World services trade activity appears to have weakened in the fourth quarter of 2022 and is likely to remain soft in the opening months of 2023, with slowing growth in major economies weighing on the post-pandemic recovery, said the WTO.
Modern services digitally delivered services such as computer, financial and business services have been the most dynamic category of international trade in the past decade. However, Latin America and the Caribbean is still a marginal player in global trade in modern services.
World services trade continued to grow into the second quarter of 2022, indicating resilience to the conflict in Ukraine according to the latest Services Trade Barometer of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
WTO Trade Barometer indicates Continued Services Trade Recovery Despite Ukraine Conflict – THISDAYLIVE thisdaylive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisdaylive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The WTO is now predicting global merchandise trade volume growth of 10.8% in 2021 up from 8.0% forecasted in March followed by a 4.7% rise in 2022 (Table 1). Growth should moderate as merchandise trade approaches its pre-pandemic long-run trend. Supply-side issues such as semiconductor scarcity and port backlogs may strain supply chains and weigh on trade .