WTO Chief calls for urgent steps to deal with emerging global trading challenges

The World Trade Organization (WTO) chief Roberto Azevedo has warned that the global trading system is heading for what he called dark ages if urgent steps are not taken. Speaking at a meeting in World Economic Forum in Davos, he urged the world leaders to hammer out a multi lateral trading agreement.

The WTO chief’s warning came as the world leaders were debating on emerging threats to international trading systems amid a growing clamour in several countries for inward looking policies. Roberto Azevedo said, the challenges are bigger than ever before.

Mr Azevedo asserted that the multilateral trading system is viable. He said that the system has to respond to global reality and world changing faster than ever before.

The IMF has also said that the ongoing trade war between the US and China is hurting global growth. Besides China’s economy grew at its slowest place since 1990 in the last quarter of 2018.