WTO Raises 2025 Global Trade Growth Forecast to 2.4%

WTO Raises 2025 Global Trade Growth Forecast to 2.4%
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According to Anadolu Agency, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has significantly increased its global merchandise trade growth forecast for 2025 to 2.4%, up from an earlier projection of 0.9%.

The upward revision stems from better-than-expected trade performance in the first half of the year, driven by several factors: increased global spending on Artificial Intelligence (AI)-related products, a surge in North American imports ahead of anticipated tariff hikes, and strong trade growth among developing countries.

Despite the positive outlook for 2025, the WTO issued a warning, lowering its global trade forecast for 2026 from 1.8% to just 0.5%. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala suggested the delayed effects of announced tariffs may shift into 2026. She emphasized that trade resilience in 2025 is largely due to the stability provided by the rules-based multilateral trading system.