Trading system in worst crisis since WTO began 80 years ago
WTO warns trade fragmentation could reduce global GDP by five per cent and exports by 18.6 per cent by 2050.
The World Trade Organization warned on Tuesday that global trade faces its worst disruption in decades. A return to single-country trade policies could reduce global GDP by about five per cent and slash exports by 18.6 per cent by 2050, the WTO said in its annual report.
The organization called this the most serious disruption since global trade systems were created 80 years ago. Shifts in economic power and growing government intervention in markets have weakened cooperation between WTO members.
WTO director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said boosting multilateral trade cooperation could lift global GDP by roughly three per cent instead. The smallest and poorest economies would suffer most from trade fragmentation.
- 5 per cent by 2050
- Potential GDP reduction
- 18.6 per cent by 2050
- Potential export cut
- 80
- Years since system created
- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
- Director general
Why it mattersTrade fragmentation threatens prices and jobs everywhere; smaller, poorer nations face the biggest losses if cooperation breaks down.
AustraliaAustralia's export-dependent economy faces risks from trade fragmentation; prices on imported goods could rise if major trading partners impose tariffs.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 9 d ago
