Building capacity for World Trade Organization dispute settlement: piloting polarity mapping for trade relations

Trade disputes have been on the rise in recent decades. Resolving these disputes can be challenging, even when relying on the World Trade Organization (WTO) formal dispute settlement system. Polarity mapping, a visual framework for understanding the challenges of organisational collaboration, could help to provide structure to these negotiations. This paper describes how polarity mapping was adapted to support or mitigate trade disputes related to the trade of animals or animal products. A three-step process allowed stakeholders to: identify the conditions affecting a trade relationship, use polarity mapping to identify priorities and challenges for continued trade relationships, and outline an action plan to support these relationships in the event of a disease outbreak. The tool was then tested, using an exploratory case study methodology. Polarity mapping was found to be both useful and practical for investigating how to improve trade relationships. The case-study participants were able to identify strategies, choices and decisions that moved them towards a more sustainable trade relationship. Further testing and iterative development of the tool in a current, real-life trade dispute would be beneficial. The hope is that, in the future, a simple tool such as polarity mapping could be used either to plan pre-emptively for trade challenges and thereby prevent disputes, or to provide a method for consultation within the formal WTO dispute settlement process.