WTO: World trade volume to decline 10% in 2009
08:01, 23 July 2009
SINGAPORE. July 23. KAZINFORM Economists from the World Trade Organization (WTO) expect a decline in world merchandise trade volume by 10 percent in 2009, according to the WTO's annual world trade report released here on Wednesday, Kazinform cites Xinhuanet.
This year's World Trade Report 2009: Trade Policy Commitments and Contingency Measures examines various trade agreement measures used by governments in times of crisis, their implications to an economy and to the trading system.
The challenge, according to the report, is in "designing disciplines for the use of contingency measures is to strike a balance between flexibility and commitments. Too much flexibility may undermine the value of commitments but too little may render the rules unsustainable."
It further noted that trade growth will be strongly negative this year, Kazinform refers to Xinhuanet.