The Philippines is pressing for a calibrated overhaul of global trade rules as the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference opened on March 26 in Yaoundé, with Manila advocating reforms that preserve the core principles of the multilateral trading system.
Representing the country, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Allan B. Gepty joined ministers and senior officials from the 166 members of the World Trade Organization in high-level discussions aimed at addressing mounting global trade tensions and structural gaps in existing rules.
In its intervention, the Philippines emphasized the need to modernize frameworks to keep pace with evolving economic realities—while maintaining the WTO’s foundational principles of openness, fairness, transparency, and non-discrimination.
“While we recognize the need to revisit some of these rules as well as the need to develop new rules, it is imperative that we remain faithful to WTO’s core principles of an open, fair, transparent and non-discriminatory rules-based multilateral trading system,” Gepty said in a March 29 statement posted on the DTI’s social media page.
Manila’s stance reflects a balancing act: advancing reforms that respond to digital trade, supply chain disruptions, and shifting development priorities, while safeguarding predictability and equity for developing economies.
MC14 is taking place at a pivotal moment for the WTO, with members expected to chart a path forward on institutional reforms, including restoring the dispute settlement system, enhancing transparency, and strengthening monitoring functions.
Negotiations are also zeroing in on agriculture and food security—key concerns for the Philippines—as well as the implementation of the fisheries subsidies agreement, e-commerce rules, and broader development issues, particularly for least developed countries.
As the WTO’s top decision-making body, the ministerial conference provides a critical platform for shaping the future of global trade governance—an arena where the Philippines is asserting a pragmatic, reform-driven voice.
