 15 September 2025, introducing new disciplines on subsidies linked to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, overfished stocks, and certain high seas activities. While celebrated as a landmark achievement, the Agreement is partial in scope, omitting the broader category of capacity-enhancing subsidies that drive overcapacity and fish stock depletion. Its obligations rely on national determinations and extensive notifications that may prove burdensome for developing Members while allowing major subsidisers to retain flexibility. The unprecedented termination clause in Article 12 ties the Agreement’s survival to the adoption of additional “comprehensive disciplines,” underscoring both the fragility of the current outcome and the need for continued negotiations. The experience of Fish 1 reveals significant lessons for the proposed WTO reform, including the importance of reviewable and time-bound rules, the risks of imbalanced sustainability provisions, and the institutional weaknesses of restricted negotiating processes.
(more…)
WTO Reform: Structuring a Positive Agenda for Developing Countries
A Working Document on Structuring Reform Around Legal Principles and Development Priorities, 15 July 2025
By Vahini Naidu, Trade for Development Programme, South Centre
This Working Document outlines a structured contribution to the WTO reform process from a legal and developmental perspective. It organises the wide range of reform issues into seven categories, based on their legal character, institutional handling, and the procedural steps required for meaningful resolution. The aim is to support a more coherent and inclusive reform process by offering a logical framework grounded in the Marrakesh Agreement and reflective of the WTO’s foundational principles. It is intended to assist Members in navigating reform discussions in a manner that is principled, transparent, and responsive to the priorities of developing countries.
(more…)
Expanding the production of COVID-19 vaccines to reach developing countries
Lift the barriers to fight the pandemic in the Global South
By Carlos M. Correa
The unfolding of COVID-19 has shown that the international system has been unable to ensure equal access to the vaccines and other products necessary to fight the pandemic. While the need for a strong response remains obvious, proposals for scaling up the production of COVID-19 vaccines across the globe are still blocked in the World Trade Organization.
(more…)
