United Nations Trade and Development Report

The Trade and Development Report (TDR), launched in 1981, is issued every year for the annual session of the Trade and Development Board. The Report analyses current economic trends and major policy issues of international concern, and makes suggestions for addressing these issues at various levels. On the surface, global trade looks resilient. Goods are moving, supply chains are adapting, and trade grew about 4% in early 2025 – even amid tariff hikes and geopolitical tensions. Over 90% of world trade now depends on trade finance. This means that banks, platforms that clear transactions and complex financial instruments like derivatives determine who can trade, on what terms and at what cost. Yet unlike trade, global finance remains highly concentrated – leaving much of the global South on the margins. The Trade and Development Report 2025 reveals how the tightening link between trade and finance is reshaping global opportunities – and why the stakes are greatest for developing countries.

The Trade and Development Report 2024 forecasts global growth in gross domestic product of 2.7 per cent for 2024 and 2025, marking three consecutive years below the 3 per cent pre-pandemic growth trend. Regionally, South Asia displays the most dynamic growth. The three major powers of the global economy – China, the United States of America and the European Union – are on decelerating or weakened growth trajectories. Despite the context of a turbocharged technological revolution, the much-needed acceleration in economic activity to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals remains elusive for many countries in the global South trapped by a confluence of high debt burdens, financial and resource outflows, weak investment and enforced austerity. Only 1 of the 46 least developed countries is currently meeting the promise of a 7 per cent annual growth target under the global Goals.

The Trade and Development Report 2023 analyses current economic trends and major policy issues of international concern and makes suggestions for addressing these issues at various levels. The report warns that the global economy is stalling, with growth slowing in most regions compared with last year and only a few countries bucking the trend. The global economy is at a crossroads, where divergent growth paths, widening inequalities, growing market concentration and mounting debt burdens cast shadows on the future. The prospect of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 is fading as a combination of rising interest rates, weakening currencies and slowing export growth squeezes the fiscal space needed for governments to fight climate change and provide for their people. The report calls for a change in policy direction – including by leading central banks – and accompanying institutional reforms promised during the COVID-19 crisis to avert a lost decade. It urges global financial reforms, more pragmatic policies to tackle inflation, inequality and sovereign debt distress, and stronger oversight of key markets. The report proposes actions to get the global economy moving in the right direction by using a balanced policy mix of fiscal, monetary and supply-side measures to achieve financial stability, boost productive investment and create better jobs. Part I of the report launches on 4 October 2023 with part II expected in November.