What can other countries do collectively， to stem the growing hostility and instability？ Small states like Singapore can do little to influence the big powers， but we are not entirely without agency.
There are many opportunities for smaller countries to work together to deepen economic cooperation， strengthen regional integration， and build up multilateral institutions. This way， we can strengthen our influence as a
group， and advance a collective position on issues that matter to us， be it trade， security or technology.
Our multilateral institutions today are far from perfect. The WTO is one of the major institutions in the post－war global order， but now it is almost paralysed， and urgently needs reform. Multilateral global deals like the Uruguay Round are no longer practical， when agreement requires a full consensus among 164 member countries of hugely diverse interests and philosophies. Furthermore， the WTO was designed for an agricultural and manufacturing－based world economy， but the world has moved on to services and now increasingly digital and intellectual property， which need much more complicated rules.
The US has lost faith in the WTO. It often acts unilaterally， imposing tariffs and trade sanctions outside WTO rules. It prefers negotiating bilateral deals one on one against smaller countries in tests of strength. It gives more weight to the US’ direct |
