Why it is in the news
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released its flagship Trade and Development Report 2026 at a Geneva press conference on 9 October 2026. The report projects global growth of 2.6% in 2026, down from 2.9% in 2025, and says global trade hit a record $35 trillion in 2025, with higher 2026 values owing largely to an energy-driven rise in prices.
The exam angle
Issue: Can developing countries convert the AI, semiconductor and critical-minerals investment wave into industrial upgrading, or will the new geoeconomics lock them into low-value links of the chain?