CUTS International has launched a new global initiative, ‘Trade Not Just Aid: Winners and Losers in the WTO’ (TRaNJA), aimed at fostering a constructive narrative around the World Trade Organization and revitalizing the multilateral trading system.
The initiative was unveiled at a high-level event titled Shaping the Future of Global Trade in an Era of Shifting U.S. Engagement, Emerging Powers and Digital Innovation, held from 2 to 4 December 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.
The program was organized by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, a German political foundation known for its long-standing engagement in equitable global trade policy. Nearly 30 experts from 16 countries participated in the discussions, which covered both global and Southeast Asian trade issues.
TRaNJA’s steering committee is co-chaired by Indian MP and former foreign minister Shashi Tharoor and former WTO Director General Pascal Lamy. The committee includes 21 distinguished members from across the world.
Launching the initiative, CUTS Secretary General Pradeep S. Mehta emphasized the urgent need to rebuild confidence in the WTO at a time when the organization is under strain from rising unilateralism and protectionism. He noted that while narratives about the WTO’s decline dominate public discourse, its relevance remains foundational.
“The WTO is a global public good and the bulwark of the rules-based multilateral trading system. Around 70% of world trade still occurs on non-discriminatory, MFN terms agreed at the WTO,” Mehta said. He added that the predictability and stability of the system have helped increase global trade volumes more than forty-fivefold since the 1950s.
Mehta argued that reform discussions cannot advance without first cultivating a positive environment around the WTO’s central role. “Unless there is a conducive environment, there will be no political interest in undertaking meaningful reforms,” he said.
He called on major WTO members and middle powers to join forces, re-examine entrenched positions, and form a ‘coalition of the willing’ to safeguard systemic interests and push for reform.
He stressed the importance of evidence-based external inputs to support internal WTO deliberations, including assessments of the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, and pathways for improvement.
Reflecting on decades of engagement with the global trading system, Mehta warned against returning to protectionism. “My fervent plea to this gathering is to not write off the MTS with the WTO as its base,” he said.
His remarks were endorsed by Dr Mia Mikic, Chairperson of the Friends of Multilateralism Group from New Zealand, and Dr Peter Draper, Executive Director of the Institute for International Trade at the University of Adelaide, Australia, both of whom underscored the importance of strengthening the multilateral framework in an era of global economic uncertainty.
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