Kenya pursues US trade agreement, requests five-year extension to Africa pact
Kenyan President William Ruto aims to finalise a landmark trade deal with the US by the end of 2025, seeking a five-year AGOA extension to boost exports like tea, coffee, and textiles, while exploring new export sectors. Kenyan President
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Canada: PM Carney confirms US trade discussions to shift into USMCA review stage
Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that trade talks with the U.S. are ongoing, with several unresolved issues set to be addressed in the upcoming USMCA review. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney announced yesterday, 23 September 2025, that
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US, EU reaches agreement on a framework for trade deal
This joint statement is aimed at solidifying the US-EU commitment to equitable trade and investment, strengthening one of the world’s most significant economic relationships, and driving reindustrialisation. The Trump Administration announced
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Venezuela prolongs state of economic emergency amid US tariff concerns
The state of emergency is set to remain in effect for 60 days, with the option to extend it for an additional 60 days. Venezuela published Executive Decree No. 5.157 in the Official Gazette on 8 August 2025, declaring a state of national
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Senegal, Vietnam sign trade deals
Senegal and Vietnam have signed memorandums of understanding to boost cooperation in trade and agriculture. Vietnam and Senegal signed multiple cooperation agreements on 23 July 2025 to strengthen ties in trade, agriculture, diplomacy, and
See MoreWTO Working Paper: Evolution of Preferential Trade Under Regional Trade Agreements
A WTO working paper of 7 February 2025, written by Rohini Acharya and Thakur Parajuli has the title The Evolution of Preferential Trade Under Regional Trade Agreements: Has Anything Changed? The paper looks at the question of whether the share of
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IMF: Revenue and Spending Measures for Developing Countries to Reduce Debt Levels
An IMF Public Finance Management (PFM) Blog, written by Talal Rafi (a Director at EY Sri Lanka) and published on 27 January 2025, looked at the measures developing countries can take to reduce public debt levels. The author notes that more than 3
See MoreWTO Working Paper: Impact of Digitalization on Trade Patterns
A WTO working paper published on 21 January 2025, written by Eddy Bekkers, Hryhorii Kalachyhin and Robert Teh, looked at the long-term effect of digitalisation on global patterns of trade. The advances in information and telecommunication
See MoreWTO Working Paper: Continuing Significance of MFN Trading Terms
A WTO working paper of 15 January 2025, written by Tomasz Gonciarz and Thomas Verbeet, has the title Significance of most-favoured-nation terms in global trade: A comprehensive analysis. Under the WTO's MFN trading principle, member countries of
See MoreWorld Bank: Global Economic Prospects
The World Bank report Global Economic Prospects was issued in January 2025. The report notes that global growth is projected to remain steady at 2.7% in 2025/26, but this relatively low growth rate will not be sufficient to promote sustained
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IMF: Briefing on the World Economic Outlook
In the briefing on the latest World Economic Outlook on 17 January 2024, the Director of the IMF’s Research Department confirmed that global growth is projected to remain steady at 3.3% in 2025 and 2026. Globally, inflation is expected to decline
See MoreIMF Updates World Economic Outlook
On 17 January 2025 the IMF published the update to the World Economic Outlook, with the subtitle Global Growth: Divergent and Uncertain. The update notes that global growth is expected to remain stable at 3.3% in both 2025 and 2026, below the
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IMF: Speech by the IMF Managing Director at the 2024 Annual Meetings Plenary
On 25 October 2024 the IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, spoke at the 2024 Annual Meetings Plenary. The Managing Director noted that inflation has been falling, from 5.7% in the fourth quarter of 2023, to a projected 5.3% in the
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IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings: World Economic Outlook
The October 2024 update of the World Economic Outlook was launched during the IMF/World Bank annual meetings. The report notes that global growth is expected to remain stable but at relatively low levels. The growth projection of 3.2% in 2024 and
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UN Tax Committee: Tax, Trade and Investment Agreements
On 17 October the UN Tax Committee discussed issues around the interaction of tax, trade and investment agreements. Guidance on tax and investment agreements Following the presentation of draft guidance on the relationship of tax and
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WTO: Global Trade Outlook and Statistics
In October 2024 the WTO published the latest Global Trade Outlook and Statistics. In the latest issue the WTO has revised its forecast for world merchandise trade growth in 2024 to 2.7%, which is slightly greater than the previous estimate of 2.6%.
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IMF: Opening speech at the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings
On 21 October 2024 the IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva delivered the opening speech at the IMF and World Bank Group Annual Meetings. The global wave of inflation is currently decreasing owing to a combination of resolute monetary
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UN Tax Committee: Environmental Taxation
On 16 October 2024 the UN Tax Committee discussed environmental tax issues. The environmental taxation subcommittee presented some papers to the committee for discussion or approval. Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies A paper on phasing out
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