Inside the World Trade Organization Public Forum 2026

• Co-organized by the ICC and IISD
• Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 10:00–11:15 CEST, Council Room (CR), WTO
• Livestreamed

The opening plenary of the Public Forum 2026 will explore what the future of trade cooperation should look like and how it can deliver for people and the planet. As geopolitical tensions test the multilateral trading system, panellists will discuss how cooperation on trade can support sustainable development, keep markets open and fair, and harness the growth of services trade for inclusive economies. 

Speakers

• Patricia Fuller, President and CEO, IISD
• Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization
• John Denton, Secretary General, ICC
• Ambassador Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota, Chair, Dispute Settlement Body
• Moderator: Inu Manak, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)

• Organized by IISD
• Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 14:15–15:15 CEST, Room W, WTO
• Livestreamed

Industrial policy debates usually focus on manufacturing, but governments are increasingly using industrial policy tools in services, from digital infrastructure to green tech. This session will examine where industrial policy in services is emerging, what it means for trade rules and competition, and how policy-makers can align these measures with sustainable development goals. 

Speakers

• H.E. Sumathi Balakrishnan, Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the WTO, Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, Malaysia
• Sumanta Chaudhuri, Principal Adviser in International Trade Policy, Confederation of Indian Industry
• Pierre Sauvé, Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer, University of Bern’s World Trade Institute
• Miglė Niauraitė, Senior Director, Government Affairs for Geopolitics and International Relations, Siemens 
• Moderator: Alice Tipping, Director, Trade and Sustainable Development, IISD

• Organized by The Pew Charitable Trusts and IISD
• Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 15:45–16:45 CEST, Room F, WTO

One year after the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies entered into force, this session takes stock of implementation and looks ahead: what ratification and the WTO Fish Fund mean in practice, how members are turning commitments into national action, and what is needed to conclude the second wave of negotiations.

Speakers

• Ana Lizano, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the WTO
• Ambassador Leslie Ramsammy, Permanent Mission of Guyana to the WTO
• Anna Ducros, Researcher, International Institute for Environment and Development
• Sivaja Nair, Program Manager, Rise Up for the Ocean
• Moderator: Alice Tipping, Director, Trade and Sustainable Development, IISD

• Organized by Cambodia
• Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 17:15–18:15 CEST, Room S1, WTO
• Livestreamed

As least developed countries (LDCs) approach graduation, digital trade and services offer a critical pathway to structural transformation and economic resilience. This session explores the policy, regulatory, and institutional reforms needed to strengthen services competitiveness, digital readiness, and integration into global markets. Panellists will discuss how WTO initiatives can better support LDCs in putting these reforms into practice and draw on experiences from Cambodia and other developing economies. 

Speakers

• Alice Tipping, Director, Trade and Sustainable Development, IISD
• Johanna Hill, WTO-Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization
• Ambassador Kumar Iyer, Permanent Representative, UK Mission to the WTO, UN, and other international organizations in Geneva
• Ambassador Prasith Suon, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the WTO and other international organizations in Geneva
• Moderator: Kong Sokheng, Director of the Department of WTO Affairs and International Organizations, Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia

• Organized by ICC and IISD, as part of Geneva Trade Week 2026
• Thursday, September 17, 2026, 10:30–11:30 CEST, Room A, World Trade Organization
• By invitation only
• Ieva Baršauskaitė, IISD's Lead on Trade and the Green Transition, will speak at this event

The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) completed its transitional phase on December 31, 2025, with the definitive regime applying from January 1, 2026. During the transition, importers of covered goods reported embedded emissions quarterly without incurring financial liability, generating practical experience of the mechanism in operation. This curated conversation brings together business and Geneva-based organizations to take stock of that experience, examining what the transitional phase revealed about compliance readiness, data availability, and cost, and what those lessons mean for the definitive regime and the design of comparable border measures elsewhere.

The Public Forum is the WTO's most significant outreach event. It offers a platform for stakeholders worldwide to discuss the latest global trade developments and suggest improvements to the multilateral trading system. Each year, the event draws more than 2,000 participants from civil society, academia, business, government, international organizations, and the media.

Because the conversations held at the Public Forum influence how officials and stakeholders think about and engage with trade policy—and IISD’s mission is to make sure sustainable development is at the centre of them. After 2 decades of work at the intersection of trade, environment, and development, co-organizing the forum for the first time means IISD can help shape the agenda of the world’s largest trade dialogue, bringing an independent, sustainability-first perspective to debates that will define the future of the trading system.

Under the theme "Powering the Future," the Public Forum 2026 focuses on services trade—from digital transformation and AI to the services that power supply chains—and how it can drive development, jobs, and empowerment, particularly for women and young people.