GENEVA -- The world's biggest economies slapped import restrictions on nearly half a trillion dollars' worth of trade over the past six months, the World Trade Organization said Thursday, voicing "serious concern".
Forty new import barriers were erected by G20 states between mid-May and mid-October this year -- 6 times more than during the preceding 6 months -- impacting $481 billion in trade, a fresh WTO report showed.
That was the highest figure recorded since the WTO started calculating the measure in 2012.
"The report's findings should be of serious concern for G20 governments and the whole international community," WTO chief Roberto Azevedo said in a statement.
"Further escalation remains a real threat," he warned, calling for an immediate reversal of the trend.
"If we continue along the current course, the economic risks will increase, with potential effects for growth, jobs and consumer prices around the world," Azevedo said.
An average of eight new restrictions on international trade, including tariff increases, import bans and export duties, were imposed by the big economies each month, the report showed.
The report appears to show the impact of US President Donald Trump's relentlessly confrontational trade policy, including launching a trade war with China and slapping stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from many countries.
On Wednesday, the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body agreed to review complaints from a range of countries over the US tariffs, as well as Washington's complaints over retaliatory duties.
"The WTO is doing all it can to support efforts to de-escalate the situation, but finding solutions will require political will and it will require leadership from the G20," Azevedo said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
GENEVA - World Trade Organization (WTO) head Roberto Azevedo said on Friday U.S. President Donald Trump's comments about potentially leaving the WTO were consistent with what the United States has said previously and did not reflect new concerns.
Trump said on Thursday that he could pull out of the WTO, potentially undermining one of the foundations of the modern global economy, which the United States was instrumental in creating.
"If they don't shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO," Trump said.
In a response on Friday, Azevedo, the WTO's director general, said there was no reason for "panic".
"The U.S. concerns about areas in the WTO that they would like to improve are not new. And I think what he said yesterday is consistent with what they have expressed before."
Trump has previously called the WTO a "disaster" and a "catastrophe".
During his election campaign he told NBC's Meet the Press programme that if the WTO rules blocked his policies, he would renegotiate U.S. membership or pull out.
Trump's ambassador has said the United States will not shy away from being disruptive to shake up what it sees as a complacent organisation, and has precipitated a crisis by blocking appointments of WTO appeals judges, forcing other countries to discuss potential reforms to assuage Trump.
Many diplomats say that although they dislike the U.S. tactics, they agree that the WTO needs reform, and hope that the situation can be used to make the 23-year-old trading club more efficient and effective.
The WTO is run on the basis of "consensus", meaning that every one of its 164 members has an effective veto and it is almost impossible to get agreement on any change to the rules.
Azevedo said many WTO members were now talking about improvements, which was a good development.
"Everyone that would like to see improvements in the WTO is very welcome to present their ideas and their suggestions to improve the organisation, sit down with the other members and get the job done," he said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
