10th April 2025, NewsOrient, News, Business And Economy, Governance And Development, Law And Society
Photo Credit: FILE: WTO boss Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Credit: X/@WTO
Posted By Samuel Egburonu, Editor

The Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has expressed concern over the “potential fragmentation of global trade along geopolitical lines – a division of the global economy into two blocs.

She warned that such a development “could lead to a long-term reduction in global real GDP by nearly seven percent,”

She also said the US-China tariff war “could reduce trade in goods between the two economic giants by 80 percent,” pulling down the rest of the world economy.

NewsOrient reported earlier that President Donald Trump of United States raised tariffs on China goods to 125 percent on Wednesday and that hours after that action, China retaliated by raising tariffs on US goods to 85 percent.

Reacting to this tariff war in a statement on Wednesday, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: “The escalating trade tensions between the United States and China pose a significant risk of a sharp contraction in bilateral trade.

“Our preliminary projections suggest that merchandise trade between these two economies could decrease by as much as 80 percent.”

Noting that the United States and China together accounted for three percent of world trade, she warned that the conflict could “severely damage the global economic outlook”.

So, the World Trade Organization (WTO) boss warns specifically that the world economy risked breaking into two blocs, one centred around the United States and the other China.

As she puts it: “Of particular concern is the potential fragmentation of global trade along geopolitical lines. A division of the global economy into two blocs could lead to a long-term reduction in global real GDP by nearly seven percent.”

Okonjo-Iweala therefore urged all WTO members “to address this challenge through cooperation and dialogue”.

~ Published By NewsOrient Network

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