WTO | DD News

September 10, 2026 9:18 AM

Global goods trade strengthening despite tariffs, Middle East tensions, WTO says

Global trade in goods has strengthened from June despite geopolitical and policy-related uncertainties, the World Trade Organization said on Wednesday, signaling resilience in merchandise flows even as risks remain elevated. The September reading of the WTO's barometer tracking merchandise trade growth was 102, an improvement from the June barometer of 101.7, with growth remaining above trend. The WTO publishes its Goods Trade Barometer four times a year. It covers export order...

July 24, 2026 9:37 AM

India concludes Eighth WTO Trade Policy Review, reaffirms commitment to rules-based global trade

India on Thursday successfully concluded its Eighth Trade Policy Review (TPR) at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, reaffirming its commitment to an open, transparent and WTO-consistent trade and investment regime while highlighting the country's expanding role in the global economy. The second and final session of the review, a key WTO transparency and monitoring mechanism under which members' trade and related policies are periodically examined, witnessed active participation from ...

July 20, 2026 9:23 PM

India joins WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, backs sustainable fishing and small-scale fishers

India has formally become a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies after depositing its Instrument of Acceptance with the global trade body, reaffirming its commitment to sustainable fisheries management while safeguarding the interests of traditional and small-scale fishing communities. The Instrument of Acceptance was handed over by the Commerce Secretary to the WTO Director-General on Monday, making India the 123rd WTO member to join the Agreement. Adop...

May 8, 2026 11:41 AM

19 members of the WTO, including US, agree among themselves not to impose duties on e-commerce

The U.S. and more than a dozen other countries including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Australia on Thursday launched their own pact to not impose duties on e-commerce after no agreement was reached to end deadlock with Brazil, a document showed. Brazil upheld its opposition to a four-year extension of a global deal at World Trade Organization talks in Geneva which concluded on Thursday. However, Turkey, which had previously been against it, dropped its opposition, a WTO spokesperson said. ...

March 27, 2026 11:12 AM

Piyush Goyal leads Indian delegation at WTO Ministerial Conference in Cameroon, calls for inclusive reforms

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal led the Indian delegation at the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Thursday in Yaounde, Cameroon. The two-day conference opened with a ceremonial session chaired by Cameroon’s Trade Minister and attended by WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, along with trade ministers and senior representatives from member countries. India was represented at the opening session by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal. Du...

March 20, 2026 2:45 PM

World trade growth set to slow to 1.9% this year, Iran war may weigh more, says WTO

Growth in world trade in goods will slow down markedly to 1.9% this year from 4.6% in 2025 and could decelerate even more if the Middle East war continues to push energy prices higher and disrupt global transport, a World Trade Organization report said on Thursday. Last year a surge in artificial intelligence-related trade and goods front-loading to avoid a slew of U.S. tariffs enabled a better-than-expected growth performance. While global trade remains resilient, buoyed by trade in AI-relate...

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...

September 2, 2025 7:43 PM

Tariffs cause ‘unprecedented’ disruption to global trade rules, WTO chief says

The share of global trade done on WTO terms has fallen to 72% and could fall further, amid the biggest disruption to the international trading system in the past 80 years, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization said on Tuesday. Since U.S. President Donald Trump started imposing higher import tariffs this year on most of the United States' trading partners, the share of global trade conducted under the WTO's 'most favoured nation' (MFN) terms is down from about 80%, WTO data shows....

June 4, 2025 2:51 PM

India pushes for WTO reforms at Paris Ministerial, urges action on non-tariff barriers and dispute settlement

India has called for sweeping reforms to the World Trade Organization (WTO) during a high-level mini-ministerial meeting of 25 member countries in Paris, pressing for action against non-tariff barriers and the restoration of the WTO’s stalled dispute settlement mechanism. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal outlined India’s vision for a modernized WTO, emphasizing the need to address trade distortions and bolster multilateral governance ahead of the organization’s crucial ministeri...

March 14, 2025 8:06 AM

Canada challenges US steel, aluminum tariffs at WTO

Canada has taken official steps by requesting consultations with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to dispute US import duties on steel and aluminum products from Canada, according to a statement issued by the trade organization. The request was circulated to WTO members on Thursday, said the statement. Canada argued that US measures, which ceased its exemption and increased duties, contravene US obligations under GATT 1994, Xinhua news agency reported. Mary Ng, minister of export promotion,...