Nigeria, April 4 -- The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has raised concerns over the potential impact of recent tariff measures announced by the United States, forecasting a 1 per cent contraction in global merchandise trade volumes for 2025.

This represents a sharp downward revision of nearly four percentage points from earlier projections.

In a statement on Thursday, the Director-General of the WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, warned that the new US tariffs, introduced on Wednesday, could trigger a broader trade conflict, with retaliatory measures likely to exacerbate the decline in global trade.

"While the situation is rapidly evolving, our initial estimates suggest that these measures, coupled with those introduced since the beginning of t...