Jakarta – The G20’s First Trade, Industry, and Investment Working Group (TIIWG) Meeting will aim to invite member nations, including the United States, to reconstitute the World Trade Organization’s appellate body (WTO).
During a virtual media conference on Friday, Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, the Ministry of Trade’s International Trade Negotiation Director General, stated that WTO reformation is one of the themes that will be considered at the G20 TIIWG.
The G20 has been debating this problem for the past four years.
It has remained a point of contention since the WTO currently lacks one function or role, namely the appellate body, which is part of the WTO’s dispute settlement process.
“This is due to the fact that all of the judges or panels have completed their tenure,” he stated.
Furthermore, there has been no selection procedure because the United States has declined to participate, he continued.
However, the appellate body, known as the WTO’s crown, is a part of the dispute settlement process, according to Witjaksono.
This is because the appellate body is thought to be capable of doing a better job of resolving disputes between WTO member nations than systems outside of the WTO.
To that aim, the G20 TIWWG will attempt to develop agreement among G20 member nations in order to press for WTO reform.
“At a minimum, the commonalities between these 20 members since they constitute a share of the world’s overall economy and commerce,” he stated.
It is envisaged that by the end of the summit, there will be a consensus that may be used as input for the WTO reformation process in Geneva, Switzerland.
