関税戦争で米中間貿易８０％減の恐れ ＷＴＯ事務局長

【ジュネーブＡＦＰ＝時事】世界貿易機関（ＷＴＯ）のヌゴジ・オコンジョイウェアラ事務局長は９日、米中間の関税戦争により、両国間の物品貿易は８０％減少する恐れがあるとの見方を示した。また、ブロック経済につながれば、世界の国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）は長期的には実質ベースで７％近く押し下げられる可能性があると警告した。（写真は世界貿易機関〈ＷＴＯ〉のヌゴジ・オコンジョイウェアラ事務局長）
　事務局長は声明で、「米中間で激化する貿易摩擦により、二国間貿易の急激な縮小という重大なリスクがもたらされる。われわれの暫定予想では、両国間の物品貿易は最大８０％減少する可能性がある」と指摘。米中間貿易は世界全体の貿易の３％を占めており、摩擦の激化は「世界の経済見通しに深刻な打撃」をもたらす恐れがあると述べた。
　世界経済が米中それぞれを中心とする二つのブロックに分裂する恐れがあるとも警告。「特に懸念されるのは、地政学的な境界線に沿った世界貿易の分断の可能性だ。世界経済が二つのブロックに分かれれば、世界全体のＧＤＰは長期的に実質で約７％減少する可能性がある」とした。
　その上で、すべてのＷＴＯ加盟国に対し、「協力と対話を通じてこの課題に対処する」よう呼びかけた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/04/10-16:59）

The World Trade Organization chief said Wednesday the US-China tariff war could reduce trade in goods between the two economic giants by 80 percent, pulling down the rest of the world economy.
President Donald Trump raised tariffs on China to 125 percent on Wednesday as the world's two largest economies fought over retaliatory levies.
The escalating trade tensions between the United States and China pose a significant risk of a sharp contraction in bilateral trade. Our preliminary projections suggest that merchandise trade between these two economies could decrease by as much as 80 percent, WTO director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement.
She said the United States and China together accounted for three per cent of world trade and warned that the conflict could severely damage the global economic outlook.
Even as he slapped further tariffs on China, Trump paused higher tariffs on the rest of the world for 90 days after dozens of countries reached out for negotiations.
Okonjo-Iweala warned that the world economy risked breaking into two blocs, one centred around the United States and the other China.
Of particular concern is the potential fragmentation of global trade along geopolitical lines. A division of the global economy into two blocs could lead to a long-term reduction in global real GDP by nearly seven percent, she said.
She urged all WTO members to address this challenge through cooperation and dialogue.
It is critical for the global community to work together to preserve the openness of the international trading system, said Okonjo-Iweala.
WTO members have agency to protect the open, rules-based trading system. The WTO serves as a vital platform for dialogue. Resolving these issues within a cooperative framework is essential.
Hours earlier, Trump ramped up duties on Chinese goods to 104 percent, only to hike them further when China retaliated by raising tariffs on US imports to 84 percent.
In a social media post announcing the moves, Trump said China had been singled out for special treatment because of the lack of respect that China has shown to the World's Markets.
US stock markets had slumped around 10 percent in the past week as trade tensions grew, but they surged after Trump announced his pause.