Xinhua News Agency, Geneva, September 19 (Reporter Jiao Qian) During the 2025 Public Forum of the World Trade Organization, China held a seminar in Geneva, Switzerland on the 18th with the theme of "Global Trade Re-adjustment under the Current Trade Turmoil" to discuss the impact of unilateral tariff measures of the United States on the multilateral trading system and trade among WTO members, and how to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing members by strengthening the multilateral trading system.

The seminar was organized by the Shanghai Foreign Economic and Trade University and attended by more than 100 representatives from WTO member governments, the private sector, think tanks and media.

Ju Jiandong, chair professor at PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University, predicted through model analysis that the reciprocal tariffs of the United States will lead to a 3.4% decrease in global trade volume in 2025, and the United States' own imports and exports will decrease by 19% and 12% respectively. U.S. unilateral tariff measures may lead global trade into a vicious circle of mutual retaliation and beggar-thy-neighbor.

De la Mora, Director of the International Trade and Commodities Division of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), pointed out that since 2016, due to geopolitical tensions and other factors, global trade uncertainty has risen sharply, significantly increasing trade costs, and seriously affecting the interests of developing countries, including the least developed countries. All parties should enhance trade resilience by formulating rules, repairing dispute settlement mechanisms, negotiating free trade agreements, and enhancing long-term investment confidence.

Barbara Ramos, Director of Trade and Investment Strategy and Policy at the United Nations International Trade Center, said that in the current trade situation, the use of digital tools can effectively help increase sales and reduce costs, and parties should improve the digital environment in key areas such as digital infrastructure, skills training and regulation.

In the current trade unrest, it is crucial to maintain a rules-based multilateral trade system and improve the stability and predictability of the international trade environment.

This public forum focuses on topics such as digital trade and hosts 90 workshops, with more than 4,000 representatives from the WTO official academic community attending.