Recent G20 Import-Restrictive Measures Hit New High - WTO

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Trade-restrictive measures which have been introduced over the recent months cover over $480 billion worth of trade, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said Thursday.

"The WTO’s 20th monitoring report on Group of 20 (G20) trade measures issued on 22 November shows that the amount of trade covered by new import-restrictive measures hit a new high during the current reporting period," the WTO said.

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The trade organization also noted that "the estimated US $481 billion in trade coverage of these new measures imposed by G20 economies from mid-May to mid-October 2018" was more than six times larger than the one that was recorded in the previous reporting period and "the largest since this measure was first calculated in 2012." 

The WTO's data comes amid the continuing trade war between the US and China, which threatens to put at risk millions of jobs in both countries. The two economic powerhouses have been locked in a battle over trade for months now with the US having slapped tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods and Beijing hitting back with $110 billion duties on imported US goods.