Global trade could drop by 17% in trade war

Mr Keith Rockwell, Director of Information & External Relations, WTO, has struck a note of caution on the ongoing hostilities in the global trade environment. He warned that in case of a full-blown trade war that brings tariffs back to levels before the creation of the multilateral trading system, global trade would drop by 17% – more than the fall experienced during the Great Recession of the late 2000s. Trade restrictive measures are not new, but off late their magnitude has reached unprecedented levels, as Keith stated, “Between October 2017 and October 2018, measures were put in place affecting US$ 588 billion worth of trade.” This is seven times more than the previous year.