Pandemic was significant setback for global trade, says WTO in report

The World Trade Organization (WTO) says its monitoring confirms the “significant setback” of the Covid-19 pandemic for global trade, especially for the least developed countries.

The consequences of the health crisis continue to weigh on many emerging countries, with poorer countries facing inflationary pressures, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.

The analysis is in a WTO report published this Wednesday (27) that evaluates the Aid for Trade initiative led by the institution.

This strategy, launched in 2005, seeks to empower poorer countries and help them with their needs so that they can trade more with the rest of the world, supporting local development.

In the context of the pandemic, Aid for Trade works to overcome difficulties for the poorest countries, helping them in the transition to cleaner and more sustainable energy, says the WTO report.

The priorities of this initiative include diversifying the export agenda, international competitiveness, building production capacity and connecting to global value chains.

The framework for achieving these goals, however, is “challenging”, particularly when the initiative’s donors also face fiscal pressures.

The report also highlights that the nature of commerce is changing, with digitization and the growth of e-commerce.

As future priorities of the project, trade facilitation, the empowerment of women in the economy, sustainable growth, export diversification, lower carbon emissions and presence in global value chains are cited, among other points, as the focus in e-commerce and financing to support development.