Global Trade Is Vital
Ralph Ossa, UBS Foundation Professor of Economics, shared his insights on international trade with Le Temps shortly after resuming his full-time position at the University of Zurich and just days before the announcement of new U. S. tariffs on August 1.
The WTO: a battered but still essential institution
The new U.S. tariffs pose a serious challenge for the World Trade Organization (WTO), but the broader context matters. U. S.-China trade accounts for less than 3% of global trade, and the U. S. represents only about 14% of global imports. In other words, the scale of the disruption is often overstated. More than 80% of world trade still takes place under the mostfavored-nation (MFN) tariffs bound at the WTO. Preserving this foundation is critical and should not be jeopardized by bilateral deals that sideline third economies or contradict WTO rules.
U.S. tariffs: when trade disruptions threaten livelihoods
Trade shocks often hit the most vulnerable populations hardest. The recent U. S. tariffs triggered a severe crisis in Lesotho’s denim industry – one of the country’s largest formal employers, providing livelihoods for roughly 30,000 workers, most of them women. The irony is striking: this very industry was nurtured by U. S. policy through the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, which helped attract investment and integrate Lesotho into American supply chains. The costs of sudden policy reversals
therefore fall disproportionately on those least able to bear them.
Preparing for a multipolar world
The period in which the Global North set global rules on its own is over. As the Global South grows in economic weight – and as many economies decline to choose sides between the U. S. and China – we are entering an era of dynamic multipolarity, where alignments vary across trade, climate, security, and other policy domains. Agility is becoming a strategic asset, and diversified supply chains are central to maintaining it. This shift also opens new opportunities for economies that have so far been left at the margins of globalization, especially in Africa.
International trade may be strained, but it remains very much alive. The challenge now is to strike the right balance between pragmatic dealmaking and robust rulebased cooperation – something Switzerland has long handled with notable skill.
This is a summary of the interview «Les échanges mondiaux sont vitaux», published on July 27, 2025,
in Le Temps.