BEIJING, Sept. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A news report by chinadiplomacy.org.cn on WTO reform:
Any efforts to reform the World Trade Organization must prioritize "fair treatment" for developing nations to create a more inclusive global trade system, an Indian scholar said at a BRICS forum.
Speaking at the BRICS Seminar on Governance and Cultural Exchange Forum 2025, Aravind Balaji Yelery, an associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said the post-World War II trading system, from the General Agreement on Tariffs to the WTO, was designed to promote multilateral cooperation, but in practice it often favored powerful states while restricting the policy choices of developing countries.
Aravind Balaji Yelery, an associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, speaks at the BRICS Seminar on Governance and Cultural Exchange Forum 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 30, 2025.
Yelery said addressing structural inequalities in trade systems is essential for ensuring that developing countries can participate meaningfully in global value chains. The expansion of BRICS reflects a shift toward alternative multilateral arrangements that prioritize Global South perspectives and challenge Western-dominated institutions, he said.
Yelery highlighted BRICS calls for WTO reform to strengthen its focus on development and restore its dispute settlement system, emphasizing the group’s commitment to fair treatment for developing countries.
"The future of multilateral trade systems depends on addressing historical inequities while fostering genuine cooperation among nations with diverse development levels and political systems," he said. "This requires fundamental reforms to existing institutions and the development of new and fair frameworks that better represent the interests of all participating nations rather than privileging traditional powers."
The forum was co-hosted by the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, China International Communications Group and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics in Rio de Janeiro on June 30, 2025.
WTO reform must prioritize ‘fair treatment,’ says Indian scholarhttp://en.chinadiplomacy.org.cn/2025-09/16/content_118081521.shtml
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