Geneva: Emerging global trends such as geopolitical tensions, the digital revolution, and climate change are changing trade-led growth, according to a landmark research from the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The WTO’s 2024 edition of the ‘World Trade Report’, released on Monday, sounded a stark warning. It estimated that global factors such as geopolitical tensions, regional conflicts, and trade sanctions have not just impacted, but severely shaken the stable foundation of global economic growth over the past 30 years, potentially leading to trade fragmentation.
On the other hand, the increased capital and skill intensity of contemporary manufacturing has limited the potential for manufacturing-led growth in low-income economies. Meanwhile, climate change presents even larger concerns, especially for these countries.
However, the research also underlined the new opportunities created by these worldwide trends. To accomplish development, emerging economies can, for example, reduce trade costs through digitalisation, shift to service-led growth, or capitalise on the demand for renewable resources in the global green transition.
According to Xinhua, the analysis provided compelling evidence that trade has played an important role in lowering wealth gaps between economies since the WTO was created 30 years ago.
‘Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the report is its reaffirmation of trade’s transformative role in reducing poverty and creating a situation where wealth is more evenly distributed among different economies, a concept known as shared prosperity,’ WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in her foreword to the report.
“But the second biggest takeaway is that there is much more we can do to make trade and the WTO work better for economies and people left behind during the past 30 years of globalisation,” she added.
It proposed lowering trade costs, closing the digital divide, and amending the WTO rulebook to reflect the growing importance of trade in the services, digital, and green sectors.
Apple’s New iPhone 16 Series Will be Available in India from September 20
The report suggests that by lowering trade costs, bridging the digital gap, and updating the WTO rulebook to reflect the growing importance of trade in services, digital, and green sectors, we can pave the way for a more inclusive and prosperous global economy.
The report also underscores the crucial role of better coordination among international organisations. This could help leverage synergies between trade policies and complementary policies, fostering inclusiveness across and within economies.
For more updates Subscribe to Media Eye News
–IANS
(Xinhua/Xu Jinquan/IANS)
