Global tariffs soar four-fold, WTO urges reform push

This marked the highest coverage in over 15 years of the WTO’s trade monitoring, according to the WTO director general's latest annual overview of global developments.

Including similar measures on exports, the total trade affected was worth about $2,966 billion—more than three times the $888 billion recorded in the previous report.

At the same time, WTO members introduced trade-facilitating measures on both imports and exports, covering one-and-a-half times more trade than the previous period, and were pursuing dialogue more than retaliation.

Over the same period, WTO members and observers also introduced 331 new trade-facilitating measures on goods covering trade estimated at $2,090 billion—approximately 1.5 times higher than the $1,441 billion recorded in the last report.

"The sharp jump in the trade coverage of tariffs reflects the increased protectionism we have seen since the start of the year. Nearly a fifth (19.7 per cent) of world imports are now affected by tariffs and other such measures introduced since 2009—compared to 12.6 per cent only a year ago," noted WTO director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

"At the same time, we see members acting to facilitate trade and engaging in dialogue rather than retaliation. This speaks to the value they continue to see in maintaining smooth cross-border trade flows. WTO members should use the current trade disruptions to advance long-overdue reforms of the WTO," she added.

WTO economists estimate world merchandise trade growth at 2.4 per cent in 2025 and at 0.5 per cent in 2026, with stronger-than-expected trade growth in the first half of 2025 driven by import frontloading, strong demand for artificial intelligence-related products and continuing trade growth among most WTO members, particularly developing economies.

During the review period, WTO members initiated 32.3 trade remedy investigations per month—just below the 2024 peak of 37.3 per month.

While trade remedy investigations do not necessarily lead to the imposition of measures, a higher number of initiations of investigations often signals a potential increase in measures imposed, a WTO release said.

The average number of trade remedy terminations was 11.4 per month—amongst the lowest level since 2012, suggesting that many trade remedy actions remain in place.

Trade remedy actions, particularly anti-dumping measures, remain a key trade policy tool for many WTO members, accounting for 46.5 per cent of all trade measures on goods recorded in this report.

During the review period, WTO members introduced an increased number of general economic support measures, many of which were linked to key sectors such as the environment, energy and agriculture. The report notes a possible shift toward non-financial interventions and the pursuit of broader strategic policy objectives.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)