Trade

Agricultural trade plays a vital role in supporting livelihoods for farmers and workers across the agri-food supply chain, while also helping to reduce global food insecurity. A growing share of agro-food trade involves global value chains (GVCs) that span multiple countries, linking different stages of agricultural and food production and processing.

Critical minerals have become central to economic security as they are essential to energy and digital transitions, defence and advanced manufacturing. With global demand for these minerals rising sharply, unlocking investment and strengthening partnerships between producer and consumer countries will be key to build diversified and reliable supply chains, reduce vulnerabilities from market concentration, and boost local economic development.

Digital transformation has significantly reduced the costs of participating in international trade, reshaping what we trade, how we trade, and who can take part. However, it has also given rise to new regulatory challenges, making it harder for governments to fully realise the potential of digital trade and ensure its benefits are shared more inclusively.

The OECD is the key multilateral negotiating forum where international disciplines for officially supported export credits are agreed, implemented, and monitored. These disciplines establish a level playing field for exporters via a series of financial and good governance rules.

Globalisation creates opportunities for workers, consumers, and businesses and has helped lift millions out of poverty. Open markets strengthen economic resilience and diversify supply chains. Economies that embrace openness tend to grow faster than those that remain closed—yet the benefits are not always shared equally. The OECD’s work in support of open markets and a rules-based international trading system aims to make trade work for all.

Global value chains (GVCs) account for about 70% of international trade, as services, raw materials, parts, and components cross borders – often multiple times. As the trend toward cross-border supply chains increases, new challenges are emerging around sustainability, efficiency, and resilience. This growing complexity calls for policies that take a whole-of-chain approach to supply chain management and global trade.

Illicit trade refers to the illegal production, movement, and sale of goods and services, spanning activities such as the trade in counterfeit goods and cultural artefacts, smuggling, wildlife trafficking and illegal logging. These operations, often run by criminal networks, exploit global supply chains and trade infrastructure, undermining public safety, weakening institutions, eroding the rule of law, and reducing tax revenues. Illicit trade distorts markets, harms consumers, and presents a serious governance challenge that transcends borders and sectors. The OECD works with governments, international organisations, and private sector partners to map illicit trade risks, strengthen enforcement, and design policies that uphold the integrity of global trade.

International trade is a major driver of economic growth. Exporting firms tend to earn higher profits, pay better wages, and grow faster than those that do not export. However, the benefits of trade are not evenly shared. Ensuring that businesses led by women, Indigenous Peoples, and other historically underrepresented groups can access global markets is essential for driving more inclusive economic growth.

Services play a vital role in the global economy. They generate more than two-thirds of global gross domestic product (GDP), attract over three-quarters of foreign direct investment in advanced economies, employ the most workers, and also create the most new jobs worldwide. In a modern digital economy, trade in services ensures access to information, skills and technology. Yet trade in services remains affected by a range of barriers that threaten to undermine these potential benefits.

Government support policies, including subsidies, play a critical role in shaping economic, environmental, and social outcomes. These forms of support vary widely across sectors, from agriculture and industry to energy and fisheries. While some are transparent and measurable, others remain difficult to track. Building a common understanding of the scope and impact of subsidies is essential to promoting fair competition through international co-operation.

How do trade and environmental policies interact, and what is their influence on climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and global trade flows? The OECD provides data and analyses to help policymakers assess the environmental impacts of trade-related environmental policies, ensure that related measures are effective without creating unnecessary trade barriers, and support the smooth cross-border movements of environmental goods and services through trade facilitation.