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WTO X-rays Impacts of Trump’s Tariffs on Global Trade

WTO members must stand together to safeguard these gains.Trade measures of this magnitude have the potential to create significant trade diversion effects.

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Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the WTO has acknowledged that President Donald Trump’s Tariffs slammed on more than a hundred countries, will have substantial implications for global trade and economic growth prospects of member nations .

In a position statement on the U.S. tariffs, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said:

“The WTO Secretariat is closely monitoring and analysing the measures announced by the United States on April 2, 2025.

Many members have reached out to us and we are actively engaging with them in response to their questions about the potential impact on their economies and the global trading system.

While the situation is rapidly evolving, our initial estimates suggest that these measures, coupled with those introduced since the beginning of the year, could lead to an overall contraction of around 1% in global merchandise trade volumes this year, representing a downward revision of nearly four percentage points from previous projections.

I’m deeply concerned about this decline and the potential for escalation into a tariff war with a cycle of retaliatory measures that lead to further declines in trade.

It Is important to remember that, despite these new measures, the vast majority of global trade still flows under the WTO’s Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) terms.

Our estimates now indicate that this share currently stands at 74%, down from around 80% at the beginning of the year.

WTO members must stand together to safeguard these gains.Trade measures of this magnitude have the potential to create significant trade diversion effects.

I call on Members to manage the resulting pressures responsibly to prevent trade tensions from proliferating.

The WTO was established to serve precisely in moments like this — as a platform for dialogue, to prevent trade conflicts from escalating, and to support an open and predictable trading environment.

I encourage Members to utilize this forum to engage constructively and seek cooperative solutions.”

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CBN: 60 newly recruits staff laments three years of waiting without engagement

The concerned staff appealed to the CBN Governor, President Bola Tinubu, and other stakeholders to look into their plights, as economic hardship has taken a toll on them after about three years of leaving their jobs.

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• CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso

A group of newly recruited staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have cried out over delayed posting and onboarding into various positions since August 28, 2023.

The Guardian reported that according to the employees, the Apex Bank issued the offer, which was followed by an acceptance copy and instructions to resign from their previous places of work, where applicable, as part of documentation.

“We all tendered resignation letters to our former employers at that time to enable us to proceed with the CBN process,” one of the affected employees, Emmanuel Linus Dabo, who spoke on behalf of others,, told newsmen on Monday.

According to him, the application process started in April 2023, where their resumé were submitted to the Headquarters of CBN, and after some time, they received emails from the Human Resources Department for interview and aptitude tests.

“We did a medical examination at the bank’s medical clinic, where a code was given to individual applicants before we could access the hospital.

After the interview and medical and aptitude tests, the successful applicants were contacted by the HR manager to come to CBN Headquarters in Abuja to pick up their offer letter. We filled the acceptance letter without delay,” he said.

He further stated that there was a series of e-mails from the Human Resources office requesting that they forward their credentials for the online documentation, including their acknowledged resignation letters from their previous employers…

The concerned staff appealed to the CBN Governor, President Bola Tinubu, and other stakeholders to look into their plights, as economic hardship has taken a toll on them after about three years of leaving their jobs.

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KPMG, NRS settle rifts over new tax laws

In its newsletter on January 9, KPMG said there are “errors, inconsistencies, gaps, omissions, and lacunae” in the new tax laws that require urgent reconsideration to ensure the achievement of their stated objectives.

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KPMG executives and Zaach Adedeji, chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), held a meeting on Monday following the disagreement over the new tax laws.

In its newsletter on January 9, KPMG said there are “errors, inconsistencies, gaps, omissions, and lacunae” in the new tax laws that require urgent reconsideration to ensure the achievement of their stated objectives

However, on January 10, the presidential fiscal policy and tax reforms committee pushed back against KPMG’s critique, noting that KPMG does not understand the laws.

The committee said a significant proportion of the issues described as “errors,” “gaps,” or “omissions” by KPMG are either the firm’s own errors and invalid conclusions, or matters not properly understood by the firm.

In a statement on Monday, the NRS said that Adedeji hosted a courtesy visit from the delegation of the tax advisory firm.

” During the visit, the KPMG team clarified that their earlier opinion on the new tax laws “had been misconstrued and expressed regret over the misunderstanding.

“They sought further clarity on the provisions of the laws and highlighted areas where recommendations could be made.”

The source said that the meeting ended with the delegation commended the NRS chairman for efficiently and promptly implementing the reforms.

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IMF to release January 2026 World Economic Outlook update on Monday

The January WEO Update is expected to provide revised global growth forecasts and insights into inflation trends, monetary policy direction, and key risks facing the global economy in 2026.

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will release its January 2026 World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update on Monday, January 19, 2026.

The report will be presented during a press conference hosted at the National Bank of Belgium in Brussels.

The press conference is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. The Brussels time and will be streamed live via the IMF website and Press Centre, allowing journalists to participate both in person and virtually.

The IMF’s economic assessment will be presented by Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, Economic Counselor and director of the Research Department; Petya Koeva Brooks, deputy director of the Research Department; and Deniz Igan, Division Chief, Research Department.

The January WEO Update is expected to provide revised global growth forecasts and insights into inflation trends, monetary policy direction, and key risks facing the global economy in 2026.

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