WTO Chief Asks Everyone to ‘Chill’ on Tariff Talk: Supply Lines

Jan. 23, 2025, 12:00 PM UTC

The head of the World Trade Organization had a suggestion for the audience in Davos, Switzerland, gathered to hear her speak about a word that’s been raising anxiety in boardrooms, government capitals and trading floors all week: tariffs.

The broader context was President Donald Trump’s belief that higher import taxes are a cure-all for the US’s economic, societal and fiscal woes.

“Please let’s not hyperventilate,” WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said Thursday. “Could we chill?”

In her opening remarks for a town hall session, she went on to explain that the value of world trade has surpassed its pre-pandemic peak, demonstrating ...

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