Why the world still needs World Trade Organisation

Dawn’s analysis of the World Trade Organisation’s 2026 report says weakening the global trade framework could carry substantial economic costs. The report estimates that a world divided into rival blocs would have global output 5.1 per cent below the alternative by 2050, with exports 18.6 per cent lower; a collapse in multilateral cooperation could push the declines to 6.9pc and nearly 27pc. By contrast, stronger cooperation could lift output by about 2.9pc and exports by almost 18pc, equivalent to roughly three trillion dollars.

The report identifies wider economic intervention by governments, digitalisation, changing global supply chains and intensifying political tensions as pressures on existing rules. Around 72pc of merchandise trade still uses WTO most-favoured-nation terms, down from roughly 80pc four years earlier, while tariffs and bilateral arrangements are expanding. The analysis argues that fragmentation would hit least-developed countries hardest and notes that Pakistani exporters have faced tariff shocks and had to renegotiate market access. Its central case is for reforming the system rather than allowing trade rules to lose force.