By Paul Hannon

Governments around the world continued to add restrictions on imports in the year through mid-October, while many restrictions on exports of food and fertilizers in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine have been dropped, the World Trade Organization said Wednesday.

Governments have become more skeptical of the benefits of international trade over the past decade, with tariffs and other obstacles on the rise. Preparing for his second term as U.S. president, Donald Trump has expressed a desire to raise tariffs on imports from a wide range of countries.

The WTO said members of the Group of 20 largest economies had imposed 91 measures restricting trade, most of which targeted imports. As a result, the total share of world imports covered by restrictions rose to 9.4% from 9.1% in the year through October 2023.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the Geneva-based body, said the restrictions contribute to shortages and can feed inflation.

"G20 economies must work to keep markets open and predictable, to enable goods to flow smoothly and foster the certainty that helps incentivize investment and job creation," she said.

The WTO said that although the number of new restrictions on exports was lower than in the previous 12 months, the value of trade affected was larger. During the year, many of the restrictions placed on food, animal feed and fertilizers in the wake of Russia's attack on Ukraine were removed.

But while governments continued to add to restrictions on trade such as higher levies on imports, there were a greater number of measures that lowered trade barriers, including reductions in tariffs. Indeed, trade covered by the removal of restrictions in the year through mid-October totaled $1.1 trillion, compared to $828.9 billion for trade covered by fresh restrictions.

Write to Paul Hannon at paul.hannon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 13, 2024 10:29 ET (15:29 GMT)

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