Global trade has suffered severely from the global downturn, falling by 12 per cent in 2009, the worst decline in over 60 years Pascal Lamy, the head of the World Trade Organization revealed Wednesday during a visit to Brussels.

In March of 2009, the World Trade Organization predicted a 9 per cent decrease in global trade and just two months before that the WTO forecast a reduction in global trade of just 2.8 per cent.

Lamy declined to give any figure about world trade in 2010 but said: “Certainly there is a pick-up. Whether this pick-up is short term … or whether this is sustainable … is difficult to say but we certainly are picking up.”

The Doha Round of trade negotiations that started in 2001 with an aim to achieve fair global trade, especially for poorer countries has been plagued by endless disagreements. Deadlines to reach a consensus have been repeatedly missed, with the latest coming up the end of this year.

Lamy placed the blame of the global trade collapse last year on a reduction in demand “across all major world economies” as well as the lack of financing and increasing tariffs or national subsidies.

Image credits.

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