WTO head 'less optimistic' for world trade due to Red Sea strikes

DAVOS, Switzerland — The World Trade Organisation's (WTO) chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Wednesday said she was "less optimistic" about world trade in 2024, pointing to tensions in the Red Sea.

The head of the international trade body said weaker global economic growth, "worsening geopolitical tensions, the new disruptions we see in the Red Sea, on the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal" meant "we are less optimistic".

She was speaking to journalists at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss resort of Davos where political and economic elites are meeting to discuss global challenges. 

Before the Hamas sudden  attack on Israel in October and the subsequent outbreak of war in Gaza, the WTO had predicted trade would grow by 0.8 per cent in 2023 and projected growth of 3.3 per cent this year.

But Okonjo-Iweala warned the figure for 2024 would now be lower in future forecasts.

"We think there are a lot of downside risks to the forecasts we had made last year of 3.3 per cent of growth of merchandise volumes this year. So we expect weaker performance," she said.

"We will be revising estimates for this year, but they won't be ready for another month or so," Okonjo-Iweala added.

A spate of attacks by Yemeni rebels on Red Sea shipping has disrupted the vital trade route while the worst drought in decades to hit the Panama Canal has forced authorities to slow transits. 

Yemen's Houthi rebels say their strikes are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. 

The attacks have, however, also caused shipping companies to avoid the Suez Canal.