World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has stated that the organization is keeping an eye on President Donald Trump’s tariff measures.
According to reports, Trump imposed a 10% tariff on all goods entering the US from all nations on Wednesday at an event he called “Liberation Day.”
The president of the United States said, “That ends now,” after other nations exploited America’s generosity and free markets for far too long.
Numerous nations have pledged to retaliate for Trump’s new tariff, including China, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (EU).
Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala urged WTO members to control pressures in order to prevent undermining the benefits earned in global trade in a statement released on Friday.
Trump’s proposed tax will undoubtedly affect international commerce and economic growth expectations, according to the WTO DG.
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“The measures announced by the United States on April 2, 2025, are being closely monitored and analyzed by the WTO Secretariat,” it stated. In response to their inquiries concerning the possible effects on their economies and the international trading system, numerous members have contacted us, and we are actively interacting with them.
“Global trade and economic growth prospects will be significantly impacted by the latest announcements. Even though the situation is changing quickly, our preliminary estimates indicate that these actions, along with those implemented since the start of the year, may cause global merchandise trade volumes to contract by about 1% overall this year, which would be a downward revision of almost four percentage points from earlier estimates. This decline and the possibility of it turning into a tariff war with a vicious cycle of retaliatory actions that result in even more trade declines worry me greatly.
It’s crucial to keep in mind that the majority of international commerce still occurs under the WTO’s Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) rules, even with these new regulations. According to our estimates, this proportion is now at 74%, down from almost 80% at the start of the year. To protect these advantages, WTO members must unite.
Significant trade diversion effects could result from trade policies of this size. In order to keep trade tensions from getting worse, I urge Members to carefully handle the pressures that result.
The WTO was created specifically to act as a forum for discussion, to keep trade disputes from getting worse, and to promote a free and stable trading environment. I urge participants to use this platform to actively participate and look for collaborative solutions.
