Global Economy At Risk — Okonjo-Iweala Condemns Overdependence On U.S., Urges Urgent Reform

The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has expressed concern over the growing dependence of many countries on the United States for market demand, warning that such overreliance poses risks to global trade stability.

Speaking at the CNN Global Perspectives Conference, the former World Bank Managing Director described the current wave of U.S. tariffs introduced under former President Donald Trump as the most significant disruption to global trade in over 80 years.

Okonjo-Iweala noted that Trump’s sweeping global tariffs on imports, announced on April 3, had triggered a series of economic shocks across international markets.

“You can see the impact clearly — the share of trade under the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle has fallen from 80 percent to 72 percent,” she said. “The global system was designed for interdependence, not overdependence.”

She cautioned that too many nations have become overly reliant on the U.S. for market demand and on China for critical supplies, a situation that leaves economies vulnerable to external shocks.

“This is a wake-up call for countries to diversify both their sources of demand and supply,” she emphasized.

Despite the challenges, Okonjo-Iweala reaffirmed that the global trade system built over the past eight decades has “broadly delivered prosperity” and can still serve as a foundation for more balanced and resilient economic growth.