Economic research and trade policy analysis

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has exposed the upsides and downsides of international trade in medical goods and services. Open trade can increase access to medical services and goods—and the critical inputs needed to manufacture them—improve quality and variety, and reduce costs. However, excessive concentration of production, restrictive trade policies, supply chain disruptions, and regulatory divergence can jeopardize the ability of p Read More

Climate change is having a profound impact on people’s lives across the world. Mitigating and adapting to climate change will require major economic investment and coordinated action to transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy. The World Trade Report 2022 explores the complex interlinkages between climate change, international trade, and climate and trade policies. Although international trade generates greenhouse gas emissions wh Read More

In December 2022, the Gender Research Hub organized, alongside the WTO, the World Trade Congress on Gender – the first international research conference to focus on trade and gender. This high-level event brought together eminent trade and gender experts to present the latest research in the field. It also provided a platform for researchers and policymakers to exchange views and build partnerships to promote further innovative research. Th Read More

The WTO’s “Global Trade Outlook and Statistics” analyses recent global trade developments through the second quarter of 2023 and presents the organization’s updated forecasts for merchandise trade volume in 2023 and 2024. Developments in merchandise and commercial services trade in value terms are also shown, with breakdowns by sector and region. The report is timed to coincide with the release of the WTO’s latest quarterly and an Read More

This publication provides handy one-page summaries of the key findings of every dispute panel report issued up to the end of 2022 and the relevant Appellate Body reports issued over this period. Each one-page summary comprises the core facts, the key findings contained in the reports and any other matters of particular significance. Two indexes list the disputes by WTO agreement and by WTO member responding to the complaint.

Au cours des dernières décennies, le secteur des services a été la principale source de croissance économique. Si la logistique, la finance et les technologies de l'information jouent un rôle essentiel dans le fonctionnement des économies modernes, les services fournis aux entreprises, les soins de santé et les loisirs figurent parmi les secteurs dont la croissance est la plus forte au monde. Cette publication – publiée conjointement par la Banque mondiale et l'O Read More

World Tariff Profiles 2023 provides comprehensive information on the tariffs and non-tariff measures imposed by over 170 countries and customs territories. The publication starts with a breakdown of the tariffs imposed by these economies. Tariff data are presented in comparative tables and in one-page profiles for each economy. A summary table on selected indicators on the imports and exports profile for these economies is also presented. Statistics on Read More

Trade Policy Tools for Climate Action, a publication by the WTO Secretariat, looks into the trade policies that governments could consider as part of their strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The publication covers ten policy areas where governments have introduced measures to support the transition to a low-carbon economy, improve the flow of climate-friendly goods and services, decarbonize supply chains, and build resilience t Read More

Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Viet Nam – the so-called Mekong-3 - have experienced rapid trade growth over the last ten years. However, growth could be boosted even further by improving access to trade finance, such as loans and guarantees, for locally owned businesses seeking to trade globally. This publication presents the results of two surveys undertaken by the IFC to determine the level of trade finance available to busin Read More

El establecimiento del sistema multilateral de comercio hace más de siete decenios se basó en el entendimiento de que la interdependencia y la cooperación contribuyen a la paz y a la prosperidad compartida. Sin embargo, más recientemente, los nuevos desafíos, como las tensiones geopolíticas, el aumento de las desigualdades y el cambio climático, han suscitado temores de que la globalización expone a los países a riesgos excesivos. Estos temores han Read More

La présente publication contient des résumés pratiques, d’une page, des principales constatations de chaque rapport de groupe spécial publié jusqu’à la fin de 2022 et des rapports pertinents de l’Organe d’appel publiés pendant cette période. Chaque résumé d’une page comprend les faits principaux, les constatations clés contenues dans les rapports et d’autres points d’une importance particulière. Deux index énumèrent les différends par Accord Read More

El Examen estadístico del comercio mundial pasa revista a las tendencias más recientes del comercio mundial y analiza en profundidad qué se comercia y quiénes son los actores clave. Los capítulos analíticos se complementan con más de 65 cuadros en que se desglosan de forma detallada las mercancías y los servicios objeto de comercio y los principales exportadores e importadores.

