Page 3 - Unctad News Today

Freight going through the Suez Canal has dropped by 45% in the two months since attacks by Yemen's Houthis led shipping groups to divert freight, disrupting already strained maritime trading routes, according to UN agency UNCTAD. UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which supports developing countries in global trade, warned of risks of higher inflation, uncertainty of food security and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Shipping companies have diverted ships f...

UNCTAD is warning of higher inflation, uncertainty of food security and higher greenhouse gas emissions

The U.N. trade body sounded an alarm that global trade is being disrupted by attacks in the Red Sea, the war in Ukraine, and low water levels in the Panama Canal

Maritime transport, often described as the lifeblood of international trade, plays a paramount role in global logistics.

An "explosion" of multibillion-dollar claims by fossil fuel and extractive firms through shadowy investment tribunals is blocking action on climate and nature, the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights and Environment has warned, with developing nations increasingly targeted."The explosion of ISDS claims in recent years, and the threat of such claims, is led by fossil fuel, mining and other extractive industry corporations," Boyd said in his report.

UNs David Boyd flags investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) as a barrier. With fossil fuel firms using ISDS to block environmental regulations, fears mount over nations ability to drive change. Despite growing calls to regulate climate-related activities, fears of massive compensation payouts under ISDS persist, deterring stronger environmental measures. Boyd urges reform, labeling ISDS a major hurdle in the fight for climate action.

UNCTAD noted how countries aligned geopolitically are trading more with each other while those in disagreement are trading less bilaterally. That divergence among several issues clouding the outlook for next year, the agency said.

The United Nations trade body announced on Monday that global trade is set to contract by 5% in 2023 compared to last year, with a generally bleak outlook...

The value of goods and services trade will reach $30.7 trillion compared with $32.2 trillion in 2022, according to the Geneva-based United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. A $2 trillion, or 8%, slump in merchandise trade is the main reason. Services trade this year will increase by $500 billion, or about 7%, from a year ago, UNCTAD said in a report Monday.

While panelists agreed that the world is still reeling from the shock of covid-19, the impacts of climate change, armed conflicts and geopolitical churning have hit the poor and vulnerable the hardest.