Strengthening the Global Trade and Investment System in the 21st Century

The E15 Initiative, a collaboration between the World Economic Forum and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, proposes a systemic overhaul of global trade and investment rules. The blueprint focuses on boosting growth through digital trade, reducing commercial friction via global value chain partnerships, and accelerating sustainable development in least developed countries. It specifically advocates for the WTO to evolve from a narrow focus on reciprocal concessions to a broader role as an enabler of the wider trade ecosystem, integrating climate change goals and preserving national policy space for societal choices.

• The global trade system is currently fragmented and lacks a common strategic vision following the failure of the Doha Round, leading to concerns that it may degrade into trade-diverting regional blocs.
• To boost global growth and employment, the document proposes scaling internet-enabled SME trade through interoperable digital customs windows, establishing a permanent moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions, and creating a Plurilateral Digital Trade Agreement or "eWTO".
• The report suggests reducing commercial friction by establishing a Global Value Chain Partnership to improve supply chain efficiency and creating an RTA Exchange to simplify the over 400 existing regional and preferential trade agreements.
• For Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the initiative recommends that developed and middle-income countries provide full Duty Free Quota Free (DFQF) market access and that an agricultural subsidy solidarity fund be created to support food security and climate adaptation.
• To combat climate change, the document proposes a formal process between the WTO and UNFCCC to define climate actions under the Paris accord, the creation of international standards for carbon accounting, and a mandate to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.
• The document argues for preserving national policy space by creating a 'safe harbour' for subsidies that address market failures in four areas: climate change mitigation/adaptation, marginalized regions, publicly available R&D, and recovery from natural disasters and conflict.
• The WTO must transition from being solely a custodian of multilateral rules to an enabler of the wider system, utilizing informal cooperation, data transparency, and a 'modular multilateralization' approach to integrate regional and plurilateral rules.

APA

World Economic Forum (n.d.). Strengthening the Global Trade and Investment System in the 21st Century. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/E15/WEF_Executive_Summary_Strengthening_Global_Trade_Investment_System_21st_Century.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Strengthening the Global Trade and Investment System in the 21st Century. n.d. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/E15/WEF_Executive_Summary_Strengthening_Global_Trade_Investment_System_21st_Century.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Strengthening the Global Trade and Investment System in the 21st Century |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/E15/WEF_Executive_Summary_Strengthening_Global_Trade_Investment_System_21st_Century.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforumndstrengthening, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Strengthening the Global Trade and Investment System in the 21st Century}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/E15/WEF_Executive_Summary_Strengthening_Global_Trade_Investment_System_21st_Century.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }