AFP, Geneva :
The World Trade Organization Tuesday lowered its global trade forecast, warning that anti-globalisation rhetoric and Brexit were pushing trade growth to its slowest pace since the financial crisis.
The warning comes as talks on a landmark free trade deal between the European Union and the United States faces stiff opposition and Britain’s EU exit causes jitters.
The WTO said that global trade was now estimated to expand by just 1.7 percent this year, compared to its April projection of 2.8 percent.
The new figure is also a far cry from a projection a year ago that trade would swell by 3.9 percent this year.
Describing it as “wake-up call”, the Geneva-based global trade body said growth had fallen to its slowest pace in around seven years, when the global financial crisis hit.
The World Trade Organization Tuesday lowered its global trade forecast, warning that anti-globalisation rhetoric and Brexit were pushing trade growth to its slowest pace since the financial crisis.
The warning comes as talks on a landmark free trade deal between the European Union and the United States faces stiff opposition and Britain’s EU exit causes jitters.
The WTO said that global trade was now estimated to expand by just 1.7 percent this year, compared to its April projection of 2.8 percent.
The new figure is also a far cry from a projection a year ago that trade would swell by 3.9 percent this year.
Describing it as “wake-up call”, the Geneva-based global trade body said growth had fallen to its slowest pace in around seven years, when the global financial crisis hit.
