The WTO’s 21st Monitoring Report on G20 trade measures issued on 24 June shows that the trade coverage of new import-restrictive measures introduced during the period (October 2018 to May 2019) was more than 3.5 times the average since May 2012 when the report started including trade coverage figures. The report found that trade coverage of USD 335.9 billion during the period is the second highest figure on record, after the USD 480.9 billion reported in the previous period. Together, these two periods represent a dramatic spike in the trade coverage of import-restrictive measures, leading WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo to call on G20 economies to work together urgently to ease trade tensions.
