Global trade growth continues, but fragility rises

2026

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AI-generated summary

1) Global trade experienced robust growth in 2025, reaching $35 trillion, but faces increasing fragility due to geopolitical uncertainties and rising costs, with a projected slowdown in 2026.
2) * Highlights include broad-based trade gains in 2025, particularly in East Asia and Africa, and the emergence of "connector" countries amid US-China decoupling.
* Key factors shaping the outlook include geopolitical conflicts, persistent trade policy uncertainty, geoeconomic competition, and slowing services trade.
* Sectoral analysis reveals strong growth in manufacturing and AI-related goods, while energy and automotive sectors show mixed results.
3) Global trade, UNCTAD, trade growth, economic outlook, geopolitical risks

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