Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general (DG) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), says global trade will not return to its pre-disruption state, urging countries and businesses to plan for a future defined by uncertainty and resilience.
Okonjo-Iweala spoke on Friday during a panel session on the global economic outlook at the 2026 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
“I don’t think we will go back to where we were. If I were a business and a policy maker, I would be planning against the world that is not going to go back to where it was,” the DG said.“A world that will have built-in uncertainties in it, and therefore I need to plan for how I am going to be resilient with my business or my country.”
She said governments should strengthen domestic and regional capacities, noting that while conditions may stabilise over time, the old global trade system will not fully return.
Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged that global trade has experienced its most severe disruption in 80 years, with multilateral trade rules weakened by geopolitical tensions and unilateral actions.However, the director-general said the global trading system remains more resilient, and will take a lot to be destroyed, noting that most global trade still operates under WTO rules.
“72 percent of world trade is still going on WTO terms. So, the system is resilient,” she said.She said the resilience of the system does not mean it is without problems, stressing the need for reforms at the WTO.
“I may not agree with the unilateral actions on trade that have been taken. But I certainly agree with some of the diagnosis that things are not going well and things need to change, and that is why the WTO are very keen on reforming,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
The WTO chief also urged policymakers to avoid hasty reactions to short-term developments, calling for what she described as “steady nerves”.
Okonjo-Iweala also warned against excessive dependence on major economies such as the United States and China, urging countries to diversify trade relationships and supply chains.
