The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has released its 2025 World Trade Report, “ Making trade and AI work together to the benefit of all.’ The report notes that the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) are currently concentrated in a small number of economies and businesses. Without the right policies, the AI boom could widen the digital gap and deepen existing inequalities, by undermining the competitiveness of countries that rely on cheap labour, particularly in the Global South.
According to the report, AI has the potential to increase global trade by up to 37% and raise global GDP by 12–13% by 2040 if the proper frameworks are in place. It stresses the role of domestic policy in creating an enabling environment for more inclusive AI. It notes the significance of trade related policies including on data governance, and addressing uneven policy adoption, including the widening structural gaps in AI readiness due to factors such as the digital divide. The Report acknowledged that the WTO could play a central role in ensuring AI supports inclusive trade-led growth, ensuring that trade policy aligns with responsible and inclusive digital transformation.
The full Report can be found here.
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