The general director of the World Trade Organización (WTO) , Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala , expressed her concern about the tariffs implemented by Donald Trump , president of the United States, which, she warned, could cause a 1% contraction in the volumes of world merchandise trade in 2025 .

Okonjo-Iweala noted that this represents a downward revision of nearly four percentage points compared to previous projections.

“I am deeply concerned about this decline and the potential for it to escalate into a tariff war with a cycle of retaliatory measures leading to further declines in trade,” she stressed.

He warned that the recent announcements will have substantial implications for global trade and the prospects for economic growth.

In response, he noted that the WTO is analyzing the measure implemented by the U.S. president.

“The WTO Secretariat is closely monitoring and analyzing the measures announced by the United States on April 2, 2025,” he stressed.

Despite tariff measures, such as the imposition of a 25% tariff on vehicles imported by the United States, as well as reciprocal tariffs on several countries around the world, the vast majority of global trade continues to flow under the WTO’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) terms .

“Our estimates now indicate that this percentage currently stands at 74%, down from 80% at the beginning of the year. WTO members must stand united to safeguard these gains,” he urged, given the uncertainty generated by the United States’ tariff policy.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said trade measures of that magnitude have the potential to create significant trade diversion effects.

In response, he urged WTO members to responsibly manage the resulting pressures to prevent trade tensions from escalating.

It’s worth remembering that on April 2 , Trump announced   a series of reciprocal global tariffs that will apply to products entering the United States from various countries around the world. He also maintains a  25% tariff  on vehicles imported into the United States.

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The General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has re-elected Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Director-General for a second four-year term, which will begin on September 1, 2025 , according to a statement from this organization.

“I am deeply honoured by the trust and support of the WTO General Council and its 166 Members. It is a privilege to continue serving as Director-General for a second four-year term,” said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala after her re-election.

The WTO explained that the process of reappointing the candidate began on October 8 and the Nigerian-born economist was the only candidate who submitted the application.

During an extraordinary meeting of the General Council held on 28 November and this Friday, Okonjo-Iweala outlined her vision for the future of the WTO, and after her presentation, her re-election was backed by consensus .

“In recent years, the WTO has played a key role in helping members navigate global challenges such as the pandemic, conflicts and rising geopolitical tensions,” Okonjo-Iweala said, pledging to deliver results “that improve the lives of people around the world.”

He also reiterated his commitment to work with WTO staff to build a more inclusive and equitable multilateral trading system , and said that the WTO will continue to provide a collaborative platform for its members to address shared global challenges.

Petter Ølberg , Ambassador of Norway and Chair of the WTO General Council, congratulated and highlighted the leadership and achievements of the Nigerian economist during her first term, which ends on 31 August 2025.

“Looking ahead, the Council fully supports Okonjo-Iweala’s commitment to ensuring that the WTO remains responsive, inclusive and results-oriented. Her leadership will be critical as the organization continues to advance a resilient, rules-based and equitable global trading system,” Petter Ølberg said.

Okonjo-Iweala’s recent appointment underscores the strong support she has received in her efforts to enhance the WTO’s relevance and capacity to meet the evolving challenges of global trade, the WTO stressed.

His new term will also coincide with that of US President-elect Donald Trump , who has threatened Mexico and Canada with 25 percent tariffs.

It should be remembered that these three countries are members of the WTO and are part of the trilateral trade agreement known as the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC).

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The Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) , Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala , highlighted the progress made by this organization and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in promoting supply chain financing , which, she noted, allows small businesses in developing countries to be integrated into global trade.

Okonjo-Iweala noted that multilateral development banks have increased financial support for trade and supply from $30 billion annually before the COVID-19 pandemic to nearly $50 billion last year, helping to secure supplies of essential food, medicines and other imports.

Speaking at a roundtable with heads of multilateral development banks, which took place on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, USA, he also noted that global supply chain financing is currently valued at around $2.3 trillion .

However, despite the increase in trade finance, she said, small businesses in developing countries have not benefited from this expansion , due to challenges such as weak legal frameworks, inadequate technological infrastructure and high costs.

The WTO Director-General highlighted the growth potential of these companies through greater access to supply chain financing.

“WTO research shows that a 10% increase in the use of international factoring – the main type of supply chain finance used by small businesses to obtain immediate cash against unpaid invoices – can boost countries’ trade by 1%,” he explained.

At the event, he stressed the commitment of multilateral development banks to coordinate activities , with a view to increasing financial support through their programs and adopting concrete measures to assist in the legal, regulatory and operational framework for market development.

These efforts, he said, will help make trade more inclusive and competitive, ultimately leading to “greater benefits from trade and better development and poverty reduction outcomes.”

