South Economics Media correspondent Margarita Nansha.
On 28 October, the Director-General of WTO, Okonjo Ivira, revealed at the Global Annual Meeting on the 20th Anniversary of the International Finance Forum (IFF) that more than 110 WTO members were currently working to reach an investment facilitation agreement, with a commitment to simplify procedures to reduce future foreign investment costs; moreover, nearly 90 members were negotiating basic global rules for digital trade, which would reduce uncertainty and transaction costs.
The prospect of trade is increasingly overshadowed by geopolitical tensions. However, according to Ivira, global trade in goods and services reached a record $31.4 trillion last year, with commodity trade between the United States and China, the European Union and China remaining at a historic high.
Between 2005 and 2022, global digital services exports grew by 8.1 per cent per year, higher than trade in goods (5.6 per cent). Digital services exports in 2022 have accounted for 56 per cent of global trade in services, reaching $3.8 trillion. Digital trade has become the main engine of trade growth. It was stated that there was a need for a framework to clarify the rules of digital trade, to make investment easier and to ensure a level playing field in this fast-growing area.
“The more multifaceted the supply chain, the more resilient it will be against shocks.” It called for countries to work together to establish an open, multilateral trading system, a predictable external environment and a reintegration of marginalized economies into the global trading system.