{
  "id": 7523613,
  "title": "Failure to reform WTO could cost global economy 10% of output by 2050",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/failure-to-reform-wto-could-cost-global-economy-10-of-output-by-2050-7523613",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-15T09:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National Business",
    "slug": "the-national-business",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2026/09/15/failure-to-reform-wto-could-cost-global-economy-10-of-output-by-2050/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The World Trade Organization (WTO) has issued a stark warning that failure to reform its multilateral trading system could result in a 10% loss of global economic output by 2050. This warning comes as geopolitical rivalries increasingly reshape the world of commerce. The WTO's World Trade 2026 report indicates that a geo-fragmented world, where trade rules are being challenged on a scale not seen since the institution's creation, could lead to a 5.1% shrinkage in global GDP and an 18.6% decline in exports. In contrast, strengthening multilateral cooperation could boost GDP by 3%, or approximately $3 trillion, by midcentury, with least-developed countries potentially seeing a 7.7% increase in GDP, equivalent to $100 billion. High-income economies could gain about $1.7 trillion in GDP, while middle-income nations would benefit by $1.2 trillion. The WTO director general, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, emphasized that the global trading system has delivered enormous benefits over the past 80 years, but the challenges today are a consequence of its own achievements. The report underlines the need for WTO members to adapt rules-based cooperation to a more integrated, multipolar, and diverse global economy while preserving the system's openness, predictability, and fairness.",
  "summary": "The global economy could lose as much as 10 per cent of its output by 2050 if countries fail to reform and preserve the World Trade Organisation ’s multilateral trading system, the WTO has warned, as geopolitical rivalries increasingly reshape commerce. The world trading system is suffering its biggest disruption in 80 years, with trade rules being challenged on a scale not seen since the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National UAE",
        "title": "Failure to reform WTO could cost global economy 10% of output by 2050",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/failure-to-reform-wto-could-cost-global-economy-10-of-output-by-2050",
        "published": "2026-09-15T09:45:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}