World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has warned that the global trading system will not return to its pre-disruption state, urging countries and businesses to plan for a future defined by uncertainty and diversification.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday, Okonjo-Iweala said excessive dependence on a few major economies has exposed vulnerabilities in global trade, particularly amid rising tariffs, geopolitical tensions and supply chain shocks.

“If we are over-dependent on the US for markets, from the trade front, over-dependent on China for critical supplies, we need to diversify. And I think part of what Mark (Carney) was saying was that he is trying to diversify Canada in trade, and we are supporting that. Our members should diversify their trade.”

Responding to questions on whether current trade tensions—driven in part by aggressive tariff policies and strained alliances—represent a temporary phase or a permanent shift, Okonjo-Iweala was unequivocal.

She said, “I don’t think we’ll go back to where we were. And I think that if I were a business and a policymaker, I would be planning against a world that is not going to go back to where it was, a world that will have built-in uncertainties in it, and therefore I need to plan for how I’m going to be resilient with my business or my country. If I was running a country, I’d be trying to strengthen myself and my region, and I’d be looking at my region and then building resilience. So I don’t think things will go back, but they will not be as bad. maybe we’ll have a slightly better steady state for the future, but I don’t believe we’re going back.” (Arise News)