Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Merchandise trade shows ‘surprising’ resilience amid Middle East conflict, economist says, as same shock dents services forecast

The warning came in the WTO's annual flagship publication, World Trade Report 2026: A Critical Juncture for the World Trading System, which examines the achievements of the multilateral trading system over the past 80 years and the challenges it now faces

Benchmark indices in both emirates have declined significantly, reflecting investor anxiety over regional instability, disrupted travel flows and uncertainty around energy markets, even as some neighbouring Gulf exchanges have shown resilience or gains

Benchmark indices in both emirates have declined significantly, reflecting investor anxiety over regional instability, disrupted travel flows and uncertainty around energy markets, even as some neighbouring Gulf exchanges have shown resilience or gains

What began as a geopolitical flashpoint has evolved into a systemic economic shock, reverberating through energy markets, industrial supply chains and critical maritime routes

High-level WTO talks in Cameroon ended early Monday with no significant agreements and a failure to extend a years-long ban on customs duties for e-commerce, after deep divisions blocked a deal

The plurilateral Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on e-commerce includes provisions on digital flows, electronic contracts and privacy and consumer protection

The United States launched a broadside at the hamstrung World Trade Organization as its main gathering opened Thursday, while China rushed to the WTO's defence, making the case for rules-based global trade

The scramble in Asia to secure Russian energy supplies — coupled with the temporary lifting of US sanctions — in the wake of the war in Iran has created a growing sense that Moscow might prove the main winner from the conflict

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent projects lower global inflation and energy prices after the West Asia conflict

The scramble in Asia to secure Russian energy supplies — coupled with the temporary lifting of US sanctions — in the wake of the war in Iran has created a growing sense that Moscow might prove the main winner from the conflict

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent projects lower global inflation and energy prices after the West Asia conflict

The comments by German Defense Minister Pistorius come amid mixed signals over negotiations to end the war

Brent set an intraday record of $147.50 per barrel during the 2008 financial crisis

Asia-Pacific markets were set to fall Friday following volatile trading on Wall Street overnight as investors sold assets from government bonds to equities and metals amid the Iran war

Oil prices edged lower on Friday after a tumultuous day that saw the international benchmark surge above $119 a barrel as the Middle East conflict deepened energy supply fears

The stakes at the March 26-29 meeting in the Cameroonian capital will be particularly high, coming against the backdrop of the war raging in the Middle East and the WTO's forecasts of dramatically slowing global trade growth

WTO forecasts a drop in global merchandise growth to 1.9% at best

Asian stock markets have fallen sharply after attacks on natural gas facilities in Qatar, Iran and the United Arab Emirates spelled new turmoil for global energy supplies

Kurt Campbell is a longtime China watcher who rose up to run Asia policy under the Biden administration

A Commerce Department report is expected to show Thursday that the U.S. goods trade deficit remained in record territory in 2025 despite a big drop in imports from China

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has a message for countries upset by the Trump administration’s unilateral decision to raise tariffs: Stop whining and start working to fix the global trading system

Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on U.S. imports from dozens of countries and foreign locations

He’ll be joined on the main stage of the Munich Security Conference by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organization; Finnish President Alexander Stubb; and German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, and Republican Senator Tom Tillis

But even that carries its own risks, as Trump vows to punish allies who turn elsewhere

The FGS Global Radar 2026 — drawing on 175 interviews with senior leaders and polling nearly 20,000 people across 27 democracies — maps the new terrain