Several issues seem stuck in a dead end ahead of the global trade body's biennial ministerial meeting, as anxiety swells over the impact that geopolitical tensions and the looming US elections could have on international commerce.
WTO members' trade ministers are meeting in Abu Dhabi from February 26-29, at which they could put the final touches to a further fisheries deal — though other landmark agreements will likely prove more elusive.
However, WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala blasted claims that the organization was no longer relevant.
"I reject the use of the word irrelevant," she told a press conference at the WTO's headquarters in Geneva.
"People don't realise, they've taken for granted that 75 percent of world trade is taking place on WTO terms: 75 percent, in spite of all the FTAs (free trade agreements) and regional agreements.
"Can you imagine if those rules did not exist to govern world trade, what would it be?
"Be careful what you say."
The former finance and foreign minister of Nigeria said she expected the Abu Dhabi talks to be tough due to the "economic and political headwinds" but said preparations were hitting top gear and her team were "working around the clock, literally," to get ready.
The WTO is hoping for results, particularly on fishing, agriculture and electronic commerce, but disagreements remain between the organization's members.
The WTO's difficulty in recent years in concluding agreements — which require the consensus of all members, big and small — has led some, including former US president Donald Trump, to say the organization has become obsolete, with Trump even threatening to pull the United States out altogether.
If "the WTO becomes irrelevant, everyone including you and me will be in trouble," said Okonjo-Iweala.
"If the WTO doesn't exist... it means the rules don't matter.
"Then what happens is a free-for-all. Anyone can do what they like, you can get up and put whatever tariffs you like on someone else, and anyone else's goods."
"It really bugs me, because it's like the air you breathe. You take it for granted because you don't see it every day."
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