The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has urged member nations to avoid escalating tariff conflicts, warning of potential “catastrophic” consequences for the global economy.
Speaking on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Okonjo-Iweala expressed concerns over rising tensions stemming from tariff threats by the United States against China, the European Union, Mexico, and Canada.
She called for calm and advised nations to explore alternative methods for resolving trade disputes rather than resorting to retaliatory measures.
“Please let’s not hyperventilate. I know we are here to discuss tariffs. I’ve been saying to everybody: could we chill, also? I just sense a lot of hyperventilation,” she said.
Okonjo-Iweala cautioned that retaliatory actions could lead to severe economic consequences, drawing parallels to the global economic downturn of the 1930s.
“If we have tit-for-tat retaliation, whether it’s 25 percent tariffs, 60 percent, and we go to where we were in the 1930s, we are going to see double-digit global GDP losses. That’s catastrophic,” she warned.
The WTO chief called on member nations to exercise restraint and emphasized the importance of maintaining stability in global trade.
