October 7, 2025 10:44 PM
WTO downgrades global trade growth forecast to 0.5% for next year
The World Trade Organization sharply lowered its 2026 forecast for global merchandise trade volume growth to 0.5% on Tuesday, citing expected delayed impacts from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. It marks a significant revision down from its previous estimate in August of 1.8% growth. "The outlook for next year is bleaker ... I am very concerned," Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told reporters in Geneva. WORLD TRADING SYSTEM SHOWING RESILIENCE However, she said the world trading s...