Freeze date: December 2026

​​

In a world previously characterized by the promise of free markets and interconnected economies, the return of protectionist policies is redefining the global economic landscape. Between 2025 and December 2026, the global trade system has been challenged by a surge of aggressive tariffs, the weakening of multilateral mechanisms, and an expanding gap between the Global North and South. While traditional “superpowers” such as the United States and the European Union impose high and aggressive tariffs, under the pretext of "smart protectionism," developing nations are experiencing unprecedented economic setbacks. American tariffs now include a 10% blanket tax on all imports and a debilitating 145% tariff on Chinese imports, while the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) imposes draconian levies on carbon-dense imports, disproportionately targeting energy and manufacturing dependent Southern economies. 

Agricultural exporters like Thailand and Kenya have seen their markets shrink; India’s GDP projections have been downgraded due to rising trade tensions; and Bangladesh’s textile sector, once a cornerstone of employment and growth, has collapsed under environmental tariffs. Furthermore, currency devaluations, stock market crashes, and food crises have followed - creating tensions that stem beyond the realms of trade. These waves of protectionism are not isolated policy choices, but part of a broader trend where the West retreats into economic nationalism at the expense of the Global South. 

Amidst the chaos, the Doha Development Round, launched in 2001 with the aim of rebalancing trade in favor of developing countries - has been pronounced "dormant," evoking sharp criticism from Southern leaders who see this as the symbolic demise of fair globalization, and the West’s attempt at “economic warfare.” 

Moreover, the WTO's Appellate Body is still dysfunctional, depriving developing countries of legal remedy to contest unfair policies. However, this has not stopped the global South from speaking out; civil society demonstrations in Dhaka, Accra, and Bogotá, Nairobi-Dhaka joint memorandums, and covert retaliatory coordination between Indonesia and South Africa have all registered a change in the political will of developing countries. In September 2026, India, Brazil, and Vietnam made a threat at the WTO General Council: reopen the Doha Round, reinstate the dispute settlement system, and give developing countries special treatment under the law - or face their departure. And it was when the Western countries responded indifferently, did the Global South make a bold move. In December 2026, 25 nations initiated the “Global South Retaliation Pact” in Recife, Brazil. They declared that this new multilateral coalition will fight back against Western trade imperialism with synchronized tariffs and construct an alternative South-South trade regime with its own tribunal and pro-development architecture. 

Delegates will have to consider whether the existing trade frameworks can be overhauled to bring justice to developing nations, or whether a new economic order must be envisioned. Can the Doha Round be resuscitated, or is the time finally here for a fresh start? At this explosive and profoundly divided moment, the future of world trade, and of multilateralism itself, hangs in the balance.