WTO believes that supply problem in global trade will last “several months”

Problems in the global supply chain can last “Several months“Due to a mismatch between supply and demand, as well as the shortage of containers, warned the director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

In an interview published in the “Financial Times” newspaper, Okonjo-Iweala indicates that the economic stimuli that many countries have injected to overcome the paralysis of the pandemic have contributed to skyrocket consumer demand.

“When I talk to entrepreneurs, there is some panic about the impact this year on the supply chain“Said the Director General of the WTO, stressing that shipping companies had not anticipated the strength of the post-pandemic economic recovery.

“They reduced the availability of containers and stored them (during the pandemic) in the wrong places, so now there are not enough“, Held.

The head of the international organization warned at the same time that the differences in the vaccination rates of different countries have created a worldwide recovery of “Two levels”, Which exacerbates frictions in global trade flows.

The rich countries “They have vaccinated more than 50% of their population and applied billions of dollars of fiscal stimuli, so they are on a better path towards recovery than the poorest countries“, he pointed.

Okonjo-Iweala He was optimistic about the possibility of a trade war between the United States and China hitting global growth.

“Listening to the rhetoric of both countries can be perceived a lack of coupling, but the evidence we see on the ground regarding trade does not support that theory”, Considers the director of the WTO.

He further considers that even if the great powers of the world tried to reduce their mutual commercial dependence, they would encounter difficulties. “It is not so easy to dismantle supply chains, in many products they are enormously complex“, he claimed.