Former WTO Director-General to give evidence to Lords on state of rules-based trade

Tomorrow, the House of Lords International Agreements Committee will continue its inquiry into the future of rules-based trade by questioning Pascal Lamy, former World Trade Organization Director-General. 

The Committee's inquiry is taking place in the context of recent trade volatility, such as President Trump's tariffs, which has affected the broader geopolitical context for rules-based trade and the functioning of the WTO.  

The session will take place on Thursday 9 July 2026 at 12pm and can be followed live on Parliament TV. 

Questions the committee is likely to ask include: 

• How has the multilateral trading system developed in recent years, and what are the key issues which will define the future of global trade? 

• How should open economies like the UK navigate a global environment in which trade policy is characterised by competition rather than cooperation? 

• How fundamental are the challenges faced by the WTO and how resilient is the system of rules-based trade to these challenges? 

• How well equipped is the current architecture for trade to deal with the rise of the services and digital economies?