Global Trade Grew Despite Geopolitical Tensions
The World Trade Organization reported that international trade expanded by 4.6 percent throughout 2025.
Updated on Oct. 6, 2026 in International Trade
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Global trade growth outperformed global GDP growth in 2025 as supply chains successfully adapted to ongoing geopolitical pressures. WTO Deputy Director-General DJ Nordquist shared these findings during an address at the 17th Swiss Coffee Trade Association Forum.
Why it matters
The resilience of international commerce demonstrates how global supply chains have reconfigured themselves to navigate current economic and security concerns. Governments are now increasingly prioritizing industrial strategies and climate objectives alongside trade policy.
Global trade expanded by 4.6 percent during 2025, consistently outpacing global GDP growth. Currently, 72 percent of worldwide trade is conducted under most-favoured nation rules among the 166 WTO member nations.
The players
DJ Nordquist
She serves as a Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization.
World Trade Organization
It is an intergovernmental organization with 166 members that regulates and facilitates international trade.
Swiss Coffee Trade Association
This trade group represents members of the coffee industry and hosts an annual forum in Montreux.
The details
Despite earlier projections of negative growth at the start of 2025, trade networks proved highly adaptable to geopolitical tensions. The WTO continues to facilitate this stability by providing essential infrastructure for transparency, monitoring, and international dialogue.
Timeline
At the start of 2025, WTO economists projected negative trade growth.
Global trade grew 4.6 percent during 2025.
On October 1, 2026, Deputy Director-General DJ Nordquist spoke at the SCTA Forum in Montreux.
Market Dynamics
This growth follows the established framework of the World Trade Organization's most-favoured-nation principle, which continues to govern the majority of global commercial exchanges. The sustained expansion marks a departure from earlier 2025 projections of negative growth.
The resilience of global trade suggests that supply chain diversification strategies are successfully mitigating geopolitical risks for international businesses. Investors should monitor how these trade patterns influence inflation and the availability of imported goods in the coming quarters.
The takeaway
The unexpected growth in 2025 highlights the durability of global economic integration even during periods of significant tension. Businesses that remain flexible in their supply chain planning are better positioned to weather ongoing shifts in global trade policy.
Further reading
Learn more about the latest developments in International Trade on our site.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Wto.
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