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THE World Bank says global trade will play a critical role in driving economic recovery from the disruptive impact of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
Ensuring the flow of food, medical supplies, and vaccines, and contributing to poverty reduction will be critical going forward, according to the global finance institution.
But policies must be in place to ensure that gains from trade are spread across regions, industries, and workers in developing countries, it added.
“Global trade has contributed to growth and poverty reduction in the past three decades, but gains from trade can be more inclusive”, according to a new World Bank report, which provides new knowledge, data, and tools to make trade work better for more people.
“Countries are continuing to sign new trade agreements and deepen existing ones in the hope that trade and increased integration can lead to broad-based gains,” says the WB.
“But it is important to recognize that the distributional impacts of trade have been uneven and unequal. Gains and adjustment costs have been heavily concentrated in some sectors, types of jobs, and regions.”
The World Bank said it has been examining the links between global trade and poverty reduction, how changing trade patterns affect the poor, and how policies can ensure that gains are shared more widely over the last two years.
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