The WTO’s “Global Trade Outlook and Statistics” presents the WTO Secretariat’s forecasts for world trade in 2025 and 2026. Breakdowns of merchandise and commercial services trade by sector and region are provided, together with details on leading traders. An analytical chapter looks at the limits of trade policy in influencing trade imbalances. 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 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 annual trade statistics, which can be downloaded from the WTO’s online database at stats.wto.org.

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 Uruguay Round, one of the longest and most complex economic negotiations ever undertaken, was completed successfully in December 1993. Its results are embodied in nearly 30 legal agreements and a large number of supplementary decisions, as well as a large number of highly detailed separate undertakings in which each country specifies the levels of trade restrictions, which it promises not to exceed, for thousands of different products or services.

GATT disputes: 1948-1995 (Volume 1) provides verified and factual information on disputes brought by contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) from 1948 to 1995, when the GATT was superseded by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The publication provides a comprehensive overview of dispute settlement activities under the GATT 1947 and a one-page case summary for each of the 316 GATT disputes brought by contracting parties during this period. Volume 2 of this publication covers GATT dispute settlement procedures. The two volumes offer insights into the evolution of dispute settlement under the GATT 1947, which served as the foundation for the Dispute Settlement Understanding created by the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO.

This report takes stock of the evolution of global value chains (GVCs) in light of technological developments, such as robotics, big data and the Internet of Things. It discusses how these technologies are reshaping GVCs and examines the effect of these changes on labor markets in developed and developing economies and on supply chain management. The report discusses how technological developments are creating new opportunities for the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in global value chains and reviews issues related to GVC measurement. The report is a follow-up to the first Global Value Chain Development Report, which revealed the changing nature of international trade when analyzed in terms of value chains and value-added trade.

This study focuses on the relationship between trade and the growth of the informal economy in developing countries. Based on existing academic literature, complemented with new empirical research by the ILO and the WTO, the study discusses how trade reform affects different aspects of the informal economy. It also examines how high rates of informal employment diminish the scope for developing countries to translate trade openness into sustainable long-term growth.

One of the most pressing issues confronting the multilateral trade system is the challenge posed by the rapid proliferation of preferential trade agreements. Plenty has been written about why governments might choose to negotiate preferentially or multilaterally, but until now it has been written almost exclusively from the perspective of governments. We know very little about how non-state actors view this issue of ‘forum choice', nor how they position themselves to influence choices by governments about whether to emphasize PTAs or the WTO. This book addresses that issue squarely through case studies of trade policy-making and forum choice in eight developing countries: Chile, Colombia, Mexico, South Africa, Kenya, Jordan, Indonesia and Thailand. The case studies are based on original research by the authors, including interviews with state and non-state actors involved in the trade policy-making process in the eight countries of this study.