This article focuses on the state of progress of
negotiations at the World Trade Organization. Since 2001, WTO Members have been
working towards the conclusion of the Doha Development Round. While
negotiations have been stagnant for a long time, the arrival of Roberto Azevêdo
has brought a new impetus to the discussions and led to the adoption of the
Bali Package in 2013, making it possible to close the debates on about 10% of
the subjects. Unfortunately, the post-Bali discussions were less positive
since, although they produced interesting results in some areas, they did not
produce satisfactory results on one of the most important multilateral trade
issues, namely domestic support measures for agriculture. Even more
problematically, the Nairobi ministerial noted a new difficulty, namely a lack
of consensus on the very content of future negotiations. In this context, the
ministers met in Buenos Aires in 2017 without a clear agenda. With an American
administration not very inclined to multilateralism, and a group of countries
ready to block any progress that is not favourable to developing countries,
this Ministerial was a dead end. However, the Buenos Aires Ministerial was marked
by the creation of three informal working groups. In parallel, many Members
enthusiastically joined an initiative of the International Trade Centre on the
empowerment of women in trade, suggesting that a new theme may have emerged at
the WTO. The Nur-Soultan Ministerial Conference in June 2020 will determine
whether Members are ready for a redefinition of the Negotiating Agenda.