This briefing paper from the EU Parliament Research Service is an update of a December 2017 paper and deals with efforts to reform the World Trade Organisation. Since its establishment in 1995, the WTO has embodied the multilateral trading system, but it currently faces serious challenges to its legitimacy and its effective functioning. A chief concern is said to be the US blocking new appointments to the WTO’s Appellate Body, which fulfils a key role in the WTO dispute settlement system. This impasse could soon paralyse the practical enforcement of multilateral trade rules, which would undermine the rules-based system.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2017/603919/EPRS_BRI(2017)603919_EN.pdf
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