Trade and Investment

We must reform trade to build a sustainable, inclusive global recovery

"Trade policy needs an urgent update."

"Trade policy needs an urgent update." Image: Ian Taylor/Unsplash

Børge Brende
President, World Economic Forum
Dr José Viñals
Group Chairman, Standard Chartered Bank

Listen to the article

  • Trade policy needs to evolve to meet growing global challenges.
  • 29 CEOs and Chairpersons from five continents have called on world leaders to update trade rules.
  • Here's how world leaders can ensure trade policies realize their potential for growing economies, reducing poverty and empowering people worldwide.

Trade policy needs an urgent update.

The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened inequalities in and across countries. Recent record heatwaves remind us that we must address the climate crisis before it’s too late. And digitalization is providing new ways of delivering goods and services while raising new questions around its risks and regulation.

In this context, it is critical that we re-evaluate where trade and investment have helped - and where they have hindered. We need to go back to the basics: what is trade for? And how can it provide better outcomes for people and planet?

Have you read?

Evolution of trade policy

Trade relations have always been a means to an end. But that end has shifted over the past century as global attitudes towards trade and what it must deliver have evolved.

In the 1940s, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade enshrined growth as the key objective of international trade relations, suggesting full employment and rising standards of living would follow. By the time the World Trade Organization formed in 1995, the trade system was also expected to address sustainable development and ensure that developing countries secured a share in trade growth.

Today, the trading system must adapt again to address additional concerns of global resiliency, sustainability and inclusivity. The G20 Leaders Declaration has outlined key aspects of the COVID-19 recovery, namely, economic growth and job creation, health, digitalization, sustainability and inclusion. Trade has an important role to play in delivering each of these dimensions.

According to a recent Ipsos-World Economic Forum survey, 75% of the global public supports expanding trade, but only half said they thought globalization was good for their country, a drop of 10 percentage points since 2019. This ambiguity reveals belief in the potential of trade for improving lives but deep unease over its current directions. Cooperation is needed to guard against a race to the bottom or harmful shocks while harnessing the benefits of trade.

A third of people think there should be more trade barriers.
A third of people think there should be more trade barriers. Image: World Economic Forum-Ipsos

Potential of trade reform

So, how can world leaders ensure trade policies realize their potential for growing economies, reducing poverty and empowering people worldwide?

First, COVID-19 made it clear that trade is critical in the preparedness and response to health crises. Trade and investment are crucial in the research, development, manufacturing and distribution of personal protection equipment, diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics. Governments should consider lowering tariff and administrative barriers, facilitating investments, improving supply chain transparency and refraining from export restraints.

Second, digitalization has resulted in meaningful benefits to people’s lives. During lockdowns, digital trade in services and e-commerce kept large portions of economies running. Creating and investing in an accessible and interoperable global digital ecosystem is a crucial component of recovery and future economic resilience.

Third, reducing the complexity of international commerce will provide more opportunities for small businesses to spread innovation and boost employment, stemming the decline in foreign investment, which threatens development gains. Governments must work towards streamlined, transparent and predictable investment procedures and provide technical assistance and support to developing countries and help them gain access to international trade.

Fourth, greener global production and consumption depends on policies that encourage environmental innovation and defuse blame-shifting as an excuse for inaction. Countries should consider reducing barriers to and promoting trade in goods and services that support the sustainable development goals along with phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, aligning on border carbon measures and facilitating green investment.

And finally, trade benefits must reach stakeholders that have been side-lined for too long, including the economically disadvantaged, women, youth, ethnic and religious minorities and Indigenous people. The interests of disadvantaged groups must be considered in the development, implementation and monitoring of trade rules, as well as in domestic policies that might affect their ability to participate in trade, including labour, property, contract and other laws.

Discover

What is the World Economic Forum doing on trade facilitation?

Trade for Tomorrow

Some global leaders and businesses are already signalling a change in approach. For example, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai has emphasized the worker-centric trade agenda of the Biden administration and argued that trade policies must consider their impact on workers, women and the environment. An increasing number of countries are protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples and including gender provisions in their trade agreements. Businesses are making ambitious commitments toward climate action, women’s economic empowerment and racial equity.

More than 20 leaders from some of the world’s biggest companies have joined a multi-stakeholder call on governments to refrain from protectionism and promote trade policies that are efficient, transparent and leave no one behind.

The World Trade Organization’s long-delayed ministerial meeting in December offers an opportunity to re-evaluate the role of trade in today’s world and deliver on meaningful reforms. We cannot let disagreement paralyze us or cause us to retreat from the potential of progress. Together, we can set a path for the sustainable, inclusive trade for tomorrow.

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Trade and Investment

Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Trade and Investment is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

Five findings from the latest World Trade Report show how international trade shapes inclusivity

Jose-Antonio Monteiro and Roberta Piermartini

October 30, 2024

How digital nomads can transform tourism and the economy of Small Island Developing States

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum