Delivering remarks to participants of the ICC-World Trade Organization Business Forum, ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO called on governments to act decisively, warning that inaction at this pivotal moment could deepen economic instability and erode the foundations of global trade. Speaking alongside WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Cameroon Minister of Trade Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana Mr Denton said that doing nothing at MC14 would not preserve the status quo but entrench dysfunction.

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Thank you, Director-General, Minister.

Before I turn to the WTO itself, let me say a word about the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz…

Because it is impossible to discuss the future of the trading system without acknowledging the scale of the shock now hitting the real economy.

The head of the International Energy Agency has warned that the world is facing an energy crisis more severe than the oil shocks of the 1970s.

From a business perspective, we believe this could yet become the worst industrial crisis in living memory.

Not only because of surging energy prices, but because industrial production itself is being disrupted and dislocated by shortages of gas and other essential inputs.

We are already seeing major companies invoke force majeure on their supply contracts and cut output as shortages ripple through energy, chemicals and other critical supply chains.

And - let's be clear - the consequences do not stop at industry.

Disruption to trade in agricultural fertilizers now creates a very real risk for the next harvest season…

With farmers across the world - and perhaps most acutely in Africa - facing supply shortages and price increases that may force lower application rates of essential nutrients.

A situation that ultimately - and inevitably - will translate into much lower agricultural yields and food security risks later this year.

That is why it is vital that the international community do everything possible to restore safe passage of commercial shipping through the Gulf…

As well as acting early to mitigate the foreseeable damage to the real economy while those efforts continue.

I have been invited to join the UN Secretary-General's Hormuz crisis initiative…

And I do so with a very clear message from business: only a concerted and effective international response can now prevent deep economic dislocation and serious risks to global food security.

And let me say that the WTO deserves real credit for the speed with which it has responded.

Its new tool to track essential shipments through the Strait of Hormuz is exactly the kind of practical, responsive support that businesses need from the multilateral system in moments of crisis.

Because in moments like this, the test of the system is not rhetorical. It is practical. Can it respond at the speed and scale of the disruption facing the real economy?

And that brings me back to the immediate matters at hand in Yaounde this week.

The crisis in Hormuz is not separate from the question before us at MC14. It is a stark reminder of why a functioning, credible and responsive multilateral trading system still matters.

I speak today as the representative of over 45 million businesses in more than 170 countries.

And I want to share, candidly, the depth of concern in the global business community about the state of that system.

The trading environment our members operate in today bears little resemblance to the rules-based system that did deliver stability and growth for many years, but that has been eroding steadily since the financial crisis of 2008.

The challenges are systemic. Reform has lacked a political champion for nearly two decades. The WTO's three vital functions - negotiation, dispute settlement, and deliberation - have all stalled. And the common purpose that brought this system into being can no longer be taken for granted: Members increasingly want different things from the system, and some no longer see it as the right tool for their interests.

We are seeing a new level of uncertainty - driven by geopolitical tensions, conflicts, unilateral measures, unresolved disputes, and rules that have not kept pace with how the global economy works. The ground has shifted fundamentally since the WTO was founded in 1995, and the response must match that reality.

The numbers tell the story. Trade policy uncertainty has surged to ten times its decade-long average. The share of world trade conducted under MFN treatment - the WTO's foundational principle - has fallen from 80 per cent to 72 per cent in the last two years. The WTO's own latest forecast, published just days ago, projects merchandise trade growth of under 2 per cent this year and warns it could fall further if energy disruptions from the Middle East conflict persist.

For the businesses ICC represents, the consequence is felt every day: an erosion of the stability and predictability on which trade, investment, and job creation depend. Geopolitical tensions are reshaping supply chains. Risk and resilience have become the dominant paradigms for business planning - not growth, not opportunity.

This is not a theoretical concern. It is the lived reality of companies in every region. For small and medium-sized enterprises - the backbone of every economy, and particularly here on the African continent - it is existential. They have the fewest resources to navigate uncertainty, and the most to lose when the rules stop working.

I understand why reform is difficult. It requires compromise and political courage, and there is a natural instinct to protect what exists. But we must be honest with ourselves about what exists today. The system is not intact. And preserving an appearance of stability is not the same as preserving the system.

Doing nothing at MC14 will not preserve the status quo. It will entrench dysfunction. Every month of inaction erodes the WTO system further - a system that, once lost, would be almost impossible to rebuild in the current geopolitical environment.

An Oxford Economics study commissioned by ICC shows that the dissolution of the WTO would permanently lower GDP for developing countries by over 5 per cent. Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Central Asia would face losses of 6 to 6.5 per cent. These are not abstract figures. They are jobs, livelihoods, and development gains that took decades to build. Here in Cameroon, and across this continent, the multilateral trading system is not a geopolitical chess piece - it is a development lifeline.

The cost of action is real. But the cost of further delay is far greater - and it falls hardest on those who can least afford it

This system does not need a patch. It needs surgery. When a car has broken down, you do not point to the sound system and say it still works. You open the hood and fix the engine. That is what we must do here.

What we are calling for is clear. A formal round of reform negotiations, launched here at MC14, with a concrete and time-bound work programme with clear milestones and accountability.

Reform must prioritise the systemic blockages that have held up progress for years - on decision-making, on the role of plurilateral agreements, and on special and differential treatment. Unblocking these will unlock the WTO's negotiating function on everything else: digital trade, services, agriculture.

We also need creative solution, including variable geometry approaches that can accommodate the genuine diversity among Members while preserving the integrity of the system.

If consensus is not possible, then a coalition of willing Members must lead the way - in an open and inclusive format that others can join.

The business community also calls for a standstill on new trade-restrictive measures that violate WTO rules for the duration of the reform negotiations. Reform requires a foundation of good faith, and a standstill would be a powerful signal of collective commitment.

Let me say something specific about the Moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, because this is a test case for whether the WTO can still deliver concrete results.

For over 25 years, this moratorium has kept digital trade open and affordable. It has enabled small businesses and entrepreneurs in every country, including across Africa, to access cloud services, digital platforms, and online tools without facing tariffs at the border.

The business community is not asking for another temporary extension. We are calling for this moratorium to be made permanent. Digital trade underpins every modern business. It is not a niche issue. And the uncertainty created by the cycle of last-minute renewals is itself damaging to investment and planning.

Allowing the moratorium to lapse at MC14 would send precisely the wrong signal - that the WTO cannot protect even its most basic commitments to an open modern global economy. Making it permanent would demonstrate the opposite.

I want to close with something that gives me genuine confidence. Ahead of MC14, ICC has brought the global business community together behind a single, signed statement addressed to WTO Ministers.

Over 230 chambers and business associations from every region have put their name to it.

This is not a lobbying exercise. It is a statement of collective anxiety and collective resolve. Business is saying: we need this system, we know it can be made to work again, and we are prepared to engage as partners in that effort.

We are also proposing that structured private sector engagement be built into the reform process itself. Not as observers. As end-users of the system, whose practical insights can help ensure that what emerges is workable. And we believe this must be both a feature of how reform is conducted and an outcome of reform itself - a permanent, institutionalised mechanism for business engagement at the WTO, consistent with the practices of other international organisations.

The Director-General has called MC14 a turning point. I agree. And I would add: MC14 is a lifeline. The window to act is narrowing. The global business community stands ready to work alongside governments and the WTO to seize this moment.

The direction we take from here is a choice, not an inevitability. We can choose to act.