There is a pressing need for re-globalisation

A series of shocks over the last decade and a half -- the 2008-09 global financial crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, and now the war in Ukraine -- has raised concern about the future of globalisation, says a World Trade Report.
The World Trade Report 2023 was formally unveiled in Geneva on Tuesday at a session of the WTO Public Forum 2023. The session also marked the formal inauguration of the forum which is the largest outreach event of the WTO.
Growing geopolitical conflicts -- highlighted by the war in Ukraine and rising United States-China tensions -- are also amplifying the concern about over-dependency on foreign suppliers and waning national self-sufficiency, the report reveals.
To overcome the crises and shocks, many now call for deglobalisation or to slow or reverse global integration, to unwind interdependence, and to return to a more divided, deglobalised world.
Trade-restrictive measures increased in the last couple of years reflecting the deglobalisation move on the pretext of crises and uncertainties.
For instance, 44 per cent of the Covid-19 pandemic-related measures, taken by the member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) were trade-restrictive, the report says.
The deglobalisation is better understood as fragmentation which describes the turning away from the cooperative approach embedded in the current multilateral trading system towards more local and bloc-based trade and unilateral policies.
The flagship publication of the multilateral trade organisation features findings on how re-globalisation, or increased international cooperation and broader integration, can support security, inclusiveness, and environmental sustainability.
On the occasion of launching the report, WTO chief economist Ralph Ossa talked to journalists at a press briefing where he explained the highlights of the 'World Trade Report 2023: Re-globalization for a secure, inclusive and sustainable future.'
Ossa also said that trade integration was a powerful tool to improve living standards, which helped lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
"From 1981 to 2019, lower- and middle-income economies increased their share in global exports from 19 to 29 per cent and reduced the share of their population subsisting on less than US$ 2.15 per day from 55 per cent to 10 per cent," he added quoting the report.
According to the latest trade report, despite various geo-political tension and conflict, international trade plays an indispensable role in creating a more secure, inclusive, and sustainable world. It is due to the fact that global trade is anchored in a strengthened multilateral trading system which has been developed for the last three-quarters of century.
The report observed that recent crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, fed into perceptions that globalisation exposed economies to excessive risks.
Ismail Dieng. director of IERD at WTO moderated the press conference which was also attended by Alexander Keck and Victor Stolzenburg, two coordinators of the world trade report.
This year's trade report is the 21st edition of the WTO's one of the key annual flagship publications.
The World Trade Report was first published in 2003 focusing on development.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in her introudctory statement in the report, said: "The post-1945 international economic order was built on the idea that interdependence among nations through increased trade and economic ties would foster peace and shared prosperity."
She was of the view that for most of the past 75 years, this idea guided policymakers, and helped lay the foundation for an unprecedented era of growth, higher living standards and poverty reduction.
"Today this vision is under threat, as is the future of an open and predictable global economy," she said.
"The WTO is not perfect -- far from it. But the case for strengthening the trading system is far stronger than the case for walking away from it," Okonjo-Iweala continued.
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown delivered the Presidential Lecture on Tuesday afternoon at the public forum.
Following the lecture, Gordon Brown had a face-to-face conversation with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala where they talked on the global economy and the challenges facing global trade.
Various government, international organisations, and non-government organisations (NGOs) have organised various sessions in this year's public forum taking place in the alpine city of Switzerland. The theme of the ongoing forum is 'It is Time for Action.'
Some 2000 representatives from civil society, academia, business, government, international organisations and the media have attended the WTO Public Forum this year.

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