Major consequences of the tit-for-tat tariffs being levied by top economies are not evident yet "but they will come" and will wreak havoc across the global economy, the World Trade Organization chief warned Wednesday. Roberto Azevedo said he feared "this dynamic of an eye-for-an-eye" that has seen major powers slap trade barriers on each other''s goods could become "the new normal."
"The situation requires an urgent response," Azevedo told reporters in Geneva. The call came as the 164-member WTO launched a report documenting that trade restrictive measures are on the rise, an unsurprising trend amid the escalating trade war. "A lot of the negative effects of the kind of measures that are being put in place today are not visible yet but they will come," Azevedo said.