World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo on Friday called for restraint and urgent dialogue among members as the best path forward to resolve problems.
“I encourage members to continue working through the WTO’s many forums and mechanisms to deal with their concerns and explore potential solutions,” said Azevedo in a written statement.
He warned that “actions taken outside these collective processes greatly increase the risk of escalation in a confrontation that will have no winners, and which could quickly lead to a less stable trading system”.
Disrupting trade flows will jeopardise the global economy at a time when economic recovery, though fragile, has been increasingly evident around the world, he added.
