Economic research and trade policy analysis

The Global Value Chain Development Report 2025, the fifth in this biennial series, looks at how global value chains (GVCs) are being rewired by technological change, the green transition and shifting geopolitical conditions. With the focus of policy-makers and business moving from efficiency gains to resilience, the report examines how production, trade and investment are reconfiguring across regions and what this implies for productivity and inclusive development. The report provides an overview of recent trends in GVCs and documents the emergence of new regional hubs and firm networks. Special attention is given to changing patterns of GVC participation in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa to explore how these regions may grasp the opportunities the ongoing shifts provide. The report also analyses how digitalization and services are reshaping value creation and pays particular attention to the reorganization of automobile and electric vehicle supply chains. The report concludes by illustrating how recent transformations are leading to novel governance approaches, including industrial policies and targeted trade deals that address border issues such as carbon mitigation, critical minerals supply, and digital trade. Co-published by the University of International Business and Economics, Asian Development Bank, Institute of Developing Economies–Japan External Trade Organization, World Economic Forum and the WTO in 2025.

The Global Value Chain Development Report 2025: is jointly published by the Research Institute for Global Value Chains at the University of International Business and Economics (RIGVCUIBE), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Institute of Developing Economies-Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO), the World Economic Forum, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Global Value Chain Development Report 2025, the fifth in the series, draws on contributions from 34 background papers presented and discussed at the First Authors’ Workshop for the Global Value Chain Development Report 2025 hosted by the RIGVC, UIBE (Appendix XX).

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the integral role of international trade in responding to the global health crisis. All communities depended to some extent on trade for medical products, related services and vaccines. In particular, the pandemic accentuated the mutual benefit from the core principles of the multilateral trading system, especially the benefits of open and well-functioning international production and supply chains, and non-discriminatory measures. This publication looks into the WTO’s response to the pandemic in terms of four key areas: monitoring the flow of goods related to COVID-19, working towards a coordinated and effective international response to the pandemic, conducting policy and statistical analysis with other intergovernmental organizations, and analysing the lessons learned from the pandemic to shape a blueprint for future international cooperation. The publication examines how WTO members negotiated a framework to guide and consolidate the WTO’s response to the pandemic, to enhance the flow of practical knowledge, and to help render the multilateral trading system better prepared for future crises. Negotiations resulted in the Ministerial Declaration on the WTO Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Preparedness for Future Pandemics adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference in June 2022. The importance of this work was confirmed in the Ministerial Declaration issued in March 2024 at MC13, which encouraged relevant WTO bodies to continue their work on reviewing the lessons learned from the pandemic and on building effective solutions in case of future pandemics.

This overview of the WTO’s response to the pandemic is not intended to be exhaustive or authoritative and focuses exclusively on the critical period of the pandemic from 2020 to 2023.