Geneva  - Since the beginning of the year, countries around the world have been implementing protectionist measures, World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy said Thursday, warning that this could have a negative impact on trade.

Lamy, in a report to WTO members, said he specifically noted increases in tariffs, non-tariff measures, and anti-dumping actions.

Earlier this week, the WTO predicted global trade would drop by 9 per cent, the most in over 60 years. The organization has also warned that trade finance, the credit needed for about 90 per cent of international export trade, was starting to dry up, creating particular concerns for developing markets.

Addressing the stimulus packages some countries have introduced to address the economic downturn, Lamy said, that these would aid economic growth by increasing demand, but some contained elements that favoured domestic goods and services.

He said that some measures could lead to long-lasting effects, beyond their initial intended result of helping protect local business and jobs during the slowdown and recessions, creating "uncompetitive industries and sectoral over-capacity."

Recently, some countries have issued bail-outs and other assistance plans for their car manufacturing industries.

In his previous report at the beginning of the year, Lamy said minimal protectionist measures had been introduced, but now warned that this had changed.

"The danger today is of an incremental build-up of restrictions that could slowly strangle international trade," Lamy said, noting that this could hamper economic recovery.

While the WTO has rules for its members on how high they can raise tariffs or boost subsidies, many countries keep their applied rates below the ceiling, giving them varying amounts of room to manoeuvre. This means states could implement protectionist measures without actually violating their commitments.

A recent World Bank report found that 17 of the Group of 20 (G20) leading economies had implemented protectionist measures since pledging not to at a summit last November.

In his report, a copy of which was obtained by the German Press Agency dpa, Lamy called for the completion of the Doha Round of trade talks and said that, pending the conclusion of negotiations, countries should not use new trade restrictions and trade-distorting subsidies.

Many are considering the current downturn to be the worst since World War II, raising concerns that counties might react in the same way they did in the 1930s. During the Great Depression, the United States implemented protectionist moves which provoked tit-for-tat retaliatory reactions across the globe.

Lamy said there was no indication of an imminent descent into "high intensity protectionism," but warned of creeping measures.

At the same time, he noted that some nations had introduced trade liberalization policies in the past six months, which he welcomed.

The WTO currently has 153 members, with others in the process of joining. (dpa)