The Public Forum is the WTO’s largest outreach event, with this year’s Forum exploring across two days how digital advancements are redefining the international trading system and enhancing global connectivity, innovation and cooperation.
Participants will evaluate both the risks and opportunities presented by an evolving set of digital tools aimed at empowering small businesses, widening market access and preserving a more robust, digital trading environment.
The number of sessions is pared down slightly on previous years to ensure a streamlined event focused on some of the key issues facing global trade. More than 350 speakers will share their ideas on how to harness the transformative powers of digital trade.
The first day of the Public Forum began with a panel organized in partnership with the Peterson Institute of International Economics (PIIE), exploring how business leaders around the world are navigating today’s global trading system, where trust, predictability and cooperation are increasingly tested.
In her introduction to the session, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said that while the global trading system is “bent, it is not broken.” She is “done with pessimism” on trade and it is time to move forward on solving problems instead of wringing hands.
The DG noted that the WTO is the stable core of a system that still trades 72% of goods under WTO terms, but reforms and predictability are needed.
Led by PIIE’s Cecelia Malmström and Chad Bown, and with private sector representatives doing business across five continents, the panelists noted that trade boosts prosperity, growth and corporate bottom-lines.
Cynthia Sanfilippo, Vice President of Global Public Affairs at L’Oreal, said: “With the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and now with the WTO, standardizing customs and taxes has led to a boost in international trade. When you boost international trade, you boost growth, you boost prosperity, you boost everything. So, you know that matters to us.”
Rosario Navarro Betteley, President of SOFAFA Chile, said that half of Chile’s GDP last year came from international trade. “So, we depend on an open economy. The multilateral trading system is so indispensable for our country, and for all countries that are members of the WTO. There is no Plan B. We need certainty, predictability, and this is only provided by a common base framework. So, the WTO is not a luxury, it is a strategic necessity, not only for Chile, but also for all countries.”
Philippe Varian, Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), said: “At the ICC, we have 45 million businesses around the world. I was with the World Chambers Congress in Melbourne last week so I can tell you there is a lot of worry. Costs are increasing, especially for SMEs, and when it’s too costly, when the bandwidth is not there to cope with all the disruptions, then the SMEs don’t export.”
Lola Aworanti-Ekugo, founder of Afriborder, said: “What we’re seeing now is an increasing appetite for Africa to trade within itself. But we’re seeing challenges as well and we’re looking to the WTO to lead. If we’re having policies that are just speaking to one sector or one area, how can we move quickly across the whole world? So, I think it’s a time where we’re looking for direction.”
Yoji Saito, Global Chief Advisor at Mitsubishi Electric, said: “For small suppliers globally, if there is a sudden tightening of export regulations in a supplier’s country, that can delay procurement, and delay the production of goods. We have to develop substitution for all the components. This will affect very much corporate decisions and also the consumers’ benefits will be gone.”
This session was followed by the unveiling of the WTO’s 2025 World Trade Report by DG Okonjo-Iweala and a panel discussion focusing on the opportunities and challenges for global trade presented by the advent of artificial intelligence (AI).
The Forum also incorporates two innovations this year to the programme.
The Trade Policy Hub, a collaborative effort with the Trade Policy Research Forum on 17 September, is intended to bridge research and policymaking by fostering dialogue between researchers and policy professionals. It will identify synergies, enhance information flow, and translate research findings into policy insights, complementing broader discussions at the Public Forum and addressing the most pressing trade issues as well as future research directions.
The WTO Chairs Programme (WCP) Research Hub will comprise three sessions on 18 September hosted by members of the WCP network. The WCP aims to support and promote trade-related academic activities by universities and research institutions in developing economies and least-developed countries. Launched in 2010, the Programme aims to enhance knowledge and understanding of the trading system among academics and policymakers in developing economies through curriculum development, research and outreach activities by universities and research institutions.
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