Diversified supply chains key to free trade system: WTO official
Tomochika Uyama, senior adviser to the World Trade Organization's director-general, speaks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps
The World Trade Organization (WTO) still remains the backbone of global trade despite the rise of protectionism, a senior official at the WTO said Wednesday, calling for efforts to diversify supply chains to enhance the resilience of the free trade system.
"The global trading system is under severe stress amid rising protectionism, unilateral tariffs and geopolitical fragmentation," Tomochika Uyama, senior adviser to the WTO director-general, said during a session on economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region of the APEC CEO Summit in the southeastern city of Gyeongju.
The APEC CEO Summit is an official business gathering for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders summit.
"Maybe many of you might think (the multilateral trading system) may be dead," he said. "Yet, 72 percent of the global trade in goods — 72 percent is a huge number — is still conducted under the WTO's most-favored nation terms.
"The system is, of course, damaged, but it is not totally dysfunctional, and WTO still remains a backbone of global trade governance," he stressed.
The WTO official's remarks apparently referred to skepticism surrounding the role of the international trade organization amid heightened global uncertainties sparked by the United States' sweeping tariff policies, China's export controls and other issues.
With U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing tariff scheme, a number of APEC member economies, including Korea and China, are working to finalize a deal with the U.S. to lower tariffs on their goods.
As possible measures to reduce uncertainties in trade, Uyama advised APEC countries to diversify their supply chains as overdependence on a few partners could create vulnerabilities in times of crisis.
"The development of more resilient and deconcentrated supply networks helps countries reduce dependencies and enhance their national and economic security," he added.