Esta publicación contiene resúmenes útiles de una página de las principales constataciones contenidas en cada uno de los informes de los Grupos Especiales publicados hasta finales de 2022, así como en los informes correspondientes del Órgano de Apelación publicados en ese período. Cada resumen de una página se compone de los hechos fundamentales, las constataciones principales que figuran en los informes y otras cuestiones especialmente im Read More

The WTO’s “Global Trade Outlook and Statistics” analyses recent global trade developments up to the fourth quarter of 2023 and presents the organization’s forecasts for world trade in 2024 and 2025. Breakdowns of merchandise and commercial services trade by sector and region are provided, together with details on leading traders. The report is timed to coincide with the release of the WTO’s latest quarterly and annual trade statistics, which can be d Read More

Las “Perspectivas del comercio mundial y estadísticas” de la OMC analizan la evolución reciente del comercio mundial hasta el cuarto trimestre de 2023 y presentan las previsiones de la Organización sobre el comercio mundial en 2024 y 2025. Se proporcionan desgloses del comercio de mercancías y servicios comerciales por sectores y regiones, así como información detallada sobre los principales interlocutores comerciales. La publicación del informe c Read More

What is “digital trade” and how can it be measured and monitored to support policymakers in navigating the digital transformation of international commerce? Digital technologies have made it increasingly feasible for buyers and sellers to place and receive orders on a global scale. They also enable the instantaneous remote delivery of services directly into businesses and homes, including internationally. By focusing on these two criteria – digital o Read More

World Tariff Profiles 2024 provides comprehensive information on the tariffs and non-tariff measures imposed by over 170 countries and customs territories. The publication starts with a breakdown of the tariffs imposed by these economies. Tariff data are presented in comparative tables and in one-page profiles for each economy. A summary table on selected indicators on the imports and exports profile for these economies is also presented. Statistics on Read More

La publicación Perfiles arancelarios en el mundo 2024 ofrece información completa sobre las medidas arancelarias y no arancelarias impuestas por más de 170 países y territorios aduaneros. La publicación comienza con un desglose de los aranceles impuestos por esas economías. Los datos arancelarios se presentan en cuadros comparativos y en perfiles individuales de una página para cada economía. Se proporciona también un cuadro recapitulativ Read More

The WTO’s “Global Trade Outlook and Statistics” analyses recent global trade developments. Breakdowns of merchandise and commercial services trade by sector and region are provided, together with details on leading traders. The report is timed to coincide with the release of the WTO’s latest quarterly and annual trade statistics, which can be downloaded from the WTO’s online database at stats.wto.org.

The report of the Joint Task Force on Climate Action, Carbon Pricing, and Policy Spillovers, with participation by the IMF, OECD, UNCTAD, World Bank, and WTO, makes four main contributions. First, it reflects on a common understanding of carbon pricing metrics which inform on the incentives to decarbonize and on cross-country variation in carbon prices, a key determinant of international spillover effects and competitiveness concerns. Second, the re Read More

Cross‑border data flows are the lifeblood of today’s social and economic interactions, but they also raise a range of new challenges, including for privacy and data protection, national security, cybersecurity, digital protectionism and regulatory reach. This has led to a surge in regulation conditioning (or prohibiting) its flow or mandating that data be stored or processed domestically (data localisation). However, the economic implications of these measures ar Read More

Can the flow of goods, services, and ideas build bridges where conflict once prevailed? If so, under whatcircumstances? The World Trade Organization (WTO) stands for a predictable, rules-based system based on the principle of non-discrimination. When the predecessor to the WTO – the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade – was established some 70 years ago, conflict among nations was at an historic low, following World War II. In the changed global Read More

Le Rapport sur le commerce mondial 2020 a été établi sous la responsabilité générale de Xiaozhun Yi, Directeur général adjoint de l’OMC, et de Robert Koopman, Directeur de la Division de la recherche économique et des statistiques. La rédaction du Rapport a été coordonnée par Marc Auboin et Ankai Xu. Les auteurs du rapport sont Marc Auboin, Marc Bacchetta, Cosimo Beverelli, Eddy Bekkers, Kian Cassehgari Posada, Emmanuelle Ganne, John Han Read More