Geneva, 9 Nov (EFE). - The World Trade Organization (WTO) said today that trade exchanges strengthened in recent months, after the fall they suffered in 2016, but warned that any improvement can be easily reversed by trade, monetary measures or geopolitical tensions.

According to the latest WTO assessments, the World merchandise trade grew by 4.2 percent in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2016.

The stagnation of trade was especially clear the year past, when growth was limited to 1.3%.

"Despite improvements in several economic indicators, the underlying risks can always affect any recovery of the trade, "the organization said in its semi-annual report on trade measures adopted by the group of G20 countries from mid-March to mid-October last.

document, which includes a general update of the pace of world trade, the WTO maintains its forecasts for September and bets for a growth of 3.6%, in a range that varies between 3.2 and 3.9%.

It also anticipates that the growth of trade will moderate in 2018 and reach 3.2%, in a wider range -from 1.4 to 4 uncertainties in the long term.

Faced with them, the WTO invites the G20 countries (more industrialized and emerging economies) to "reiterate their commitment to open trade and mutually beneficial, as well as to continue strengthening the rules on which the multilateral trading system is based. "

He also urges them to work towards the success of the next conference Ministerial meeting of the WTO, which will take place from December 10 to 13 in Buenos Aires.

On the other hand, the WTO indicates in its report that the G20 economies applied in the period of evaluation (mid-March- mid-October) 16 trade restrictive measures, including new or increasing tariffs, export restrictions and measures on the minimum national content of the products.

"This is equivalent to an average of three restrictive measures per month compared with six during the previous period analyzed," says the report.

At the same time, the G20 economies launched 28 measures to facilitate trade in the period in question, which included the elimination or reduction of tariffs, and the simplification of customs procedures.