Geneva, Dec 12 (UNI) World Trade Organization (WTO) members introduced 169 new trade-restrictive measures between October 2023 and October 2024, leaving the global trading environment increasingly uncertain and volatile, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in her annual report.
"The value of trade covered by the 169 new trade-restrictive measures introduced by WTO members during the 12 months leading up to mid-October 2024 was estimated at USD 887.7 billion - half a trillion dollars more than the value of trade covered by restrictions introduced in the preceding year, which stood at USD 337.1 billion," the document said.
Okonjo-Iweala welcomed an increase in trade-facilitating measures, including tariff cuts, simplified import procedures, and the removal of quantitative restrictions, which covered an estimated