The report forecasts global economic growth to 2.6% in 2024, barely above the 2.5% threshold commonly associated with a recessionary phase. The report says the prevailing focus on inflation overshadows urgent issues like trade disruptions, climate change and rising inequalities. It advocates for structural reforms and coordinated global efforts, proposing …
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has published a draft notification dated 5.5.2022 regarding amendments in certain provisions of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 pertaining to the Trade Certificate. A Trade Certificate is required only in case of vehicles which are neither registered nor temporarily registered. Such vehicles can …
Sub-Saharan Africa represents only a small share of global production and trade while hosting half of the extreme poor worldwide. To catch up with the rest of the world, the continent has no alternative: it must undertake reforms to scale up its supply capacity while better linking its production and …
This book documents the productivity trends in Sub-Saharan Africa in three different dimensions, assessing productivity at the aggregate level, the sectoral level, and the establishment level. It characterizes the evolution of productivity in the region relative to other countries and regions, as well as country groups in Africa, classified by …
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could reduce COVID-19-induced growth contraction, poverty and inequality trends and spur sustainable and inclusive growth on the continent if stronger support measures targeting women, young traders and small businesses are implemented, according to UNCTAD’s Economic Development in Africa Report 2021. The report shows …
The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on maritime trade volumes in 2020 was less severe than initially expected but its knock-on effects will be far-reaching and could transform maritime transport, according to UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport 2021. The report shows that maritime trade contracted by 3.8% in 2020, reflecting an initial …
After a dramatic year for the global economy, economic activity and international merchandise trade rebounded strongly in 2021. Global merchandise exports and imports are estimated to have surpassed pre-pandemic (2019) levels, with nominal growth of 24.6% and 23.8%, respectively. Likewise, growth in the value of exports and imports in Asia …
Global food trade has accelerated and is poised to hit an all-time record in both volume and value terms, according to this new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). By the end of 2021, the global food import bill should extend beyond $1.75 trillion, …
The COVID-19 pandemic and the prospect of increasingly frequent and more intense natural and man-made disasters raise important questions about the resilience of the global economy to such shocks. The 2021 edition of the WTO's World Trade Report examines why the interconnected global trading system is both vulnerable and resilient …
This paper assesses the nature of agricultural transformation taking place in different parts of Africa and analyzes policy drivers of the transformation using data from the CAADP Biennial Review (BR) on 46 indicators from 2014 to 2018. First, a typology of agriculture transformation in different groups of countries is developed …
Economies in the Asia-Pacific region need to urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including to maintain their trade competitiveness as carbon taxes at borders threaten to rise, according to this new United Nations report Around 16 million new jobs could be created in clean energy, energy efficiency, engineering, manufacturing and construction …
This paper aims to support trade negotiators in leveraging trade for climate change adaptation and to explore the critical role National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes can play in this regard. It is well understood that climatic impacts on trade can be addressed by a host of climate adaptation measures, ranging …
While trade exacerbates climate change, it is also a central part of the solution because it has the potential to enhance mitigation and adaptation. This timely report explores the different ways in which trade and climate change intersect. Trade contributes to the emissions that cause global warming and is itself …
This report provides a first systematic, quantitative assessment of transboundary climate risks to trade in major agricultural commodities – maize, rice, wheat, soy, sugar cane, and coffee. Transboundary climate risks to global food security are critical and mounting but until now have remained largely unrecognized by the global community. This …
The world needs more effective multilateral coordination, without which recovery efforts in advanced countries will damage development prospects in the South and amplify existing inequalities, says UNCTAD’s Trade and Development Report 2021. The pandemic has seen governments in the North abandon parts of the 40-year long neo-liberal policy dogma to …
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations constitutes the most important and comprehensive global sustainable development agenda for the next decade. It is known for its far-reaching and ambitious vision with its 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and 169 targets that are listed as part of the …
African countries have diversified both their exports and trade partners over the last decade, African agricultural trade still suffers from structural problems as well as exogenous shocks. Against this backdrop, the 2021 Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor (AATM) analyzes continental and regional trends in African agricultural trade flows and policies. The …
Bilateral and regional free trade agreements increasingly substitute for the World Trade Organization in trade negotiations. Accordingly, civil society organisations opposed to trade liberalisation target this new generation of trade agreements as well. This paper examines the case of activists concerned about agricultural and food issues in India who raised …
Wind and solar projects typically involve a mix of components manufactured in a few places at very large scales, but also components that can be produced in many countries. Given the boom in the construction of renewable energy projects, national governments are increasingly keen to maximize local economic benefits. In …
This policy brief assesses the impact and opportunities for developing countries of the boom in demand for raw materials entering into the production of electric vehicle batteries. In particular, it describes how trade policy could play an important role in helping them capture value from this expansion while managing the …
