The World Trade Organization (WTO) was born 30 years ago during an era marked by the march towards globalisation. Today, the mood music has changed. The rise of protectionist policies and justifications — such as subsidies, tariffs, economic sovereignty and national security — sits awkwardly with the principles of fair trade that underpin the WTO’s rules-based system for international commerce.  

Is the WTO’s waning influence simply part of the backlash against globalisation? Or are governments stepping in to compensate for the WTO system’s shortcomings? Danielle Myles looks at what’s limiting the organisation’s sway over global trade, and how it can reassert its influence. Filmed and edited by Louis Bird-Mendes.