News / Industry welcomes decline in protectionism as global trade facilitation grows

© Feng Yu

Despite all the recent protectionist talk, global trade facilitation is improving.

A World Trade Organisation (WTO) report published yesterday shows the lowest monthly average of new trade restrictions since 2008.

Between October and May, there were just 74 new trade-restrictive measures, approximately 11 a month, while the same period last year saw a monthly average of 15.

It wasn’t all rosy though. With the decline in trade-restrictive measures came a drop in trade-facilitating measures, down to an average 11 a month, compared with 18 in the same period in ...