Mon Sep 09 15:15:31 UTC 2024: ## Trade is Key for Inclusive Growth, but Complementary Policies Needed, Says WTO Report
**Geneva:** The World Trade Organization (WTO) has released its 2024 World Trade Report, emphasizing the crucial role of trade in fostering a more resilient and inclusive global economy. However, the report cautions that trade alone is insufficient and highlights the need for complementary policies to ensure equitable distribution of gains.
The report, titled “Trade and inclusiveness: How to make trade work for all,” argues that while trade has significantly contributed to convergence between low- and middle-income economies, the process has slowed since the global financial crisis and reversed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Complementary policies are essential to enable individuals and firms to move to where the gains from trade are, and to share the gains from trade more evenly,” the report notes, suggesting policies across various sectors like finance, labor, energy, and housing.
The report advocates for member countries to address emerging challenges in digital trade, green trade, and services sectors to seize opportunities for inclusiveness through digital and environmental transformation.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala emphasized the transformative potential of trade in reducing poverty and creating shared prosperity, stating that the report “reaffirms trade’s transformative role…contrary to the currently fashionable notion that trade…has not been good for poverty or for poor countries.”
The report calls for a more proactive WTO role in facilitating existing agreements like the Trade Facilitation Agreement, a move that could unlock significant potential gains for developing economies. It also emphasizes the need for a fully functioning dispute settlement mechanism, arguing that binding commitments reduce trade policy uncertainty, leading to increased investments and growth.
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