Manila, Oct. 31 -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. urged Asia-Pacific economies on Friday to push for the full restoration of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism and Appellate Body, warning that smaller nations risk being sidelined without a functioning global trade referee.

"The Philippines calls on economies to prioritize the full restoration of the dispute settlement mechanism and the Appellate Body at the WTO," Marcos said in his intervention at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting here.

"Without a functioning dispute settlement mechanism, small economies would be at a disadvantage. For small economies, rules are a potent equalizer."

The WTO's Appellate Body, the final court for trade disputes, has bee...