Trade is not just about markets—it’s about increasing the capabilities of people and honoring the right to development of all nations.
At the 3rd PrepComm for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), which took place from 10 to 14 February, 2025, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Erica Levenson, represented Regions Refocus and the Civil Society FfD mechanism. Erica called out the failures of the current multilateral trading system–one that has systematically deprived developing countries of revenue and disproportionately harmed marginalized communities, including women. Here are some takeaways from Erica’s intervention:
– Trade multilateralism must be open, fair, democratic, predictable, and rules-based—not a tool of the continued economic dominance of the Global North.
– An improved, fair, and equitable dispute settlement system in the WTO is a necessity for democratizing trade multilateralism.
– The UN General Assembly, ECOSOC, and UNCTAD must play a central role in shaping a just trade system.
– Common but differentiated responsibility must guide all measures to adapt trade to fit within the constraints of the remaining carbon budget– which means banning unilateral ‘sustainability’ measures.