The World Trade Report (WTR) is the annual report published since 2003 by the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

. Each WTR provides an in-depth analysis of an aspect of trends in

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countries, such trade represents a significan ...

trade policy A commercial policy (also referred to as a trade policy or international trade policy) is a government's policy governing international trade. Commercial policy is an all encompassing term that is used to cover topics which involve international ...

issues and the multilateral trading system.

2016 Report

Th
2016 World Trade Report
examines the participation of

Small and medium-sized enterprises Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by many national agencies and international organiza ...

(SMEs) in international trade, how the international trade landscape is changing for SMEs, and what the multilateral trading system does and can do to encourage more widespread and inclusive SME participation in global markets.

2023 Report

The 2023 report explores the role of

in addressing global challenges, including peace and security, poverty and inequality, and sustainable development. It emphasizes the significance of international trade, supported by a robust multilateral trading system, in establishing a secure, inclusive, and sustainable world. Despite recent crises and trade tensions, global trade flows have demonstrated resilience. The report acknowledges the growing skepticism towards international trade, which has resulted in setbacks in regional trade integration efforts and the adoption of unilateral trade policies. WTO committees have witnessed an increase in trade concerns at the technical level, leading to trade tensions and a rise in government subsidies. The report examines the impact of trade tensions on international trade flows. While the stagnation of the global trade-to-GDP ratio since the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

is not primarily attributed to trade tensions, factors such as the deceleration of production unbundling have played a role. However, trade tensions between

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

are beginning to affect trade composition. Furthermore, the report observes a gradual shift in trade along geopolitical lines, with trade between geopolitical blocs growing at a slower rate compared to trade within blocs. Despite these developments, claims of de-globalization are deemed exaggerated, as there are indications of re-globalization and increased international cooperation. The report highlights the resilience of international trade during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. It emphasizes the importance of trade in facilitating the production and distribution of medical supplies and vaccines. The digital revolution has contributed to the growth of trade in digitally delivered services, while the value of global trade in environmental goods has risen rapidly. Global value chains have expanded to involve more economies, and trade policy has made significant progress through agreements such as the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation and th
WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
Overall, the World Trade Report 2023 underscores the ongoing relevance of international trade in addressing global challenges and advocates for an inclusive and sustainable approach to globalization. It explores how re-globalization, characterized by increased international cooperation, can effectively tackle the major challenges of national and

economic security Economic security or financial security is the condition of having stable income or other resources to support a standard of living now and in the foreseeable future. It includes: * probable continued solvency * predictability of the future cash ...

poverty alleviation Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics classi ...

, and environmental sustainability. The report emphasizes the importance of global solutions through enhanced cooperation and highlights the role of a revitalized multilateral trading system overseen by the WTO.WTO (2023). "World Trade Report 2023: Executive Summary" DF Retrieved March 31, 2024, from wto.org.

List of World Trade Reports

*2003
Trade and development
*2004

*2005

*2006

*2007

*2008: ttps://www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/wtr08_e.htm Trade in a Globalizing World*2009
Trade Policy Commitments and Contingency Measures
*2010

*2011

*2012: ttps://www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/wtr12_e.htm Trade and public policies: A closer look at non-tariff measures in the 21st century*2013
Factors shaping the future of world trade
*2014

*2015

*2016: ttps://www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/wtr16_e.htm Levelling the trading field for SMEs*2017
Trade, technology and jobs
*2018

*2019: ttps://www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/wtr19_e.htm The future of services trade*2020
Government policies to promote innovation in the digital age
*2021

*2022

*2023

References

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External links

World Trade Organization International trade organizations Annual publications