John W.H. Denton AO (International Chamber of Commerce)

Revitalising the multilateral trading system: 

A business imperative

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In a world of deepening geopolitical tensions, accelerating economic fragmentation and mounting climate pressures, the rules-based multilateral trading system – a key engine of growth, job creation and opportunity – is under sustained strain. For businesses, particularly small- and medium‑sized enterprises, the resulting uncertainty has become an added cost that weighs directly on investment decisions, competitiveness and growth.

This is not a moment for institutional caution. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the world's largest business organisation representing more than 45 million companies across over 170 countries, was created in the aftermath of the First World War out of systemic disruption. Since then, we have been working to bring certainty where there is uncertainty and order where there is disorder. Our mission is as relevant today as it has ever been.

Why the world needs a revitalised trading system

For decades, the multilateral trading system anchored in the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has delivered predictability, transparency and enforceability. These foundations have enabled the development of global supply chains, supported investment flows and helped lift billions of people out of extreme poverty.

Yet the system is under real strain. Escalating tariffs, unilateral trade-restrictive measures and concerns around supply chain resilience are fuelling a wave of protectionism that threatens decades of hard-won economic progress. 

A collapse of this system would have severe and far-reaching consequences. ICC analysis suggests that without the rules-based multilateral trading system anchored by the WTO, non-fuel good exports could shrink by as much as 33% — with the heaviest burden falling on developing nations and the SMEs that depend on open markets to grow. 

It is important to challenge the prevailing narrative that the system has already collapsed. Trade in goods continued to grow last year, and more than 70% of global trade was conducted under the WTO’s Most Favoured Nation (MFN) terms. While the system is under serious strain, it is not beyond repair. 

This is why reforming and revitalising the multilateral trading system is not an institutional exercise in nostalgia. It is an economic and social imperative — and one that requires practical action alongside reform.

The ICC Compact for Trade, Growth and Jobs

At ICC, our response to this moment is grounded in a simple but pragmatic premise: while the world cannot afford the collapse of the multilateral trading system, business cannot wait for consensus.

Revitalising trade is not only about negotiating new rules. It is also about strengthening and modernising the infrastructure that enables global commerce every day.

ICC contributes to that infrastructure in concrete and operational ways. Our rules and standards facilitate more than US$17.5 trillion in merchandise trade annually. Our dispute‑resolution services, including through the ICC International Court of Arbitration, handle commercial disputes valued at over US$250 billion each year.

True to our founding purpose, ICC has developed the ICC Compact for Trade, Growth and Jobs — a business-driven framework shaped through extensive consultation across our global network. It reframes trade policy debates around concrete business challenges, identifying practical solutions — from quick wins for immediate implementation to more ambitious reforms for the medium and long term — that both governments and businesses can implement.

The Compact is structured around three interconnected pillars grounded in operational realities.

At the border, it focuses on trade facilitation, digitalisation, market access, regulatory compliance, and rules of origin — areas consistently identified by businesses as among the highest-friction barriers to participation in international trade, particularly for SMEs.

Beyond the border, it addresses the domestic policy settings reshaping cross-border commerce, including industrial subsidies, cross-border data flows, export controls, critical minerals and trade-and-climate measures. These are approached through enhanced transparency, dialogue and confidence-building, alongside the modernisation of multilateral rules. 

Within the enabling environment, the Compact prioritises closing the widening trade-finance gap and improving access to efficient dispute-resolution mechanisms, with a strong emphasis on public-private collaboration and digitalisation.


A pragmatic path forward 

The Compact is not about preserving the legacy of the past. It is about building a modern, inclusive approach to trade that works for businesses of all sizes and at all stages of development — ensuring that the infrastructure of global commerce is fit for purpose in the 21st century.

The response to the Compact has been encouraging, not because the recommendations are easy to implement, but because they offer a pragmatic and inclusive framework for action. ICC modelling indicates that delivering on the Compact’s recommendations could unlock up to US$5 trillion in additional economic activity, equivalent to 4% of global GDP.

Through the initiatives set out in the Compact, the private sector stands ready to play its part. By focusing on delivery — modernising trade infrastructure, reducing barriers to participation in cross-border commerce, and rebuilding confidence — we can revitalise the multilateral trading system as a foundation for growth, stability and opportunity for all.

The responsibility now is collective. Governments must pursue reform and cooperation, businesses must remain engagedand institutions must adapt to new realities.

A call for action

In an era defined by uncertainty, restoring certainty in global trade may be one of the most important economic tasks of our time. This task is not about preserving the system unchanged, but to renew it — to restore certainty, usability and confidence. 

By combining WTO reform with practical actions at and beyond the border, by leveraging digitalisation and by strengthening the enabling environment for SMEs, we can stabilise and revitalise global trade.

What is needed now is the political will and business commitment to move from dialogue to delivery.

ICC remains resolute in working with governments, businesses and multilateral institutions to ensure that trade remains a force for good — advancing economic inclusion, alleviating poverty, accelerating climate action and delivering the quality jobs and growth that people everywhere deserve.

The path forward will not be simple. But the consequences of inaction are far more costly than the effort of reform. The moment to act is now.

John W.H. Denton AO 

is the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the world's largest business organisation representing over 45 million businesses in 170 countries.

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