New trade barriers imposed by G20 economies threaten to hamper the global economy, the World Trade Organization said in a statement. report released this Monday (24.06.2019).
G20 countries implemented 20 new trade-restrictive measures between mid-October and mid-May, including higher tariffs, import bans and new customs procedures for exports. These measures affect US$335.900 billion worth of goods. The second highest figure since the WTO began tracking the issue in May 2012.
The organization noted that the size of restrictive trade policies has declined over the past two reporting periods, with the previous period representing the highest on record, reaching US$480.900 billion.
The same economies also introduced 29 measures aimed at facilitating trade, such as the elimination or reduction of tariffs and the addition of export duties, covering US$ 397 billion.
WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo called on G20 nations to ease trade tensions. Azevedo said the report's findings "should be of grave concern to the entire international community".
"The stable trend we saw for almost a decade since the financial crisis has been replaced by a sharp increase in the size and scale of trade-restrictive measures over the past year. This will have consequences in terms of increased uncertainty, lower investment and weaker trade growth," said the WTO chief.
The report came days before the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, where President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, are scheduled to meet amid the trade dispute.
Trump said he would have an "extended meeting" with Xi during the G20 leaders' meeting, which begins on Friday. If a trade truce is not reached, additional tariffs could be applied. The US president threatened to impose tariffs on some $300 billion of Chinese goods that have so far been spared from the trade war if the Chinese president did not attend the G20 meeting.
The WTO report says the trade-restrictive measures being considered add to the "challenges facing governments, businesses and consumers in the current global economic environment."
Last month, the United States raised existing tariffs on $200 million of imports from China, with Beijing accused of “reneging” on promises made during the talks. China retaliated by raising tariffs on about $60 billion of U.S. goods.
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