Over the past 30 years, economic growth has improved living conditions for many people. However, not all individuals, regions and economies have benefited equally from the changes brought about by more open trade. The World Trade Report 2024 highlights trade’s role in supporting inclusiveness across and within economies. It was launched during the opening day of the 2024 WTO Public Forum by Ralph Ossa, Chief Economist of the World Trade Organization. Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala gave opening remarks.

Watch the full session here.

For more details about the World Trade Report 2024 and to download the publication, visit this link.

Speakers in this podcast:

Peter Vanham, moderator

Business Journalist and Author, Fortune magazine

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Director-General of the WTO

Ralph Ossa

Chief Economist of the WTO

Host: Javier Gutiérrez

Counsellor in External Relations, WTO

The World Trade Organization (WTO) and the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) share a long history of collaboration in promoting international trade as a driver of economic development, particularly in supporting developing countries. In the episode “The Economic Case for Inclusivity”, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the WTO, and Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, share insights from a high-level panel exploring the economic imperative of mainstreaming inclusivity policies in global trade.

Speakers in this episode:

James Baxter, moderator,

Australia’s Permanent Representative to the WTO

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Director-General of the WTO

Rebeca Grynspan

Secretary-General of UNCTAD

Host: Javier Gutiérrez

Counsellor in External Relations, World Trade Organization

On the last day of the Public Forum 2024, we brought together a dynamic group of young entrepreneurs and activists from around the world for the plenary debate titled “Re-globalizing trade for an inclusive tomorrow: the youth perspective”. This episode brings their concrete proposals to shape a more sustainable and inclusive global economy that better serves future generations.

Watch the full session here.

Speakers in this podcast:

Nicolás Albertoni, moderator

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Uruguay

Simon Berthoud

Head of Communication and Member Engagement, Climate Alliance Switzerland

Bonnie Chiu

Owner and Managing Director, The Social Investment Consultancy (TSIC)

Stephanie Eyram Akrumah

Director, Centre for Green Growth (CenGG)

Gerardo Matteo

Director of Government Platforms, GLASS

Lili Vessereau

Teaching Fellow, Harvard University

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Director-General, World Trade Organization

Host: Javier Gutiérrez

Counsellor in External Relations, World Trade Organization

This September, during the WTO Public Forum, we looked at the WTO's achievements since 1995, and what lies ahead for the world trading system.

Discussions began with a plenary called “Re-globalization: Trade in a Geopoliticized World”, co-organized with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and it brought together five of the most respected voices in international economics, to reflect on how trade remains a source of opportunities, jobs, and peaceful development, and how it benefits billions of citizens all over the world.

Watch the full session here.

Speakers in this podcast:

Richard Baldwin, moderator

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Director-General, World Trade Organization

Anabel González

Vice President for Countries, Inter-American Development Bank

Cecilia Malmström

Nonresident Senior Fellow , Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)

Mari Pangestu

Distinguished Visiting Fellow and former Indonesia's Minister of Trade, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)

Adam Posen

President, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)

Xiaozhun Yi

Former Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization

Host: Javier Gutiérrez

Counsellor in External Relations, World Trade Organization

Last year, on International Women's Day, the WTO community was treated to a special event. Two prominent women in the global economy came together for a candid conversation about women's economic empowerment, gender balance in the workplace, and more. The discussion with Christine Lagarde, who serves as the President of the European Central Bank, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, was moderated by CNN International's Eleni Giokos.

The event was held on 8 March 2023.

You can watch the full event, including the segment with questions from the audience, here:

https://www.youtube.com/live/l61qfHp32Bg?si=NOOakQF_wTQpiIPz

Learn more about the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund, launched at the sidelines of the WTO's Thirteenth Ministerial Conference in February 2024, here:

https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news24_e/women_25feb24_e.htm

Food safety is a collective responsibility. Producers, businesses, , governments, and international agencies all contribute to ensuring that the food consumers receive  is safe to eat. In this podcast episode, our guest, Francis Chama of York Farms, a Zambian agricultural producer, sheds light on how his company tackles the issue of pest management. Adherence to sanitary and phytosanitary measures is key to accessing export markets explains Simon Padilla of the Standards and Trade Development Facility at the WTO. Simon offers context about the trade policies and collaborative efforts at the international level that enable businesses like York Farms to supply agricultural produce to consumers worldwide and locally. 

