George Riddell contributes to ICC brief on the WTO's hidden value for business

The infrastructure behind global trade

The brief highlights an often-overlooked part of the debate about tariffs and trade wars: the WTO’s value to business extends well beyond headline negotiations.

The organisation underpins around 74% of global trade, connecting national regulations, standards and trade practices through a shared framework. This covers goods, services, which account for two-thirds of global GDP, and intellectual property.

Much of this infrastructure operates quietly, supporting businesses that may not realise how much they rely on it.

Seven ways the WTO supports business

The brief identifies seven practical benefits:

• Early warning of regulatory changes: Notification systems provide advance visibility of new technical and food-safety measures.
• More efficient border procedures: The Trade Facilitation Agreement supports faster, more transparent processes.
• Clearer access to services markets: General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) commitments clarify the conditions for supplying services abroad.
• Greater certainty on tariffs: Bound tariff commitments provide a legal ceiling for long-term planning, even as applied rates fluctuate.
• Common intellectual property rules: Shared disciplines cover patents, trademarks and copyright.
• Access to public procurement: The Government Procurement Agreement provides non-discriminatory access to covered procurement markets.
• Visibility of market opportunities: Transparency tools help businesses monitor regulatory changes and identify opportunities.

Why WTO reform matters

Independent modelling by Oxford Economics, commissioned by ICC, found that a WTO collapse could reduce developing countries’ non-fuel goods trade by 33% and cause a permanent 5% loss in GDP.

These findings underline the importance of preserving the system’s practical benefits as members pursue reform.

Goyder’s perspective

The brief reflects a principle that informs Goyder’s work: businesses are better placed to navigate global trade when they understand the systems behind the headlines.

For WTO members, the challenge is to preserve this essential infrastructure while modernising it for the decades ahead. For businesses, understanding what is at stake is an important part of preparing for change.

Read the full brief on the ICC website.