NEWS

Ambassador Joseph Barloon’s confirmation as U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is welcome news for American businesses and workers. As a participant in September’s WTO Public Forum in Geneva, it was evident in our meetings that other governments were awaiting his arrival as a demonstration of U.S. commitment. That moment has arrived, and it’s an opportunity the U.S. mission and Barloon’s boss—U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer—should seize.

The WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14) slated for next March may sound distant, but as one senior mission representative in Geneva noted, it might as well be “next week.” By design, the consensus-based WTO moves deliberately; if it is to deliver outcomes that serve Americans, the groundwork must begin now by setting priorities, building coalitions, and preparing proposals.

Two things are essential to success. First, the United States must show up—and lead. U.S. companies of every size depend on the WTO’s predictable, enforceable rules. Those rules prohibit discrimination against American businesses, bar disguised barriers to trade, and keep overseas markets much more open to U.S. exports than they were in the pre-WTO era. U.S. businesses would be much worse off without them.

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