[김현서] Remarks by Ambassador Katherine Tai on the World Trade Organization

[김현서]

Remarks by Ambassador Katherine Tai on the World Trade Organization and the Multilateral Trading System

WTO : 세계무역기구 (World Trade Organization)

Hello, everyone. It’s great to be here with all of you

For decades, the United States has been proud to champion the international rules-based order and the multilateral trading system. 

With partners, we negotiated a system reflecting our common vision of openness, transparency, and fair, market-oriented competition.

But the functioning and fairness of this order are now in question. 

That is why, as all of us adapt to a more challenging era—marked by rapid technological change, increasing extreme climate events, vulnerable supply chains, intensifying geopolitical friction, widening inequality, and spiking food insecurity—we all need a WTO focused on its foundational goals. 

This is precisely why the United States is writing a new story on trade. 

We’re pursuing fair competition, addressing the climate crisis, promoting our national security, and ensuring the rules-based system helps all economies, not just the biggest ones.  Our aim is to grow our economy from the middle out and the bottom up, and our trade policies are an integral part of that goal.

The WTO and the multilateral trading system’s rules were never meant to be immutable or static. The creators of the WTO envisioned an organization that would change and adapt through negotiations among its Members.

Right now, being committed to the WTO also means being committed to a real reform agenda. So, let me highlight a few of our priorities for a WTO fit for today’s economic realities.

First, improving transparency. 

Transparency is a precondition to ensuring fairness and accountability in the system. It is critical for fair competition and a level playing field for working people everywhere.  Strengthening transparency will improve our ability to monitor compliance and to resolve our disputes.

To get there, we need to make it easier for Members to share their laws and regulations and for the public to search and view them.  That’s why we are working on using new digital tools to do just that.  And we support providing technical assistance for developing countries so that we all benefit from this.