2022 part1

74/ WTO to host Global Supply Chains Forum to explore ways of easing disruptions to trade

4 MARCH 2022

The WTO will bring together on 21 March stakeholders from every part of global supply chains to share perspectives on the causes of continued supply chain disruptions and to work together on ways to mitigate their impact on global trade and post-pandemic economic recovery. The forum will be opened by Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and will be attended by WTO members and representatives from shipping, trading and logistics companies. It will be held virtually, with livestreaming available on the WTO website.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, WTO economies are facing continued supply and demand pressures, congested ports, shipping logjams, rising inflation, increased freight rates and shortages that are disrupting global trade.

These supply chain disruptions jeopardize the flow of goods across the world and weigh negatively on the post-pandemic economic recovery. Participants will explore the role the WTO can play in strengthening global supply chains and how partners across regions and sectors can collaborate to make supply chains more sustainable and inclusive.

The forum is part of the WTO’s efforts to analyse the evolving situation in global supply chains.

More information on the forum — including on how to register — is available here.

An information session on the impact of rising shipping rates on trade flows was held in November 2021.

More information can be requested at globalsupplychainsforum@wto.org.

Source: wto.org