Services and global value chains in the 21st century globalised economy

Together services and GVCs provide the basis for the new model of international trade and investment, where tasks and intermediates have far outstripped the importance of finished products in a world of fragmented production. GVCs require policymakers to think in a holistic way about what makes trade work and render border barriers meaningless, while efficient logistics, skills, and regulatory frameworks become key to engaging effectively in trade. Services and GVCs also raise important questions of equity and inclusiveness in the global economy, and it is not always clear how developing countries can participate and benefit most effectively in this new trading paradigm.

In this session, E15 Services and GVCs experts examined how services and GVCs can contribute to sustainable development and identified opportunities for LDCs and emerging economies to improve their services and increase their engagement in GVCs.

Building on ICTSD’s twenty-year history of encouraging innovative thinking on trade and sustainable development issues at WTO Ministerial Conferences, 2015’s Trade and Development Symposium (TDS) acted as a crucial platform for intellectual enquiry and dialogue on the future of the multilateral trading system. The E15Initiative stream at the Trade and Development Symposium focused on dialogue around the key deliverables the Initiative’s world class experts released in January 2016 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Discussions provided an exclusive preview of the policy options that have been developed over four years by some of the world’s most pre-eminent trade policy experts.