Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala
is
the
Director
General
of
the
WTO
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World
Trade
Organisation
(WTO)
members
continue
to
introduce
more
trade-facilitating
measures
than
trade-restricting
measures
on
goods,
an
important
signal
of
members’
commitment
to
keep
trade
flowing
despite
the
current
geopolitical
uncertainty,
according
to
the
latest
Trade
Monitoring
Update
issued
on
8
July.
The
Update,
covering
the
period
between
mid-October
2023
and
mid-May
2024,
also
notes
a
rapid
increase
in
industrial
policy
subsidies,
particularly
in
areas
related
to
climate
change
and
national
security.
Commenting
on
the
findings,
Director-General
Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala
said:
“This
Trade
Monitoring
Update
underscores
the
resilience
of
world
trade
despite
the
challenging
geopolitical
environment.
Even
in
a
context
of
rising
protectionist
pressures
and
signs
of
economic
fragmentation,
there
are
governments
around
the
world
still
taking
meaningful
steps
to
liberalize
and
facilitate
trade.
This
attests
to
the
benefits
of
trade
for
people’s
purchasing
power,
business
competitiveness
and
price
stability.
At
the
same
time,
a
series
of
import-restricting
measures
announced
too
recently
to
be
captured
in
the
update
looks
set
to
affect
a
significant
amount
of
world
trade.
I
am
encouraged
to
see
efforts
by
members
to
use
the
WTO
and
other
venues
to
find
solutions
to
their
differences.
This
is
far
better
than
tit-for-tat
retaliation
that
leaves
everyone
worse
off.”
During
the
review
period,
WTO
members
introduced
more
trade-facilitating
(169)
than
trade-restricting
(99)
measures
on
goods.
Most
of
the
measures
were
on
the
import
side.
The
introduction
of
new
export
restrictions
declined
significantly
during
the
review
period.
Reversing
a
trend
observed
between
2021
and
2023,
new
import
restrictions
outpaced
the
number
of
new
export
restrictions.
The
overall
trade
coverage
of
the
trade-facilitating
measures,
on
both
the
import
and
export
side,
was
estimated
at
USD
1,219.0
billion,
up
from
USD
977.2
billion
in
the
last
report.
The
trade
coverage
of
other
trade
and
trade-related
measures
on
the
import
and
export
side
—
covering
those
that
are
neither
trade-facilitating
nor
trade
remedies
—
was
estimated
at
USD
433.6
billion,
up
from
USD
337.1
billion
in
the
last
annual
report.
The
average
number
of
trade
remedy
initiations
increased
during
the
review
period
(24.6)
after
years
of
a
declining
trend.
Almost
90%
of
the
investigations
recorded
were
initiated
by
G20
economies.
Anti-dumping
continued
to
be
the
most
frequent
trade
remedy
action,
accounting
for
70.3%
of
all
initiations
and
93.9%
of
all
terminations.
The
trade
coverage
of
all
trade
remedy
investigations
initiated
during
the
review
period
was
USD
56.1
billion
(up
from
USD
24.6
billion
in
the
last
annual
report)
and
that
of
terminations
was
valued
at
USD
2.5
billion
(down
from
USD
15.5
billion
in
the
last
report).
In
the
services
sectors,
most
new
measures
introduced
by
WTO
members
were
trade-facilitating,
either
liberalizing
or
moving
towards
an
improved
regulatory
framework.
WTO
members
also
continued
to
fine-tune
their
intellectual
property
regimes.
The
implementation
of
new
COVID-19
trade-related
measures
on
goods,
services,
intellectual
property,
as
well
as
government
support
measures
related
to
COVID-19
by
WTO
Members
continued
to
decline.
The
stockpile
of
import
restrictions
in
force
has
grown
steadily
since
2009,
both
in
value
terms
and
as
a
percentage
of
world
imports.
So
far
in
2024,
the
trade
covered
by
import
restrictions
in
force
was
estimated
at
USD
2,272
billion,
representing
9.7%
of
total
world
imports.
The
review
period
revealed
significant
new
activity
in
terms
of
economic
support
measures.
The
provision
of
subsidies
as
part
of
industrial
policy
is
increasing
rapidly,
especially
in
areas
related
to
or
referencing
renewable
and
non-renewable
energy
sources,
climate
change
and
national
security.