AI, Job Displacement, and the WTO: Identifying Legal Gaps and Charting a Worker-Centered Path

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming work across the globe, challenging governments to address job displacement through domestic and trade-related measures. This Essay argues that WTO rules lack the coherence and flexibility needed to address AI-induced labor disruption. Without reform, members may resort to unilateral responses that strain
the multilateral trading system. This Essay proposes a labor-sensitive framework grounded in (1) distinguishing between automation and complementary AI, (2) allowing calibrated policy space to adopt trade measures that protect workers. This framework aims to preserve the WTO’s legitimacy while responding to AI’s systemic disruption. By placing labor and economic security at the center of trade governance, it advances a credible path toward resilience in the age of AI.