The writer is a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a former executive director at the IMF and former WTO staff member
The strength of institutions rests on their capacity to deliver fair and just outcomes. But when people feel excluded or left behind, their legitimacy erodes. Multilateral bodies such as the World Trade Organization are no exception.
When the WTO was established in 1995, there was a broad confidence in the fairness and robustness of the rules-based trading system it oversaw. The US had been its chief architect and the ultimate guarantor of that system. However, over time Washington developed legitimate concerns about how the multilateral trading system evolved. American public opinion also shifted.