TOKYO (AP) — Global free trade is in crisis, the head of the World Trade Organization chief said Tuesday while meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shigaru Ishiba on Tuesday.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization, told Ishiba that she has high expectations for Japan as a champion of open markets as U.S. President Donald Trump disrupts world commerce with his fast-changing tariffs and other policies.
“Trade is facing very challenging times right now and it is quite difficult,” she said. “We should try to use this crisis as an opportunity to solve the challenges we have and take advantage of new trends in trade.”
Japan, as “a champion of the multilateral trading system” must help maintain, strengthen and reform the WTO, the Japanese Foreign Ministry cited her as saying.
Later Tuesday, the WTO chief met with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and issued a joint statement, saying that “in a time of uncertainty and disruption, the value of the multilateral trading system is unquestionable.” Japan said in the same statement the current trade turmoil “would have a significant impact on the global economy and the entire multilateral trading system” and called for promoting WTO reforms, including its rule-making function, dispute settlement and monitoring of the implementation of agreements.
They met a day after the United States and China said they had agreed to slash recent sky- high tariffs for 90 days to allow time for negotiations.
Japan is among many countries yet to reach a deal with the Trump administration on hikes to U.S. tariffs, including those on autos, steel and aluminum.
The WTO played a pivotal role in past decades as the U.S. and other major economies championed the trade liberalization that facilitated the growth of global supply chains, many of which are anchored in China. By dismantling many protectionist barriers to trade, it has aided the ascent of Japan and China, and many other countries, as export manufacturing hubs.
Since taking office for a second time, Trump has prioritized higher tariffs to try to reduce U.S. imports and compel companies to locate factories in the United States, doubling down on a trade war that he launched during his first term.
Okonjo-Iweala and Ishiba agreed that WTO member countries should unite to restore the organization's capacity to address challenges.
The trade chief visited Japan to strengthen cooperation between the east Asian country and the WTO to maintain and reinforce the multilateral trading system, Japanese officials said.
She also met with Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto.
Associated Press video journalist Mayuko Ono in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Vice minister of Finance Liao Min, left, gestures toward a journalist at a news conference at the Chinese mission to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, May 11, 2025, alongside Vice Premier He Lifeng and Li Chenggang, vice minister of commerce. (AP Photo/Jamey Keaten)
World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, left, meets with Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the latter's office in Tokyo Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP)
World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, left, shakes hands with Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the latter's office in Tokyo Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Robbed an inning earlier, Cody Bellinger wasn't sure his first three-homer game had been swiped away again.
“I didn't know at first,” he said. “For that third one to finally get over feels pretty good.”
Bellinger hit three two-run homers against his former team and was denied a fourth by a spectacular catch, leading the Yankees to an 11-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.
Aaron Judge made a trio of outstanding grabs in right field for the Yankees, who have won fifth straight games following a a six-game losing streak.
Bellinger, whose dad Clay played for the Yankees from 1999 to 2001, is a two-time All-Star and 2019 NL MVP.
He spent 2023 and ’24 with the Cubs, hitting .266 with 18 homers and 78 RBIs in 130 games last year while missing time because of a broken right rib. The Cubs traded him to New York in December with $52.5 million remaining on his contract and agreed to pay the Yankees $5 million.
He homered in a three-run third off Chris Flexen and in the fifth against Caleb Thielbar for this 18th multi-homer game. Bellinger nearly went deep in the seventh but was robbed by Kyle Tucker on a drive above the right-field wall.
“I was watching it. He timed it up perfect, so I was a little sick about it, honestly,” Bellinger said. “But it was a good catch.”
“Boys were giving me a hard time after he robbed it. Boonie was giving me hard time,” Bellinger added.
A four-time All-Star and a Gold Glove winner, Tucker snatched the ball as a fan tried for it, the spectator clasping both sides of the outfielder's glove.
“I caught the ball and he caught my glove, so I figured even if I dropped it they’d probably look at it and get it overturned," Tucker said. "I’ve probably had some encounters with me trying to go into the stands and catching a ball and me hitting someone’s hand or whatever but I don’t know if anyone’s ever actually kind of caught my glove while doing it.”
Bellinger homered in the eighth off Jordan Wicks, just above the red glove of leaping center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and into the dark glove of a kid in the front row.
“The fan just beat to the spot," Crow-Armstrong said. "He just had a better chance of catching it higher than I did.”
Bellinger, who had rounded first, watched and then smiled when he saw he had hit No. 3.
“Glad the fan caught it before PCA could grab it,” said Bellinger, who met the boy after and got the ball back. “I’ve seen PCA rob so many homers. He’s a freak athlete out there.”
Bellinger is batting .406 over a career-high 16-game hitting streak, raising his average to .285 with 16 homers and 54 RBIs.
He had spoken with his Cubs ex-teammates during batting practice.
“No, no, no revenge,” he said. “Honestly, ultimately it was just fun to be out there. I saw a bunch of guys I hadn’t seen in a while and I shared a bunch of good memories with them for these past two years.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr. and manager Aaron Boone encouraged Bellinger to emerge from the dugout for a curtain call.
“He was a little reluctant, but then the Bell-lin-ger” over the dugout got pretty loud. So I think he succumbed to it," Boone said. “Belly’s loved being here and loved playing here in a meaningful place to him, going back to his childhood."
Bellinger turns 30 on Sunday and can opt out of the final season of his contract this fall. With long balls and wide smiles, he seems to have found a home in the Yankees clubhouse.
He tried not to make much of getting the three homers against the Cubs, but Bellinger's teammates could sense the significance.
“It’s always good to go against your old teammates that you spend a lot of time with, you know, you respect,” Boone said. “To perform right away against them I’m sure probably is a little cherry on top for him.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger (35) hits a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger reacts after lining out during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger hits a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger hits a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger hits a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
