WTO RECORDS BOOM IN WORLD TRADE, LOWER TARIFFS

WTO RECORDS BOOM IN WORLD TRADE, LOWER TARIFFS    The World Trade Organization said that world merchandise trade is projected to have grown by 10 percent this year, twice the rate recorded for 1999 and one of the highest in the last decade.
   The WTO cited stronger economic activity in Western Europe and Latin America, and continued high demand growth in North America and Asia.
      In its latest report, “International Trade Statistics 2000,” the Geneva-based trade body said that the bulk of the tariff cuts of the Uruguay Round were completed in 1999. Customs duty collected on imports decreased by 10 percent, to $39.4 billion, for the U.S., the European Union and Japan, even though the volume of trade increased by 40 percent over the same period.
   “The trade expansion in 2001 is expected to be somewhat less than in the current year, but still higher than the average of 6.5 percent recorded for the 1990-1999 period,” the WTO said.