Due to the sluggish world economy, the world merchandise trade was not satisfactory in the first half of 2012. Although the trade volume was higher than that of the same period last year, the growth rate was less than before. According to historical experiences, global trade in the third and fourth quarter will exhibit a trend of increase. However, the global trade in the second half of 2012 is difficult to surpass that of the first half. It is expected that the annual trade growth rate in 2012 could only be maintained at 2.5-3.0 percent. As the downturn risk of world economy remains, we estimate that the global trade growth rate will be around 4-4.5 percent in 2013. To be noted, with the prevalence of protectionism and FTA, WTO is making efforts to improve the multilateral trading system beyond the framework of Doha Round. <<