On January 1, 1995, the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) marked the biggest reform of international trade since the end of the Second World War. Now, on its 25th anniversary, reforming the WTO itself forms the core trade agenda of many nations, rich and poor alike, as confidence in the global body plummets to historical lows.
While the earlier General Agreement in Trade and Tariffs mainly dealt with merchandise trade, WTO has expanded its reach to cover labour, environmental, and intellectual property aspects of trade. Through its enabling policies of free and fair trade, it was credited with