The 195 member states of the UN Trade and Development organization (UNCTAD) gathered Monday in Geneva for its 16th conference, where leaders discussed the implementation of current World Trade Organization (WTO) rules concerning tariffs imposed by the United States on its trade partners.

US tariffs threaten to put significant pressure on global trade and developing nations’ economies. Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the United Nations Trade and Development explained how the tariffs place many nations in a bind:

A debt and development crisis is still facing countries with impossible choices. They have to decide: to default on their debt or on their development… Uncertainty is the highest tariff possible … [It] discourages investment, slows growth and makes trade as a path to development much harder.

Grynspan explained how “72 percent of global trade is still under WTO rules” and how WTO promotes a rules-based system for international trade across 164 global economies. It governs goods, services, intellectual property, standards, investments and other trade issues. Related to the US tariffs, Article III of the WTO prohibits discrimination against “local suppliers” of goods and services based on foreign ownership.

In addition to economic uncertainty posed by tariffs, developing nations face mounting debt. President of the General Assembly Annalena Baerbock stated that debt in these countries reached $31 billion in 2024.

“When trade at the global economy is seen to only benefit a few, it erodes trust in the multinational system…half of humanity has seen no rise in income for a generation,” said Baerbock.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stated that post-war institutions like the UN and the WTO need to adapt to contemporary circumstances. “Preserve what works, reform what no longer does, and reposition for a digital and green future.” 

Within the first few months of his second term, US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on multiple nations and international bodies, including China, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico, Canada, and others. In September, the US Supreme Court reviewed the legality of the tariffs, with oral arguments expected in November.