RESOLUTION OF TRADE CONFLICTS WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

Abstract

The article examines the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in resolving international trade conflicts, with particular emphasis on its institutional functions, mechanisms and methods that ensure legal certainty, predictability and overall stability of the global trading system. It provides a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the WTO’s main functions, including arbitration, mediation, standardization, monitoring of trade policy and trade policy review, all of which collectively contribute to reducing trade tensions, preventing misunderstandings and avoiding the escalation of conflicts among member states. The study systematises key examples of the WTO’s involvement in resolving major international trade disputes, in particular those between the United States and the European Union, China, India and other leading global economies, and evaluates the effectiveness of its dispute settlement mechanisms in practice. Special attention is given to Ukraine’s experience as a WTO member since 2008, highlighting its strategic use of consultations, arbitration panels, mediation procedures and other institutional tools to address trade conflicts with Russia, the EU, and various other international partners, thereby safeguarding its economic interests. The analysis demonstrates that the WTO provides Ukraine with a necessary legal, procedural and diplomatic framework to protect its economic interests, maintain access to global markets and strengthen its trade relations, even amid geopolitical instability and wartime conditions. The study concludes that, despite existing institutional challenges, procedural delays and partial non-compliance with certain rulings, the WTO remains the world’s only global organisation capable of ensuring stability, transparency, predictability and fairness in international trade relations. At the same time, to maintain its effectiveness under current conditions of global multipolarity, rising protectionism and rapidly changing economic environments, the WTO requires continuous improvement of its mechanisms, including speeding up dispute resolution processes, enhancing the enforcement of rulings, more active use of preventive consultations and further adaptation to emerging challenges in contemporary world trade.