WTO chief calls for reform of global trading system

She urged Europe, middle powers to step up, not lament US policy

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director‑General Ngozi Okonjo‑Iweala attends the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Jan 23, 2026. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The head of the World Trade Organization said that she agreed with US calls for reform of the global trading system ahead of a major meeting of the trade watchdog in Cameroon next month.

Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs ranging from 10 percent to 41 percent on US imports from dozens of countries and foreign locations. The US Supreme Court is due to rule on their legality.

"We may not like the action (US tariffs), but we must take the signal that we need to reform many of the things with the world trading system," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told the Munich Security Conference on Friday.

"The system is resilient, but it's not robust, so we need to make it robust by doing the necessary reforms, and that is what we're working on at the WTO," she said, without giving specifics on what needed to change.

She called for an end to "lamentations" about US trade policy and urged Europe and middle powers to show leadership.