Trade and Development Report 2026: The Geoeconomics of Development

The 2026 Report examines how the rise of geoeconomics is reshaping the prospects and pathways of development in an increasingly fragmented global economy. Against a backdrop of heightened strategic competition, energy market disruptions, rapid advances in artificial intelligence, and slowing global growth, the Report analyses how States are increasingly deploying trade, finance, technology and industrial policies to pursue security and competitiveness objectives. It explores the consequences of selective trade fragmentation, the growing concentration of value creation in strategic sectors, and the widening divergence between a small group of dynamic economies and much of the developing world. The Report argues that traditional development strategies based on export-led industrialization and integration into global value chains face new constraints, while opportunities remain through active industrial and financial policies, regional cooperation and South-South partnerships. It concludes that preserving development prospects in a geoeconomic era requires strengthening policy space, mobilizing development finance, and renewing a multilateral framework that supports inclusive and sustainable growth.