The World Trade Organization (WTO) published its annual report on Wednesday 9 September, against a backdrop of growing geopolitical instability and a multiplication of trade measures.
“The global trading system continues to face challenges on a scale unseen since it was established 80 years ago in the wake of the Second World War,” recalled the organization’s Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in introductory remarks to the report. Yet, “global trade showed considerable resilience in 2025”, she noted.
Global trade was more dynamic than expected last year, with the volume of goods traded up by 4.6%, while trade in services increased by 5.3%. This rebound is explained in particular by “a surge in demand for AI-related goods (which) offset the negative impact of tariff increases and trade policy uncertainty”, according to the organisation.
In this context, the European Union remained one of the leading trading powers, ranking 2nd worldwide for both imports and exports, accounting for 12.9% and 13.8% of global trade respectively.
Trade defence. The EU was also among the most active entities in terms of trade defence during the first half of 2025, launching 13 anti-dumping investigations. However, it ranked fourth, behind India (41 investigations), the United States (29) and Canada (18).
Moreover, the WTO noted that the only safeguard measure applied by the EU this year, concerning certain steel products, was one of the most debated within the organisation.
Aid for Trade. Drawing on 2023 figures, the organisation indicated that more than US$730 billion has been invested in projects aimed at strengthening the trade capacities of developing economies since the launch of the Aid for Trade initiative in 2006, with Africa and Asia the main beneficiaries.
In 2023, the main providers of financing for the initiative were the European Union (15%) and the World Bank (14.9%). Aid for Trade will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2026 and will be reassessed on 29 and 30 October, the document states.
To see the annual report: https://aeur.eu/f/nef (Original version in French by Juliette Verdes)