Ottawa Meeting Focuses on WTO Reform, Doesn’t Address U.S. Complaints

OTTAWA—Warning the status quo at the World Trade Organization “is no longer sustainable” and the multilateral trading system is at risk, U.S. allies pledged Thursday to address shortfalls at the institution.

While the two-day meeting in the Canadian capital was prompted by the Trump administration’s complaints about the WTO, its participants from 12 countries and the European Union did nothing to acknowledge Washington’s core grievance: the WTO’s limitations in curtailing China’s market-disrupting practices. The WTO members in attendance agreed to look at certain areas of concern, with officials offering to discuss proposed reforms at a meeting in January.