WTO to hold informal consultations on impact of trade tensions

The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Tuesday that it will hold informal consultations with delegations on the current economic situation and its impact on the multilateral trading system.

According to a WTO official, the chair of the general council, Ambassador Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel of Saudi Arabia, plans to hold informal consultations with interested delegations in response to their concerns about the latest developments in global trade. No information regarding the members involved was provided.

The discussions will be held over the course of the next week, and will explore "how WTO members could engage on these latest developments," the official said.

The United States' controversial "reciprocal tariffs" announced last week have stirred tensions worldwide, hitting global markets hard, sparking backlash from other countries and drawing criticism from economists and investors.

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday that the United States is likely heading into a recession, with the possibility of two million Americans losing their jobs, as a result of the ongoing tariff increases.

"It's more likely than not that we're going to have a recession – and in the context of a recession, we'll see an extra two million people be unemployed," Summers said on Bloomberg Television's Wall Street Week.

"We'll see losses in household income" of $5,000 per family or more, said Summers, who is a Harvard University professor and paid contributor to Bloomberg TV.

Summers argued that the tariff plans by the Trump administration exceed even those of 1930 that "made the depression great," noting that it would be wise to be "backing off the policies that have been announced."

Despite warnings from Summers and other economists, the White House indicated on Tuesday that the policies will go into effect as planned.

(With input from Xinhua)