WTO Reports Sharp Tariff Surge and Growing Trade Disruptions Amid Push for Negotiated Solutions
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Institutions: Ministry of Commerce and Industry
The WTO’s mid-year Trade Monitoring Update, covering mid-October 2024 to mid-May 2025, shows a marked escalation in global trade barriers. The value of global merchandise trade affected by new tariffs and similar measures soared to US $2,732.7 billion—over triple the US $887.6 billion recorded in the previous 12-month period—representing the highest trade coverage by such actions since monitoring began in 2009.
As of mid-May, accumulated trade-restrictive measures now impact 19.4 percent of world merchandise imports - up from approximately 12.5 percent six months earlier. The report identifies 644 new trade measures, including 296 trade remedy actions (such as anti-dumping), though these investigations covered a modest US $63.9 billion in trade. Additionally, 141 tariff-related and export-restricting actions were recorded, juxtaposed with 207 trade-facilitating measures, though their coverage has declined to US $1,038.6 billion from US $1,440.4 billion previously.
Despite the heightened trade tensions, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala highlights encouraging signs of dialogue - citing U.S.–China and U.S.–U.K. negotiations - and calls on members to de-escalate tensions, follow WTO-consistent policies, and pursue deep reform.
Relevant question for policy stakeholders: How might India respond to rapidly rising trade barriers by strengthening WTO-compliant trade policy strategies, improving its monitoring mechanisms, and preparing for proactive engagement in negotiation and reform?
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https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news25_e/trdev_03jul25_e.htm