In the podcast

• Francis Chama, Packhouse Manager, York Farm, Lusaka, Zambia 
• Simon Padilla, Economic Affairs Officer, Standards and Trade Development Facility Section, Agriculture and Commodities Division, WTO  
• Kimonique Powell, Podcast Host, WTO Young Professional 

Links

Explainer video about the SPS Agreement

Let's Talk Food Safety

WTO SPS Agreement 

WTO | Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures - text of the agreement

Standards and Trade Development Facility  

STDF (standardsfacility.org)

False Codling Moth 

False codling moth, photos and article - Wikipedia

Pest fact sheet from Stellenbosch University, South Africa

False Codling Moth

U.S. Department on Agriculture

False Codling Moth | National Invasive Species Information Center

The people of Tonga, a Small Island Developing State in the Pacific, know a thing or two about living with natural disasters. In 2022, their archipelago was first hit by a giant volcanic eruption and then went through a prolonged period of drought. Farmer and entrepreneur Minoru Nishi Jr is not prepared to give up on expanding his export activities in the face of natural hazards. Minoru is joined in this episode by Esterlina Alipate, a Tongan trade official who currently is with the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation at the WTO. Esterlina explains how natural disasters and climate change constitute a setback for the development efforts of her country. 

In the podcast:

- Minoru Nishi Jr, farmer and entrepreneur, Managing Director of Nishi Trading Co. Ltd, Tonga

- Esterlina Alipate, principal trade officer of the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development of the Kingdom of Tonga. Esterlina is currently stationed at the WTO under the Netherlands Trainee Programme where she works with the Aid for Trade Unit and the Trade Facilitation Unit.

- Kimonique Powell, Podcast Host, WTO Young Professional

If you want to go deeper on the topic, here are a few reading suggestions:

Minoru Nishi Jr's family-owned agricultural business:

Nishi Trading Co. Ltd

Satellite animation of the initial ash plume and shockwave on 15 January 2022:

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption

Developing, stimulating, and promoting economic development in Tonga:

Ministry of Trade and Economic Development

The Tonga Trade Portal is a trade facilitation platform implemented by the government of Tonga:

Tonga Trade Portal

A dedicated WTO website on trade and natural disasters provides access to research papers and WTO-organized symposia dealing with this topic:

Research on natural disasters and trade

What is the scope that exists under WTO Agreements for Members to adopt trade measures in support of disaster response, disaster recovery and disaster resilience?

Natural disasters and trade: a legal mapping

Digitally transmitted services are the fastest-growing segment of international trade. They offer huge opportunities for SMEs in emerging markets and developing economies. But how do you convince potential clients that you offer cutting-edge IT services when your country is mainly known as an exporter of pineapples and coffee? In this episode we talk to Albán Sánchez, an IT entrepreneur from Costa Rica who decided that the way to deal with outdated perceptions of his country was to establish a business presence in his target market. Albán is joined by Antonia Carzaniga of the WTO's Trade in Services Division who puts his experience into the bigger services trade context. 

In the podcast:

- Albán Sánchez, Co-Founder and CEO of Lantern Technologies and LinkAmerica Labs, Costa Rica and Dallas/Texas.

- Antonia Carzaniga, Counsellor, Trade in Services and Investment Division, WTO 

- Kimonique Powell, Podcast Host, WTO Young Professional

The IT business of Albán Sánchez

LinkAmerica Labs

Costa Rica's Trade Promotion Agency

Procomer

Find out more about services trade and the WTO

Services Trade

The future of services trade

World Trade Report 2019

The contribution of services to economic growth and development

Trade in services for development