{
  "id": 7551336,
  "title": "WTO warns weakened trade rules could leave global GDP up to 10pc lower",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/wto-warns-weakened-trade-rules-could-leave-global-gdp-up-to-10pc-lower",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-15T12:11:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Capital Business",
    "slug": "capital-business",
    "url": "https://capitalfm.africa/wto-warns-weakened-trade-rules-could-leave-global-gdp-up-to-10pc-lower/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The World Trade Organization (WTO) has cautioned that weakening trade rules could result in a global GDP reduction of up to 10 percent if the global trading system remains unmodernized. This warning is included in the WTO's annual publication, World Trade: A Critical Juncture for the World Trading System, which examines the system's achievements and challenges over the past 80 years. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala highlighted the system's role in creating a more integrated and resilient global economy, with 72 percent of global merchandise trade occurring under its most-favored-nation terms. Despite significant changes in the global trading landscape, the fundamental logic of cooperation over unilateral action remains relevant, according to Okonjo-Iweala. The report outlines three potential futures for the global trading system: a strengthened multilateral framework, a geo-fragmented world with trade cooperation organized around geopolitical blocs, and a world where multilateral cooperation is replaced by a network of free trade agreements. The former scenario could lead to a 2.9 percent increase in global GDP and a 17.9 percent rise in exports by 2050, compared to a baseline trajectory. In contrast, the latter two scenarios could result in a 5.1 percent and 6.9 percent decline in global GDP, and an 18.6 percent and 26.9 percent decrease in exports, respectively. The gap between the strengthened multilateral cooperation and erosion of the system could be as much as 10 percent of baseline global real GDP, according to WTO Chief Economist Robert Staiger. The report emphasizes the potential cost of inaction on reform, as the status quo is deemed unsustainable by many members.",
  "summary": "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.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "WTO sounds alarm over global trade as fragmentation threatens 5% GDP hit",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/wto-sounds-alarm-over-global-trade-as-fragmentation-threatens-5-gdp",
        "published": "2026-09-15T12:01:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}