WTO Revises Trade Outlook Upward

(MENAFN) The World Trade Organization (WTO) has adjusted its projection for worldwide trade expansion in 2025, raising it to 0.9% on Friday, while cautioning that elevated tariffs introduced by the United States will strain trade in 2026.

The earlier report from the WTO, issued after US President Donald Trump's "Independence Day" tariff declarations on April 2, anticipated a 0.2% decline in international trade this year due to those trade barriers.

This earlier projection marked a sharp decrease from the WTO's initial estimate of 2.7% growth prior to the enforcement of the tariffs.

In its updated release on Friday, the WTO revised its outlook, indicating that global commerce would expand by 0.9% in 2025 rather than shrink by 0.2%.

Nonetheless, this upward revision was primarily driven by American companies increasing purchases ahead of the tariffs taking effect.

During the first six months of this year, US import volumes rose by 11% compared to the same period last year.

A comparable pattern was noted in the import activity of other nations, spurred by apprehensions over potential countermeasures.

Despite this, WTO analysts cautioned that the recently implemented tariffs would dampen trade during the latter part of this year and into 2026.

Experts also downgraded their projection for trade growth in 2026, reducing it from 2.5% to 1.8%.

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