WTO Director-General Advocates for Dialogue Over Retaliation

During the World Economic Forum in Davos, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, expressed her concerns over the potential for a 'tit-for-tat' approach to tariffs. She emphasized that such actions could lead to catastrophic outcomes for the global economy, including significant losses in global GDP.

Okonjo-Iweala highlighted the dangers of forming two separate trading blocks that do not engage in trade with each other, predicting a 6.4% reduction in real global GDP. She described this potential loss as 'far from trivial' and urged for a shift towards dialogue and negotiation in trade relations, suggesting that this might be the underlying intention behind President Trump's tariff threats.

She called for a move away from sanctions and towards constructive discussions that could help stabilize and improve global trade relations, underlining the importance of collaboration and mutual understanding in the face of rising protectionist policies.