italy and spain, among others. this is notjust a us issue, this is an international problem and it deserves an international response. and that s why i m convening a meeting tomorrow, a ministerial meeting, with fellow ministers in the region and beyond, to address this threat. for more on what the shipping disruption might mean for the global economy, i m joined from washington by hung tran, a senior fellow at the atlantic council and former deputy director at the international monetary fund or imf. thank you so much forjoining us on the programme. firstly, if you can explain how important this area is to global trade? important this area is to global trade ? important this area is to global trade? important this area is to ulobaltrade? , ., ., ., global trade? this area of the red sea leading global trade? this area of the red sea leading to global trade? this area of the red sea leading to the - global trade? this area of the red sea leading to the suez l red sea le
havoc to global trade. speaking in bahrain, the us defense secretary lloyd austin said participating countries include the united kingdom, bahrain, canada, france, italy and spain, among others. this is notjust a us issue, this is an international problem and it deserves an international response. and that s why i m convening a meeting tomorrow, a ministerial meeting, with fellow ministers in the region and beyond to address this threat. for more on what the shipping disruption might mean for the global economy, i m joined from washington by hung tran, a senior fellow at the atlantic council and former deputy director at the international monetary fund. this area of the red sea leading to the suez canal is quite important in terms of the volume of trade passing through it. about 12% of global trade passes through the red sea, including 30% of the container shipping. altogether, it accounts for about us$1 trillion per year of trade, so it is quite significant, and a disruption