Increase in trade restrictions against backdrop of unilateral policies
11/12/2024

The WTO Director-General's annual overview of global trade developments shows a sharp rise in the coverage of trade-restrictive measures by WTO members between mid-October 2023 and mid-October 2024, compared to the last Trade Monitoring Report in November 2023. While the report, presented at an 11 December meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB), also points to WTO members’ introduction of a substantial number of trade-facilitating measures, there is increasing evidence of inward-looking trade policies which could generate further uncertainty for the world economy.

Export restrictions persist, even if trade-facilitating trend continues
07/12/2023

Between mid-October 2022 and mid-October 2023, the value of world merchandise trade covered by new trade-facilitating measures far exceeded that affected by new trade restrictive measures, an encouraging trend at a time of uncertainty and tension in the global economy. Nevertheless, this report presented on 7 December at a meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body, indicates that trade restrictions continue to weigh on global trade, with persistent export restrictions contributing to food price volatility.