Is the WTO Passé? The Impact of Multilateral Economic Integration on Agri‐Food Global Value Chains

Dongin Kim and Sandro Steinbach

The World Economy, 2025, vol. 48, issue 9, 2063-2081

Abstract: This paper assesses the impact of multilateral commitments under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on agri‐food global value chains (GVCs). Against a backdrop of increasing regional trade agreements (RTAs) and questions about multilateralism's efficacy, we evaluate whether multilateral economic integration remains effective in advancing agri‐food GVCs. Relying on the isomorphic gravity framework, we find that GATT/WTO membership promotes agricultural GVC flows, increasing backward linkages by 56.7% and forward linkages by 43.9%, surpassing the effects of RTAs, which enhance backward and forward GVC linkages by only 7.9% and 4.1%, respectively. These results underscore the central role of multilateralism in driving agri‐food GVC integration despite its limitations in reducing agricultural tariffs. Meanwhile, RTAs significantly contribute to GVC integration by fostering connections between countries with substantial income disparities. The transition from GATT to WTO, marked by a more robust institutional framework and binding dispute resolution mechanisms, has further enhanced global agri‐food GVC integration. Our study highlights the continued relevance of multilateral economic integration in fostering agri‐food GVC integration, offering critical insights for policymakers in addressing worldwide trade and food security challenges.

Date: 2025
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