Executive Summary

The World Trade Report 2014 examines four trends that have characterized the last decade: (i) the rise of the developing world, (ii) the expansion of global value chains, (iii) the increase in prices of commodities and the growing importance of commodity exports, and (iv) the increasingly global nature of macroeconomic shocks. In analysing these trends, the report explores how they have reshaped the role that trade plays in facilitating development, while highlighting remaining impediments for the expansion of global development. Building on this analysis, the report illustrates how the WTO system’s features have helped underpin the recent development gains of many developing countries by allowing them to adapt to, take advantage of and mitigate risks arising from the four trends.