In the October update of “Global Trade Outlook and Statistics”, WTO economists provide new analysis on the build-up in inventories in 2025 and the robust trade in artificial intelligence-related goods such as semiconductors, servers, and telecommunications equipment.
They note however that trade growth will likely slow in 2026 as the impact of the cooling global economy and new tariffs set in.
Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: “Countries’ measured response to tariff changes in general, the growth potential of AI, as well as increased trade among the rest of the world, particularly among emerging economies, helped ease trade setbacks in 2025,” noting that South-South trade grew 8% year-on-year, in value terms, in the first half of 2025, compared to 6% for world trade overall. South-South trade involving partners other than China is growing even faster, up around 9%.
“Trade resilience in 2025 is thanks in no small part to the stability provided by the rules-based multilateral trading system. Yet complacency is not an option. Today’s disruptions to the global trade system are a call to action for nations to reimagine trade and together lay a stronger foundation that delivers greater prosperity for people everywhere,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
The…