World Trade Organisation (WTO) director general Roberto Azevêdo called for the maintenance of open-trade agreements when he addressed a meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers in Viña del Mar in Chile.
With clear reference to renewed escalation of tension and tariffs between the US and China, the Azevêdo said the world economy found itself in “extremely challenging times”.
Addressing a wider audience via video link, he called on APEC members to sustain the status quo established to bolster global trade.
He urged members to seize the “opportunity to strengthen the trading system”, and warned that inaction “would compromise the relevance or even the existence of the system as we know it”.
Azevêdo titled his speech accordingly, “Supporting the Multilateral Trading System”, and warned that if current compromises to world trade were allowed to continue, it would have far-reaching ramifications for countries doing business with one another.
