WTO DG Not Optimistic About Global Trade Outlook

World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said a mix of factors will continue to dog the health of international trade and the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking to Bloomberg News this week at the Africa Adaptation Summit in the Netherlands, Okonjo-Iweala said Russia's war in Ukraine, bottlenecks plaguing shipping routes, China's "Covid Zero" pandemic-fighting measures and extreme weather events present great challenges to the recovery.

“The outlook is not promising,” Okonjo-Iweala said. “We are in a risky environment. We are still in multiple crises and exogenous shocks.” Bloomberg found it likely that the WTO will downgrade its forecast for growth in merchandise trade after it cut it to 3% in April from its 4.7% projection.