WTO helps transform global economic ties, says Director-General Roberto Azevedo

Geneva: Over the past 25 years, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has helped transform international economic relations, said Roberto Azevedo, Director-General of the WTO, on Wednesday.

“Binding rules for global trade in goods and services have facilitated dramatic growth in cross-border business activity,” said Azevedo in a written statement, marking the 25th founding anniversary of the WTO, which was established on January 1, 1995, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Azevedo recalled that since 1995, the dollar value of world trade has nearly quadrupled, while the real volume of world trade has expanded by 2.7 times. “This far outstrips the two-fold increase in world GDP over that period,” he underlined. Meanwhile, average tariffs have almost halved, from 10.5 percent to 6.4 percent, he noted.

The predictable market conditions fostered by the WTO have combined with improved communications to enable the rise of global value chains. (IANS)

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