Overall performance slides, but some developing country ports improved between 2020-2024Washington, D.C., September 22, 2025 — Port performance across the world declined between 2020 and 2024 due to the Red Sea Crisis, challenges at the Panama Canal, and pandemic-related shocks, according to a new report released today. However, efficiency gains vari...
SummaryMany countries have adopted fiscal rules to foster fiscal discipline, but compliance has been mixed. Recent policy shifts and heightened policy uncertainty further intensify spending pressures and persistent debt challenges, underscoring the need for stronger fiscal guardrails. Results from a major update of IMF databases on fiscal rules and council...
(Photo: Front view of the “Smile of Silla,” a human-face tile from the Silla period at the National Gyeongju Museum. This timeless design inspired the APEC 2025 Korea emblem, alongside a butterfly symbol of connection and innovation.)Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will gather in Korea at the end of October for the 2025 APEC Econo...
On September 18, 2025, the New Development Bank (NDB), in collaboration with National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Ministry of Finance (MOF) of the People’s Republic of China, co-organized a workshop aimed at developing NDB’s robust sovereign lending pipeline in the country.The Workshop was held in hybrid format at the Bank’s Headquarter...
The World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) held a Partnership Review Meeting in Geneva on 19 September 2025 to look into the impact of the cooperation between the two organizations. Building on the Memorandum of Understanding signed at COP28 in December 2023, the review highlighted p...
Fellow Ministers,Honourable Member of the Executive Council for Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism in the Western Cape,Director-General of the Department of Agriculture,Head of Department of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture,Representatives of the G20 countries,Distinguished DelegatesInvited Guests,Ladies and Gentlemen,It is my great pl...
(Geneva, Switzerland) Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton delivered opening remarks at a panel presenting ITC’s flagship publication, the SME Competitive Outlook, during the WTO’s Public Forum.Tomas Lamanauskas, Deputy Secretary-General of the ITU; Lucas Vinicius Sversut, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the World Trade Organizat...
Asia-Pacific is facing a new era of trade turbulence that could knock countries off their long-term development path, warns a new UNDP report. Rising tariffs, fragmented global value chains, and mounting uncertainty are rewriting the rules of trade in one of the world’s most exposed regions.The report, Disruption, Diversification, and Divergence: Adapting...
Excellency Chen Gang, Party Secretary of the CPC Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Committee,Excellency Yan Dong, Vice Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China,Excellencies, Vice Ministers and Senior Officials of ASEAN Member States,Ambassadors and Distinguished Representatives,Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,1. I am pleased to tak...
The United States has implemented new, differentiated tariffs on imports from almost all trading partners, with developing countries facing the steepest hikes.The new measures signal a tectonic shift in US trade policy and a departure from rules that have underpinned the international trading system since the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO),...
