The fourteenth Ministerial Conference of the WTO (WTO-MC14) is expected to be a defining event for the way the multilateral trading system is going to evolve and develop in the coming days. If LDC graduation of Bangladesh takes place in November 2026, this will also be Bangladesh’s last Ministerial as an LDC. The Conference is taking place at a time when trade is being increasingly weaponised, and founding cornerstones of the WTO, such as the most favoured nation and single undertaking principles of the WTO and the rules-based global trading system, in general, are coming under serious scrutiny and threat. The paper undertakes a review of the reform proposals being discussed in the WTO and draws insights from relevant official documents and literature as also information gleaned from key informant interviews.
Authors: Mustafizur Rahman and Tanbin Alam Chowdhury
Publication Period: March 2026
