(VOVWORLD) - The World Trade Organization (WTO) sharply cut its forecast for global merchandise trade from solid growth to a decline on Wednesday, saying further US tariffs and spillover effects could lead to the heaviest slump since the height of the COVID pandemic.
 Shipping containers are stacked at the Port of Long Beach on April 2, 2025, in Long Beach, California. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
The WTO said it expected trade in goods to fall by 0.2% this year, down from its expectation in October of 3.0% expansion. "I'm very concerned, the contraction in global merchandise trade growth is of big concern," WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told reporters in Geneva.
US President Donald Trump imposed 10% tariff on imports from around the world, as well as 25% tariffs on autos, steel, and aluminum. While the US had paused higher duties on a dozen economies, his trade war with China has also intensified with tit-for-tat exchanges pushing levies on each other's imports beyond 100%.
The WTO said that, if Trump reintroduced the full rates of his broader tariffs, goods trade growth would reduce by 0.6 percentage points, with another 0.8 point cut due to spillover effects beyond US-linked trade. The WTO said it expected commercial services trade to grow by 4.0% in 2025 and 4.1% in 2026, well below baseline projections of 5.1% and 4.8%.