This month March 25th-29th, trade ministers from 166 countries will gather in Yaoundé, Cameroon for the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) to consider the future of the global trading system. ICC Poland delegation will be joining as well.

With rising trade barriers, unilateral measures and growing systemic dysfunction undermining trade, investment and jobs, ICC is leading a Global Business Statement in line with our MC14 Call to Action urging ministers to:

• Begin a formal, time-bound round of WTO reform negotiations; and
• Renew the WTO e-Commerce Moratorium to keeping digital trade tariff-free.

The initiative forms part of ICC’s broader efforts to revitalise the multilateral trading system – internally known as Project Phoenix.

Driven by the strong mobilisation of our national committees, over 180 chambers of commerce and business associations from every region in the world have already joined the Global Business Statement.

What’s at stake if the WTO were to dissolve? Two Oxford Economics studies commissioned by ICC show that WTO dissolution could lead to:

• A 33% drop in developing countries’ non-fuel goods trade relative to a baseline scenario with the multilateral system still in place;
• A permanent GDP loss to developing countries of over 5%;
• Acute export losses of 43% in low-income economies and 32% in middle-income countries.

Join us at the ICC–WTO MC14 Business Forum, in Yaoundé, Cameroon taking place on 25 March from 14:00–17:15 (WAT) at the Palais des Congrès. The Forum will convene public and private sector leaders to discuss priorities for the multilateral trading system, with private sector recommendations submitted to the MC14 Chair and WTO Director-General.

You can register here.

DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION 15 MARCH.