The World Trade Organization (WTO) published its semi-annual report on trade-related developments on Wednesday, 27 July. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the head of the organisation, welcomed the fact that WTO members appear to have limited restrictive measures in recent months.
The report is based on the period from October 2021 to mid-May 2022 and mentions 230 new trade-facilitating measures compared to 109 new trade-restrictive measures. This represents a decrease in measures affecting trade compared to 2021.
The measures include 32 export restrictions and 18 import-facilitating measures that were put in place in response to the war in Ukraine.
Nevertheless, the director-general warned against future restrictions and price spikes around the world. “[We] should clearly not underestimate the risks generated by the pandemic [...] along with the more recent disruptions associated with the war in Ukraine and new diseases like monkeypox”, she stated when presenting the report.
See the full report: https://aeur.eu/f/2qv (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)