August 5, 2020

WTO Sees Global Trade Down 13% in 2020 Due to COVID-19

The World Trade Organization forecast global trade to fall 13% this year due to COVID-19 shocks, outgoing chief Robert Azevedo said this week. This is reportedly significantly less than the WTO’s most pessimistic scenario of a 32% slump.

Speaking in an online event hosted by ICC Brasil and the Brazilian Confederation of Industry, Roberto Azevedo said there is growing concern within the WTO about countries moving toward self-sufficiency as a response to the pandemic.

Concentrating production in a country exposes it to a wide range of shocks, Azevedo said. Nations should diversify sources of supply, and the COVID-19 pandemic will see global value chains reconfigured in the coming years, he added.

The WTO has struggled to rein in global tensions and coordinate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Source: National Post)