Trade for Progress: WTO’s Key Contributions to Food Security, Climate, and Global Peace

The WTO's 2024 report highlights its role in advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on poverty reduction, food security, climate action, and peacebuilding through international trade. It emphasizes multilateral cooperation and inclusive trade policies as key drivers for global development.

During the High-Level Political Forum, the World Trade Organization (WTO) released its 2024 update on its contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This report was prepared through collaboration across multiple divisions of the WTO, including the Development Division, Economic Research and Statistics Division, Agriculture and Commodities Division, and others. It provides an in-depth look at how international trade, regulated by the WTO, has played a crucial role in advancing several SDGs despite significant global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and rising geopolitical tensions. The focus is on SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), which align with the WTO's mission of fostering an inclusive multilateral trading system to support global sustainable development.

Global Trade’s Role in Reducing Poverty

In the context of SDG 1, the report highlights how multilateral trade has been a key driver of poverty reduction worldwide. Trade has helped raise income levels in developing economies, improving economic convergence with wealthier nations. This has been made possible through the integration of these economies into global value chains, as well as reductions in trade barriers and non-tariff measures. However, recent trends of geopolitical fragmentation are seen as major threats to this progress. Fragmentation could lead to disruptions in global supply chains and limit the flow of knowledge and technologies, particularly affecting the least-developed countries (LDCs) and fragile economies. To address these challenges, the WTO has been focusing on creating more inclusive international trade rules and providing technical assistance to support the capacity of LDCs to participate in global trade. While trade can reduce poverty by driving growth, the report underscores the importance of complementary domestic policies to ensure that the benefits of trade are distributed more equitably across all segments of society, especially among low-income households that are particularly vulnerable to economic shocks.

Agricultural Trade as a Lifeline for Global Food Security

The issue of food security, under SDG 2, remains critical, with approximately 9% of the global population undernourished in 2022. The WTO report notes that agricultural trade has played a pivotal role in addressing food security challenges by absorbing economic shocks and ensuring the flow of food from surplus to deficit regions. Agricultural trade has increased significantly since 2000, helping to stabilize food prices and improve access to food, particularly during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine. The WTO has provided a platform for its members to negotiate reforms in agricultural trade rules, including the elimination of agricultural export subsidies, which contributes to food security by preventing market distortions. Despite these efforts, food prices remain high in many developing economies due to inflation and supply chain disruptions, necessitating continued multilateral cooperation to address these issues. The WTO’s initiatives, including ongoing negotiations and capacity-building efforts, are key to reducing food insecurity and ensuring the most vulnerable populations benefit from trade.

Trade as a Vehicle for Climate Action

On climate action, addressed under SDG 13, the WTO recognizes the complex relationship between trade and environmental sustainability. While trade can increase emissions through the production and transportation of goods, it also facilitates the diffusion of green technologies that can help address environmental challenges. The report emphasizes the need for coordinated trade policies to support the global green transition. The WTO's 2023 publication “Trade Policy Tools for Climate Action” outlines ten key policy areas where trade can be leveraged to mitigate climate change, such as promoting green government procurement and reducing tariffs on environmentally friendly goods. Furthermore, the report warns that geopolitical tensions and policy fragmentation could hinder the global green transition by disrupting the flow of climate-related technologies and increasing the costs of decarbonization. International cooperation through trade remains essential for addressing these challenges and ensuring that all economies, especially developing ones, can participate in the transition to a more sustainable future.

Strengthening Peace Through Economic Cooperation

The WTO also addresses the critical role that trade can play in fostering peace, as outlined in SDG 16. The organization argues that open trade promotes peace by creating economic interdependencies between countries, which can reduce the likelihood of conflict. The WTO’s Trade for Peace Programme has been instrumental in helping fragile and conflict-affected states rebuild their economies through trade. The report highlights how the WTO accession process for these states has strengthened institutions by promoting governance reforms and legal transparency. Additionally, the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) is cited as a tool that promotes transparency and coherence in members' trade policies, which is essential for building strong institutions and ensuring that trade contributes to peacebuilding efforts.

Building Strong Global Partnerships for Sustainable Growth

Finally, the report focuses on SDG 17, which emphasizes partnerships for development. The outcomes of the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in 2024 demonstrate the organization's commitment to a multilateral trading system that supports sustainable development. Key achievements include the adoption of measures to support the graduation of LDCs from their special status and initiatives to promote inclusive trade by reducing trade barriers in services. The WTO also continues to focus on integrating developing economies into the global trading system, with efforts aimed at empowering women and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to benefit from trade. Through these initiatives, the WTO reinforces its role as a crucial actor in global efforts to achieve the SDGs and foster a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient world economy.