China on Tuesday called on World Trade Organization members to actively fulfill their transparency obligations regarding trade measures, stressing that improved disclosure is essential to maintaining the stability of the multilateral trading system.
The remarks were made at a formal meeting of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body, where China presented its stance in response to the organization’s recently released Trade Monitoring Report on members’ trade measures.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned at the meeting that the global trading system is facing its most severe turbulence in 80 years, citing a sharp increase in unilateral tariff actions, heightened geopolitical tensions, and growing regional conflicts.
She noted that despite these challenges, the multilateral trading system has demonstrated “considerable resilience,” with approximately 72 percent of global trade still conducted on a most-favored-nation (MFN) basis. The WTO will closely monitor developments in tariff measures and perform a new assessment of the MFN share of trade in the coming weeks, she said.
The Chinese delegation stated that the WTO’s monitoring report is vital for tracking changes in trade policies and evaluating their effects. It called on all members to fulfill their transparency obligations.
China observed that the United States – one of the most influential members of global trade – has not promptly notified the WTO of its trade and related measures, thereby weakening the organization’s monitoring role. It also emphasized that in the current global trade turbulence, all members should quickly report new measures, especially tariff changes, regardless of whether they have legal force.
The European Union and several other WTO members also stressed that transparency is fundamental to the multilateral trading system. They expressed support for strengthening the WTO’s monitoring functions and conducting thorough evaluations of the effects of trade measures to help members better manage risks and challenges in the global trade landscape.
The Trade Monitoring Report, published annually by the WTO, reveals that members have implemented numerous new trade measures. The trade coverage of import-related measures exceeded $2.64 trillion –more than four times the amount in the previous report – representing 11.1 percent of global imports.
