Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Global Digital Trade Expo and open cooperation
The Global Digital Trade Expo (hereafter Digital Trade Expo), held annually in China since 2022, serves as an important international exchange platform and public good in the digital trade domain.
Technical regulations
Technical regulations apply to both imported and domestically produced goods. They are introduced through national legislation to set out product characteristics such as maximum emission requirements or minimum energy-efficiency levels for targeted goods. Technical regulations are also used to define control and certification procedures (e.g., testing and certification requirements) to ensure compliance with the requirements they introduce. Another important element of technical regulations is the introduction of mandatory symbols, marking, or labelling requirements on the products they regulate. Such labels are often used to inform consumers of the energy efficiency or emissions levels of targeted goods.
Step-by-step checklist to identify climate change-strategic trade sectors and trade-related measures
This chapter provides a detailed step-by-step checklist to identify climate change-strategic trade sectors and trade-related measures.
Acknowledgements
This report was prepared by a team comprising experts from ITC, the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province (DOFCOM ZJ), Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce (HBC), and Zhejiang University (ZJU).
Acknowledgements
Division on International Trade and Commodities, by Chantal Line Carpentier, Claudia Contreras, Malick Kane and Valentina Olave. Sofia Dominguez, Clovis Freire, Elizabeth Gachuiri, Lorena Jaramillo, Amelia Santos, Prachi Sharma, David Vivas, Dong Wu and Kexin Xie of UNCTAD provided valuable inputs, comments and suggestions, as did Karen Suassuna and Lorenzo Formenti (International Trade Centre) and Pierre Horna (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific).
Trade as a tool to advance climate plans, including nationally determined contributions
National trade-related measures and policies have untapped potential to advance the ambition and implementation of NDCs and national climate plans. National trade-related measures such as tariffs, market-based mechanisms, subsidies, and technical regulations can facilitate the energy transition and the economic and social transformations to low-carbon economies, enhance the market for carbon-efficient products, and facilitate phasing out unsustainable economic activities (UNCTAD, 2023a). The inclusion of trade-related measures in NDCs and the mainstreaming of these measures in relevant national strategies, such as export or industrialization strategies, can also contribute to securing enhanced means of implementation in support of national climate goals while strengthening policy coherence.
Public procurement, subsidies and tax exemptions
In the same way that tariffs have been used as policy instruments to reduce carbon emissions, public procurement, subsidies and tax exemptions can be used to facilitate the importation of sustainable goods needed to support the transition to a low-carbon economy. Public procurement programs can be tailored to include provisions to facilitate the import of carbon-efficient goods when equivalent products are unavailable domestically and in the absence of plans to develop local production. This can be supported by introducing a “sustainability lens” that includes requirements to favour the sourcing of low-carbon products and services in all public procurement biddings. Examples of public procurement measures included in reviewed NDCs range from the public acquisition of LED light bulbs to electric or hybrid vehicles and energy-efficient appliances.
Market-based measures
As early as 1997, the Kyoto Protocol introduced the use of market-based tools, such as carbon-emission trading, in support of mitigation efforts (UNFCCC, 2023a). Market-based mechanisms can help improve the cost-effectiveness of climate actions, stimulate private investment, and contribute to financing the efforts of developing countries.
Key issues in global trade development
From the perspectives of offering thought leadership and promoting inclusiveness, AI, cross-border e-commerce, and female digital entrepreneurship were selected as the key topics of this year’s report.
Context
To meet the goals of the Paris Agreement,1 Parties are required to prepare, communicate and update successive nationally determined contributions (NDCs) every five years, aiming for the highest possible ambition (UNFCCC, 2016). NDCs embody each country’s commitment to reduce emissions, adapt to climate impacts, and promote sustainable development.
Sustainable export value chain development
Measures focusing on sustainable export value chains are among the most common trade-related measures in NDCs (UNCTAD, 2023a). Among the trade policy tools developing countries use to support climate action, these types of measures are also the ones with the strongest development focus and the broadest scope. Examples of sustainable export value chains or sectors targeted by trade-related measures in NDCs include timber and non-timber forest products, agrifood and livestock, and tourism (UNCTAD, 2023a).
Overview
In this report, global digital trade refers to all international trade transactions that are digitally ordered or digitally delivered.
Executive summary
This report analyses the evolution of global digital trade in 2020–2024, highlighting market dynamics, policy developments, technological drivers, and inclusion.
Tariffs
Despite having the potential to lower the cost of imported environmentally preferable goods necessary for climate change mitigation (Deere Birkbeck, 2021), tariff cuts are seldom included in NDCs (UNCTAD, 2023a). Paradoxically, average tariffs on essential environmentally preferable goods, such as renewable energy production equipment, are often significantly higher than those for fossil fuels in both developed and developing importing countries (UNCTAD, 2022a, 2023a, 2024).
Global Digital Trade Development Report 2025
This report analyses how digital trade evolved in 2020–2024. It finds robust growth driven by online orders of goods and services delivered over the internet, with participation widening but persistent gaps in connectivity, payments, logistics, and compliance. The report examines shifts in markets, policy, technology, and inclusion, and highlights the influence of artificial intelligence and innovation in online retail. Priorities include helping small firms sell abroad through platforms, expanding services exports, simplifying customs and taxes, enabling secure and interoperable payments and trusted data sharing, strengthening cross-border delivery, and investing in digital skills and finance for women-led and developing-country businesses.