The World Trade Outlook Indicator (WTOI) in the first quarter of 2019 dropped to 96.3 points, the lowest rate recorded since March 2010, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said, adding that the current trend could be explained by, among other issues, existing trade tensions.
The WTO added that the existing trade trend should put policy makers “on guard” and warned of a possibility of further decline if current tensions remained unresolved.
The situation in global trade worsened considerably last year after US President Donald Trump introduced a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports in March. Tensions exacerbated further when the US leader extended these duties to the European Union, Canada and Mexico, which were initially exempted from the measures.
In addition, the United States slapped multiple tariffs on various Chinese goods in order to fix its trade deficit with the country. China hit back with reciprocal tariffs on a number of US imports. Washington and Beijing have yet to resolve the issues, despite having completed several rounds of talks. - Sputniknews -