In addition, it supported the new measures agreed by multilateral development banks to improve access to financing , specifically in promoting green trade, digitalization in this type of trade processes, as well as promoting services provided by correspondent banks and technical assistance.

Meanwhile, Makhtar Diop , Managing Director of the IFC, highlighted the achievements made by both institutions in this area, and indicated that “supply chain financing is crucial to empower companies in emerging markets, especially SMEs, to participate effectively in local and global value chains.”

Participants at the event, including senior officials from major multilateral development institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) , the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) , and others, pledged to strengthen cooperation by creating a joint group to leverage resources to support small businesses in supply chains.

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The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced on Tuesday that it has begun the process of appointing its next director-general , with the current leader of the multilateral body, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, confirming her intention to request a new appointment.

The process will be led by Ambassador Petter Ølberg of Norway , Chair of the General Council, in accordance with the WTO “Procedures for the Appointment of Directors-General” (WT/L/509).

On October 4, Ambassador Ølberg issued a statement indicating that WTO members supported the process starting sooner than originally planned. The selection process will follow established procedures , ensuring transparency, inclusiveness and alignment with the best interests of the organization, according to a WTO statement.

WTO members have until 8 November to submit their candidacies. After the deadline for submitting candidacies, candidates will have a period of three months, ending on 8 February 2025, to engage in discussions with members and present their qualifications.

A final two-month period, until 8 April 2025, will be devoted to a consultation process to enable the General Council to finally reach a decision on who will be the candidate chosen for the appointment.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala began her term in March 2021 and her current term is scheduled to end on 31 August 2025.

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GENEVA, CH.- Trade multilateralism seeks to establish itself in today’s world as a promoter of prosperity, mainly for developing countries, at a time when societies experience disruptions in increasingly shorter periods that cause profound imbalances in global supply chains .

Eighty years ago, countries began to organize themselves to develop regulations that would govern the exchange of goods, while supporting the construction of peace by creating interdependence between them, which would lead to a lower possibility of armed conflict.

These efforts were embodied in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , the precursor to what is now known as the World Trade Organization (WTO) , the body that deals with the rules governing trade between nations, and which is on the eve of its 30th anniversary.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is aware of recent criticism of the role of global trade, but she is staunchly defending the results achieved since the creation of the organisation (1 January 1995).

“This system has created prosperity. More than 1.5 billion people [in the world] have been lifted out of poverty,” said Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman to head the WTO, at a press conference held at its headquarters.

Here he gave a preview of the results of the World Trade Report 2024 , which sought to demonstrate the correlation between countries with a weak participation in world trade and their limited economic progress, against those that have established an open-door policy in the global exchange of goods and have achieved faster growth.

The report says that thanks to trade, the share of people living in extreme poverty in low- and middle-income economies has fallen from 40% to around 11% since 1995, while the share of trade in these economies’ GDP has doubled from around 16% to 32%.

“We found that the more you can increase trade, the more likely it is to prosper (although) the convergence we saw with incomes between rich and poor countries was disrupted by the pandemic. And it pushed some parts of the world backwards,” he said.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic was a clear example of the fragility of trade when global production and the proper functioning of supply chains were interrupted. The results of this event have encouraged, among other trends, production lines to be relocated to consumption centers in countries that offer competitive advantages for companies.

Developing countries such as Mexico have attracted these investments, although they still have significant barriers to overcome in order to meet this demand for relocation, a trend also known as nearshoring.

“Developing countries have very high trade costs due to bureaucracy, lack of infrastructure, regulatory frameworks that are not adequate (…) one of the things we have to do if we want to be competitive and integrate is to reduce our trade costs significantly and the WTO actually has a Trade Facilitation Agreement that, when implemented, has shown that it will significantly reduce direct costs,” said Okonjo-Iweala.

Trends in trade

“How can we reimagine trade?” the WTO director-general asked. She herself replied that the trend in global trade is moving towards the exchange of digital services, given their high rate of growth – around 8% annually – and their capacity to create jobs.

Likewise, the future of trade is “green and inclusive” , meaning that while seeking to create renewable supply chains, they should also diversify towards regions in developing countries where a complete production cycle is developed, from obtaining raw materials to producing a final product.

“Supply chains have to be regional,” he said.

This Tuesday, September 10, the Public Forum 2024 will begin here in Geneva , under the title “Reglobalization: Better trade for a better world” , one of the largest events of the WTO, bringing together more than four thousand participants and where around 600 speakers from around the world will hold 135 working sessions to analyze and debate the trends and future of global trade. Grupo T21 is part of the group of media that the organization has invited to cover this important event.

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