New Delhi: The world’s poorest economies could pay the heaviest price if global trade fractures into geopolitical blocs, with the economic damage from a breakdown in multilateral cooperation falling several times harder on them than on rich countries, according to a new World Trade Organization report.
The WTO’s modelling puts a stark number on that divide. In its “Geo-fragmented world” scenario, where geopolitical alignment determines trade relationships, real GDP in least-developed countries (LDCs) is projected to fall 10.6% by 2050, compared with a 7.3% decline for middle-income economies and 2.9% for high-income economies.
