Reform of the World Trade Organisation was one of the CBI’s top priorities when Carolyn Fairbairn attended the B20 in Tokyo last month.
There is lots of talk about trading on World Trade Organisation rules from certain quarters in the UK, but there’s little knowledge about what this means – particularly since the WTO is creaking at the seams.
The WTO is a relatively poorly understood aspect of the Brexit debate. Business has been crystal clear that leaving the EU without a deal and trading on WTO terms would be catastrophic for our economy and an unmanageable scenario for the government and thousands of businesses, large and small, up and down the country.
Yet we still need a strong and efficient WTO, as its rules are a vital global baseline for businesses operating in countries where we don’t currently enjoy the benefits of a free trade agreement.
Indeed, a world without the WTO would mean an international trading system that resembles the Wild West, without the numerous liberalising agreements we currently enjoy covering goods, services, intellectual prop
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