WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned Tuesday that global trade is set to contract because of trade barriers President Donald Trump has imposed, even if his most aggressive “reciprocal” tariffs don’t come back into force.
Speaking to an audience of business officials at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, Okonjo-Iweala warned of a “sharp turnaround” in projected growth because of Trump’s move to levy a flat 10 percent tariff on imports and 25 percent duties on steel, aluminum and automotives.
Okonjo-Iweala cited a WTO forecast released last week that projected a 0.2 percent drop in goods trade this year — a stark reversal from an earlier 2.7 percent growth estimate.
“When you speak to those who you know in the private sector who deal with supply chains, they back up these numbers, [and] our fear is that [trade] is going to see a hit,” she said.
