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How global trade can save lives and livelihoods – and help protect the planet
Wednesday 12th of May 2021
Global trade has a role to play in saving lives in the COVID-19 pandemic, creating jobs and sustainable development that mitigates against climate change.
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What’s the ‘bullwhip effect’ and how can we avoid crises like the global chip shortage?
Wednesday 12th of May 2021
It started with diapers.
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COVID has disrupted Africa’s cotton production. Here’s how soap could provide a solution
Tuesday 11th of May 2021
Cotton is a commercial crop grown mainly for its fibre or lint, a raw material used by the textile industry. In most least developed countries (LDCs) in Africa, raw lint is widely produced for export, creating vital revenue. But, this revenue is highly susceptible to outside shocks affecting international prices.
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11 ways to align global economic governance with a green new deal
Tuesday 4th of May 2021
As the world economy reels from the largest shock in decades, “build back better” has become an urgent mantra, backed by trillions in emergency spending. But delivering global climate goals – as well as broader aims of sustainable development and economic justice within and across countries – will require transformation as well as stimulus.
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The future of global trade – in 7 charts
Monday 26th of April 2021
Global trade is ready for a strong but uneven recovery after the shock of the pandemic, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
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How ‘frugal innovation’ could aid Africa’s green development
Tuesday 20th of April 2021
Cash-short Africa will need “frugal innovation” based on simple, local solutions to deal with serious and growing problems, from climate change to a surging youth population and a lack of jobs, African entrepreneurs and officials said.
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Countries must rethink tariffs on bio-manufacturing
Wednesday 14th of April 2021
Bio-pharmaceuticals are increasingly central to healthcare delivery in high and low-income countries alike. Well-known examples of these large molecule-based treatments are vaccines and monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19.
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How TradeTech can build resilience in global value chains
Monday 5th of April 2021
Published first in Trade Finance Global.
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What’s in Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan?
Thursday 1st of April 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan includes $2.3 trillion in investments aimed at everything from fixing 10,000 bridges to tearing lead pipes out of millions of homes in the United States.
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The Suez Canal in numbers
Thursday 25th of March 2021
The Suez Canal has been thrust into the global spotlight after a cargo ship became stranded, blocking travel through one of the world’s most important trade routes in both directions.
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Shell middens: Underwater archaeological sites offer clues to ancient coastal communities
Thursday 25th of March 2021
The world’s oceans hold their secrets close, including clues about how people lived tens of thousands of years ago.
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The stuck ship in the Suez Canal is an important lesson for global trade
Thursday 25th of March 2021
It’s estimated that 90% of the world’s trade is transported by sea. As consumers, we rarely give much thought to how the things we buy make their way across the planet and into our homes. That is, until an incident like the recent grounding of a huge container ship, the Ever Given, in the Suez Canal exposes the weaknesses in this global system.
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Is Chinese business on the cusp of a ‘leapfrog moment’ in ESG reporting?
Thursday 25th of March 2021
China’s ambition to reach peak carbon before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 will require Chinese companies to start transitioning to a lower-carbon business model today. Corporate reporting of a complete set of environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics, including making emission data visible and comparable, will be a key ingredient to help regulators make timely policy decisions, guide capital flows, and enable customers to make informed decisions.
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How can cities survive COVID-19? Focus on competitiveness
Tuesday 23rd of March 2021
From national lockdowns to closed borders, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit cities particularly hard.
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3 actions for business to prepare for a post-pandemic future
Saturday 13th of March 2021
The ambitious vaccine rollout programmes that are underway in many parts of the world are finally bringing hope that we may be turning the tide against COVID-19 and we can begin to open society and economies more broadly. These past 12 months have been an incredibly difficult period, for both individuals and businesses.
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The developing world must get ready to adapt its trade to climate change
Wednesday 3rd of March 2021
• In the absence of adaptation, developing countries stand to be hit the hardest by trade losses due to climate change.
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4 ways to improve trade rules and support climate action
Tuesday 2nd of March 2021
There is a myth that trade policy and climate action are inherently at odds. That does not have to be the case. Trade can, and should, be a driver of sustainable innovation, productivity, efficiency, and growth.
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How do ‘trading frenzies’ like GameStop affect the real economy? An expert explains
Wednesday 17th of February 2021
The recent rallies and volatility in the stocks of video game retailer GameStop and movie theater chain AMC can be linked to a term known as “frenzied trading,” according to Itay Goldstein, Wharton professor of finance and economics who co-authored a research paper in 2013 on that subject with Emre Ozdenoren, a professor of economics at London Business School, and Kathy Yuan, finance professor at the London School of Economics.
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What the future holds for world trade, according to 8 global leaders
Tuesday 16th of February 2021
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has made history – becoming the first woman and the first African ever to hold the post of director-general of the World Trade Organization.
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WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on vaccine nationalism: ‘No one is safe until everyone is safe’
Tuesday 16th of February 2021
The World Trade Organization’s incoming chief on Monday warned against “vaccine nationalism’ that would slow progress in ending the COVID-19 pandemic and could erode economic growth for all countries – rich and poor.
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Here’s why China’s trade deal with Mauritius matters
Monday 15th of February 2021
2021 marks the start of two important trade policy developments in Africa. Firstly, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has been signed by 54 of 55 African Union member states and ratified by 31 so far. The agreement unites an estimated $3 trillion market and is expected to foster intra-African trade over the coming decades. Second, New Year’s Day marked a major step in China-Africa relations in the form of the China-Mauritius bilateral free-trade agreement (FTA), a first FTA between China and an African state.
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6 reasons why Africa’s new free trade area is a global game changer
Tuesday 9th of February 2021
• AfCFTA, the largest global free trade area by countries participating, could transform the continent’s economic prospects.
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3 ways regional coordination can drive a lasting recovery
Friday 22nd of January 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the first economic contraction in Asia and the Pacific in six decades. Though regional trade fell by less than the world average, now more than ever the region’s developing economies need to coordinate policies to build a lasting and resilient recovery.
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12 trade tasks to prioritize in 2021
Thursday 21st of January 2021
The next director-general of the World Trade Organization faces Herculean challenges. Hercules succeeded at his tasks in the end by trying new tactics, so perhaps fresh approaches should be tried for trade too. The World Economic Forum’s trade community has thoughts on 12 almost impossible tasks to tackle in 2021
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How can Indonesia break its vicious cycle of cheap imports?
Thursday 21st of January 2021
Pak Iyus is a hijab producer in Bandung, Indonesia. At the height of his business between 2015 and 2017, he was able to produce 150,000 garments per day; however, his production has declined by 80%, resulting in a massive reduction in income for his employees. His change in fortunes comes as a by-product of imports flooding the market, sometimes illegally. According to officials at Tanah Abang wholesale market in Jakarta, the biggest in south-east Asia, the share of local products sold there has reduced from 80% in the early 2000s to 50% now.