WTO Warns of 'Catastrophic' Consequences from Trade Wars
GENEVA - The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) warned Thursday that any escalation in trade wars would have devastating effects on global economic growth.
"If we have tit-for-tat retaliation...we're going to see double-digit global GDP losses," WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "That's catastrophic. Everyone will pay."
Okonjo-Iweala's comments come amid escalating trade tensions between the United States and its major trading partners, including China and the European Union. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on a range of imported goods, sparking fears of a global trade war.
According to Okonjo-Iweala, a trade war could lead to a decline in global GDP in the double digits, similar to the economic devastation experienced during the Great Depression of the 1930s.