President Donald Trump’s tariff measures are being watched, according to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) director general.
Trump was said to have imposed a 10% tariff on all goods entering the United States from all nations on Wednesday during an event he called “Liberation Day.”
“That ends now,” said the president of the United States, after other nations exploited America’s free markets and compassion for far too long.
Trump’s new tariff has been warned to be reciprocated by a number of nations, including China, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (EU).
In a statement released Friday, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala urged WTO members to control pressures in order to prevent undermining the benefits earned in global trade.
According to the WTO DG, Trump’s new tax would undoubtedly affect expectations for economic growth and international commerce.
The statement said: “The actions that the United States announced on April 2, 2025, are being actively watched and examined by the WTO Secretariat. We are actively interacting with the several members who have contacted us with inquiries regarding the possible effects on their economies and the international trading system.
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“The current announcements will significantly impact hopes for economic growth and international trade. Our preliminary estimates indicate that these actions, along with those implemented since the start of the year, may result in a 1% overall decline in global merchandise trade volumes this year, which is a downward revision of almost four percentage points from earlier forecasts, even though the situation is still changing quickly. This drop worries me a lot, as does the possibility that it could turn into a tariff war with a vicious circle of punitive actions that further reduce trade.
The majority of international commerce still occurs under the WTO’s Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) rules, so it’s crucial to keep that in mind despite these new regulations. According to our estimations, this percentage has decreased from about 80% at the start of the year to 74% at this time. WTO members need to unite in order to protect these advantages.
Such large-scale trade restrictions could have a major negative impact on trade. I urge Members to carefully handle the ensuing pressures in order to stop trade tensions from getting worse.
“The World Trade Organization (WTO) was created to ensure an open and predictable trading environment, to act as a forum for discussion, and to stop trade disputes from getting worse. I urge participants to use this platform to interact positively and look for teamwork.
