Four areas of possible reform launched.Ottawa— The 13 partners in a Canadian led initiative to modernize the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have agreed to seek more members and launch discussions on four specific areas of reform.Known as the Ottawa Group, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the European Union, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea and Switzerland will invite other countries to join them in discussing “how to improve the deliberative functions of a number of WTO bodies,” says a statement issued by Global Affairs Canada.The meeting, held during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in late January at the request of Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr, selected four WTO functions to be reviewed by the members. Brazil will lead a review of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Committee, Singapore the Technical Barriers to Trade Committee, Switzerland the Rules of Origin Committee and Australia the Council for Trade in Services. Norway will coordinate efforts on the development dimension of WTO reform.As discussions progress, each lead country will work with others to formulate committee-specific proposals, with as many co-sponsors as possible from among those participating in the informal process, the statement said. The eventual goal is to achieve consensus on a package of updates that could be adopted by the entire membership. If this process succeeds, then other functions of the WTO will undergo a similar membership review.The group held its initial meeting in Ottawa in October to start a process for addressing international trade issues through the WTO to ensure a level playing field for all its members. Its aim is “to address specific challenges that are putting the multilateral trading system under stress including the improvement of the deliberative function of WTO bodies,” the statement said.It wants to identify ways the operation and functioning of the WTO could be enhanced and improved over the short, medium and long term.Trade expert Valerie Hughes, Senior Counsel with the Ottawa law firm Bennett Jones and a former director of the WTO legal affairs division, said another important role of the WTO is settling trade disputes among members.She said the appointment of New Zealand Ambassador David Walker as a facilitator to launch an informal process to overcome the impasse on the selection of Appellate Body members was a good choice. “He knows the dispute settlement system (has served on panels) and is a familiar face around the WTO negotiations table.”Normally, there are seven members of the Appellate Body but a deadlock involving the United States refusing has prevented the appointment of new members to fill vacancies. There are currently only three sitting AB members, the minimum required for any appeal.Most national delegations believed the issue of the Appellate Body needed to be addressed very urgently, WTO Council Chairman Junichi Ihara said. Walker was selected because he has “thorough knowledge and practical experience” in WTO dispute settlement, had chaired a WTO body and was familiar with WTO informal negotiation processes.The WTO has 164 member countries and the countries at the Ottawa meeting were all big users of the WTO rules.Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.