|
UNCTAD’s latest Global Trade Update reports
that after the downturn in the second half of 2022, world merchandise trade rebounded in
both volume and value during Q1 2023. “Over the last five quarters, the geographical
proximity of international trade remained relatively stable, suggesting a lack of
significant nearshoring or farshoring trends, at least on average,” states the report,
noting that “friend-shoring” has been on the rise since late 2022, characterized by a
reorientation of bilateral trade flows to prioritize countries that share similar
political values.“The war in Ukraine, the decoupling of the United States-China trade
interdependence and the consequences of Brexit have played a significant role in shaping
key bilateral trade trends during this period,” the report says. “Concurrently, there has
been a decline in diversification of trade partners, implying that global trade has become
more concentrated among major trade relationships,” the report notes.”
|
