In a declaration to mark the 30th anniversary of the institution under attack from US President Donald Trump, they reaffirm their support for a predictable global trading system.
In the face of these difficulties, “our collective commitment to the principles of the WTO and to maintaining open trade is more crucial than ever”, they said in a communication dated Wednesday and relayed at a meeting on Thursday.
In particular, they deplore “the rise of protectionism”. Neither the United States nor any other EU member state is associated with this declaration, which is led by Switzerland and Singapore.
Several countries, including China, have accused the United States of violating the rules of the WTO in the series of tariffs announced by President Trump. On Thursday, Washington repeated to the WTO in Geneva that it was merely applying the national security clause laid down by its members. A response that did not convince Beijing.
Translated from French by DeepL/ts
How we work
We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate them into English. A journalist then briefly reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team.
Did you find this explanation helpful? Please fill out the short survey on this page to help us understand your needs.
Popular Stories
More
Workplace Switzerland
Trump tariff shock: how Switzerland is positioning itself
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Men in Switzerland under pressure to uphold social standing
This content was published on
A study from the University of Bern reveals that men in relatively gender-equal countries face significant pressure to maintain their high social status.
Ivory Coast court bars former Credit Suisse CEO from presidential race
This content was published on
The court removed opposition politician and former CEO of Credit Suisse Tidjane Thiam from the electoral roll, citing the loss of his Ivorian nationality.
Novartis and Sanofi call for higher drug prices in Europe
This content was published on
Swiss and French pharmaceutical companies Novartis and Sanofi argue that the EU should adjust its drug prices to better align with those in the US.
WHO braces for staff cuts in Geneva amid US funding withdrawal
This content was published on
WHO’s Director-General warned US budget cuts are putting the agency in financial trouble, leading to management cuts in Geneva.
Parmelin meets Swiss businesses in US as IMF predicts 0.9% growth for Switzerland
This content was published on
Economics Minister Guy Parmelin met Swiss businesses in the US during IMF and World Bank meetings. The IMF now forecasts 0.9% GDP growth for Switzerland.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.