Unfortunately, nation states are not as willing to forgo national sovereignty and accept strong compliance mechanisms in treaties negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations. The critical question is why the political will is not the same. The WTO acting alone cannot solve this problem of incoherence. Furthermore, to be realistic, the chances of convening a global conference to address such issues (as suggested by former WTO Director-General Peter Sutherland) are remote at best, as are the chances of establishing a new global institution such as the World Environment Organization (as suggested by another former WTO Director-General, Renato Ruggiero).

It is important to come to grips with the reality that in the coming months, and more importantly in the coming years and decades, public support for the WTO will be essential if the organization is to continue its contribution to the maintenance of a stable and predictable trading system. However, the WTO is only one part of a system of global governance that must now be renewed with a clear definition of the functions of existing multilateral institutions. In the absence of a coherent system of global governance, the criticism that the WTO faces will in large measure remain linked to the many different perceptions of the proper role of trade policy in the global economy. Clarifying the role of the WTO in global governance must be an absolute priority for the international community if the enormous contributions that the multilateral trading system has made to world economic growth and stability over the past 50 years are to be duplicated the next half-century and beyond.