Nearly one-fifth of global imports are now affected by tariffs and related trade restrictions as protectionist measures surge across major economies, the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced on Tuesday.
According to the WTO’s latest annual review, imports worth $2.64 trillion, representing 11.1% of world imports, were impacted by tariffs and other restrictive measures introduced between mid-October 2024 and 2025. This is more than four times the $611 billion recorded in the previous assessment.
When similar measures on exports are included, the total trade affected rises to $2.97 trillion, compared with $888 billion in the prior period.
The escalation reflects a broad wave of protectionism, led in part by the United States. Earlier this year, Washington imposed new tariffs on most of its trading partners, ranging from 10 to 41%, and later doubled duties on India to 50% in August, citing New Delhi’s continued energy purchases from Russia.
Despite the rise in restrictions, WTO members and observers also introduced a significant number of trade-facilitating measures. A total of 331 new steps aimed at easing goods trade were recorded, covering $2.09 trillion in commerce, roughly 1.5 times the level reported earlier.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the scale of new tariffs is striking and signals the sharpest protectionist shift in years.
“Nearly a fifth, or 19.7%, of world imports are now affected by tariffs and similar measures introduced since 2009, up from 12.6% just a year ago,” she noted, urging members to use the current disruptions to accelerate overdue reforms of the global trading system.
The WTO expects global merchandise trade to grow 2.4% in 2025, before slowing to 0.5% in 2026. Stronger-than-expected activity in the first half of 2025 was driven by import frontloading, heightened demand for AI-related products, and solid trade growth among developing economies.
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