The case for WTO collective action

Paulsen, Mona ORCID: 0000-0003-4566-5041 (2025) The case for WTO collective action. World Trade Review. ISSN 1474-7456

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Abstract

This article considers whether Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) can develop a collective response to a globally welfare-damaging situation that impacts individual Members differentially. We conclude that collective action remains within the letter and spirit of the WTO Agreements. We set out the enabling procedures for collective action in a WTO dispute setting, in particular, the use of the rarely used situation complaint. We were motivated by the United States’ move to redraw its trade relations and break from its international trade commitments through bilateral negotiations in which it holds asymmetric leverage, buttressed by a pre-emptive announced escalation in response to any attempt by counterparties to join in forging a collective response. We conclude that, if undertaken, collective action can raise each Member’s voice into a countervailing choir and, more importantly, it can reinforce the mutual benefits derived from the multilateral trading system. Collective action thus serves a double purpose in engaging domestic concerns and the collective interests of those intending to preserve the multilateral system on which each Member depends.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author
Divisions:	Law School
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
JEL classification:	F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F13 - Commercial Policy; Protection; Promotion; Trade Negotiations; International Trade Organizations F - International Economics > F5 - International Relations and International Political Economy > F51 - International Conflicts; Negotiations; Sanctions F - International Economics > F5 - International Relations and International Political Economy > F53 - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations K - Law and Economics > K3 - Other Substantive Areas of Law > K33 - International Law K - Law and Economics > K3 - Other Substantive Areas of Law > K34 - Tax Law
Date Deposited:	22 Sep 2025 11:33
Last Modified:	09 Dec 2025 11:24
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/129560

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