Geopolitical tension present opportunities, says Okonjo-Iweala
Omeiza Bilal
The Director General of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that increasing protectionism and geopolitical tension presents an opportunity for countries to harness digitalization to spur growth and create jobs.
The WTO DG, who stated this in her message on the launch of the UN Agency’s Annual Report for 2024, added that it was also an opportunity to use trade to enhance global food security and accelerate the push towards net-zero emissions.
She said, “These are troubling times for global trade. Amid geopolitical tensions and the backdrop of the climate crisis, we see increased protectionism and unilateral policy measures. The data suggest that after years of talk of decoupling, trade may be starting to fragment along geopolitical lines. And yet within these challenges there are exciting opportunities. Opportunities to harness digitalization to spur growth and job creation. Opportunities to spread the benefits of trade to more people and countries.”
According to the report, despite trade tensions, political uncertainty, and shocks like COVID-19, world trade has been remarkably resilient in recent years.
The value of total goods and commercial services trade in 2023 closed at $30.4 trillion.
She stated that the WTO has a vital role to play in enabling members to seize these opportunities – and in doing so, to make the global economy more inclusive, more sustainable and more resilient.
“In 2023, merchandise trade volumes fell by 1.2 per cent after growing 3.0 per cent in 2022, as many countries dealt with the lingering effects of inflation and high energy prices.
“But this decline was partially offset by strong growth in services trade, which increased by 9 per cent in value terms, boosted in particular by the post-pandemic surge in tourism.
“Merchandise trade volumes at the end of 2023 were 6 per cent above their pre-pandemic peak in 2019, while the value of commercial services trade was up 21 per cent between 2019 and 2023 – and by more than 50 per cent for trade in digitally-delivered services,” the head of the UN agency stated.
