Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), says the ripple effect of the Trump administration tariffs is “the greatest disruption in trade in 80 years”.
Okonjo-Iweala spoke recently during CNN’s Global Perspectives conference.
On April 3, the United States President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs on all imports into America — leading to a bout of several global trade events.
Speaking on the numerous tariff impositions at the event, Okonjo-Iweala said “it is the greatest disruption in trade in 80 years”.
“You can see the battering by the fact that the most favoured nation (MFN) trade came down from 80 percent to 72 percent,” she said.
“But, there is also one thing that has come up which I know that all nations are taking account of: the system was built for interdependence, not overdependence.”
The former Nigerian minister said many nations had become too overdependent on the US for market demand and on China for critical supplies.
“So, this is also a wake-up call to try to diversify your sources of demand and supply,” she said.
The WTO director-general said global trade and the system built over 80 years has broadly delivered prosperity to all nations.
The economist said it has lifted “more than a billion people out of poverty” and made rich and poor countries better, noting that she agrees with certain criticisms of the trade organisation voiced by some Americans.
“Not everyone benefitted the way they should. We recognise that and I think some problems have crept into the global trading system that should have been dealt with,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
“That is why I say I agree with some of the criticisms that the Americans make. But, by the way, they are not the only ones criticising the system.”
Okonjo-Iweala said developing countries feel the system has not worked for them, “that they have not been fully integrated, and that they have not benefited as much”.
“Emerging markets want to industrialise. They also feel the system needs to work better,” she said.
“So, there’s lots of work to do and it is looking at those criticisms.”
She noted that such criticisms are “coming to the fore now because of the crisis we are in”, assuring that WTO members “are now focused on trying to resolve it”.
