WTO Predicts Strong but Uneven Post-Pandemic Trade Recovery

The World Trade Organization said Thursday it expects international trade to rebound from the pandemic this year and grow by as much as 8% after falling more than 5% in 2020.

At her first trade forecast news conference since assuming office one month ago, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told reporters that last year’s decline was not as large as expected.   Following a sharp decline in the first half of the year, she said, trade recovered more quickly than expected in the second half, and that rebound has continued, prompting the optimistic forecast for 2021.   But Okonjo-Iweala also said she expects trade to slow in 2022, and that WTO forecasts remain below the original pre-pandemic trends.