The crippling of the multilateral trading system
- From
-
Published on
10.12.19
- Impact Area

As of today (Dec. 10), the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been crippled, as its Appellate Body (AB) has been left with less than three members on the seven-member body. The U.S. government has blocked the WTO from appointing new members, leaving the AB without the minimally required number of judges to hear appeals in trade disputes.
IFPRI researchers Joe Glauber, David Laborde, and Marie Parent have already warned about this risk to the credibility and stability of the multilateral trading system. It could have major consequences for the food system, they wrote, as “escalating disputes over food products could potentially have a severe human cost for countries that rely on food trade, exacerbating hunger and eroding food producers’ income.”
The WTO’s mechanism to settle trade disputes has been active and mostly effective, reviewing dozens of cases a year. When one country is found to have suffered from another’s trade practices, the WTO may allow the aggrieved country to recoup losses through retaliatory tariffs. In October, for instance, the WTO gave the U.S. permission to add tariffs on European export products to a value of up to $7.5 billion per year, after its verdict that Europe had illegally subsidized Airbus.
Photo Credit: WTO
Related news
-
Outlining the framework from livestock to nutrition pathways
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)14.05.25-
Nutrition
-
Poverty reduction, livelihoods & jobs
Animal-source foods provide important nutrients in the diet and contribute to nutrition, growth and …
Read more -
-
The world is nowhere near the goal of zero hunger by 2030 amid uncertain global development financing. What now?
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)05.05.25-
Food security
By James Allen IV May 5, 2025 In the wake of a series of recent crises…
Read more -
-
SAAF session at CGIAR Science Week reimagines the transformation of animal and aquatic food systems for a sustainable future
Sustainable Animal and Aquatic Foods Science Program05.05.25-
Climate adaptation & mitigation
-
Nutrition, health & food security
-
Poverty reduction, livelihoods & jobs
Event summary On 9 April 2025, during the CGIAR Science Week in Nairobi, the Sustainable…
Read more -