No indications received of US withdrawal from WTO: official

GENEVA - The World Trade Organization has not received any indication that the United States intends to withdraw from the regulatory body of international commerce, a WTO official said Friday.

The WTO has not been informed by any US official that the United States is preparing to leave the WTO, Daniel Pruzin, head of the organization's press section, said at a UN briefing here.

He was asked to comment on media reports that the United States is preparing to withdraw from the WTO, which was founded in 1995 as the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

"No US official in Geneva has given any indication in any of the meetings in Geneva that the United States intends to withdraw from the WTO," said Pruzin.

He said a number of dispute settlement cases had been initiated in recent months regarding actions of WTO members.

"The fact that we have a number of members who are coming to the WTO and seeking to resolve their concerns about these recent measures by members shows that they have confidence in the system," said Pruzin.

He also quoted from tweets the day before by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo in regard "to the recent increase in trade-restrictive measures and rising trade tensions."

Azevedo cited a new WTO report on G-20 trade measures released earlier that "indicates a disturbing increase in trade-restrictive activity by major economies." The report covered the period from mid-October 2017 to mid-May 2018.

"More than twice as many restrictive measures were applied during the period in question as in the previous six months," said the WTO chief.

He warned that the deterioration in trade relations may be even worse than shown by the report and urged all parties to sit down and address the issues.

"With further escalation, the effects would only grow in magnitude, hitting jobs and growth in the countries involved and sending economic shockwaves around the world," said Azevedo.