GENEVA: The World Trade Organization has adopted the first worldwide trade reform in its history, after years of stalemate, months of deadlock and a final day’s delay following an eleventh-hour objection.

The agreement means the WTO will introduce new standards for customs checks and border procedures. Proponents say streamlining the flow of trade will add as much as $1 trillion and 21 million jobs to the world economy.

“We have put our negotiations back on track,” WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo told a news conference held after trade diplomats applauded the end of their 19-year wait for a deal.

However, he said WTO members needed to find a way to speed up negotiations in the future. “We cannot wait another 17 or 18 years to deliver again,” he said.

USTrade Representative Michael Froman said the agreement could substantially reduce transaction times and costs and would unlock new opportunities.

He said it was a “particularly important win for small and medium-sized businesses in all countries.”

Still, the agreement is just a fraction of the original Doha Round of trade talks begun in 2001, which eventually proved impossible to agree on. The WTO cut back its ambitions and aimed for a much smaller deal.