Coronavirus to have "substantial" impact on trade: WTO

GENEVA: The head of the World Trade Organization said on Monday that he expected the coronavirus epidemic to have a "substantial" impact on the global economy, but that plans for a June ministerial meeting were going ahead, a Geneva trade official said.

"The effects on the global economy are also likely to be substantial and will start to show up in the trade data in the weeks to come," Roberto Azevedo told heads of delegations in a closed-door meeting in Geneva on Monday.

"For MC-12 we are proceeding as planned. Should the situation so demand, we will take any necessary action," he added, referring to the June ministerial meeting in Kazakhstan.