The multilateral trading system faces numerous challenges that are more profound than at any time in its seven-decade history. It has become commonplace to ask whether the system is in terminal decline. More than a dozen issues facing the WTO are identified in the paper, eight of which are defined as systemic. That is because they permeate and debilitate multiple facets of the workings of the WTO, including the capacity to negotiate, enforce disciplines, monitor policies, and ensure transparency. In no prioritized order, systemic issues arise in the areas of dispute settlement, development, decision-making, transparency, relations between states and markets, subsidies, emerging issues including climate change and digitalization, and trade and health. Other outstanding issues may not be as pervasive in impact, but can nevertheless undermine WTO relevance and effectiveness. All WTO members stand to lose in the absence of predictable multilateral trade rules that pre-commit parties to certain policies and processes. But in today's world, full convergence of all trade rules is a pipe dream. The system needs to balance convergence with managed divergence. Does the non-discrimination principle need to be layered by prior agreement in ways that ensure mutual gains from exchange?

多边贸易体系面临着比其七个十年历史上任何时候都更为深刻的众多挑战。询问系统是否处于终端衰退已成为家常便饭。该文件确定了 WTO 面临的十多个问题，其中八个被定义为系统性问题。这是因为它们渗透并削弱了 WTO 运作的多个方面，包括谈判、执行纪律、监督政策和确保透明度的能力。在争端解决、发展、决策、透明度、国家与市场之间的关系、补贴、包括气候变化和数字化在内的新兴问题以及贸易和健康等领域出现了系统性问题，没有优先顺序。其他未决问题的影响可能不那么普遍，但仍会破坏 WTO 的相关性和有效性。如果没有预先承诺各方遵守某些政策和程序的可预测多边贸易规则，所有 WTO 成员都将遭受损失。但在当今世界，所有贸易规则的全面融合是白日梦。该系统需要平衡收敛与管理的分歧。非歧视原则是否需要通过事先协议以确保从交换中互惠互利的方式分层？