The US supports reforms but is resisting a detailed work plan, while the EU, Britain, and China back one, internal reform documents seen by Reuters show.
“If we don’t achieve anything concrete, the WTO will lose its attractiveness and relevancy,” Swiss Ambassador Erwin Bollinger said before the session.
UK trade minister Chris Bryant warned of potential fragmentation if no deal is reached.
“My anxiety is if we ministers don’t get this week right, you might see a disorderly collapse of the WTO and some people writing a new rulebook,” Bryant said.
At the meeting, India is set to oppose US efforts to extend a global ban on cross-border e-commerce duties, which New Delhi says developing nations should be able to impose.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in a draft statement seen in advance by Reuters, is expected to tell members the US is “not interested” in a temporary extension to the ban, only a permanent extension.