Developing nations were the key drivers of growth in international trade for 2011, in spite of the volatility caused by the international financial crisis, according to a report published today by the International Chamber of Commerce, the world business organization for which USCIB serves as the American national committee.
This year’s ICC Global Survey on Trade and Finance – titled “Rethinking Trade and Finance” – notes that after a year of upheavals, annual trade volume grew 6.6 percent in 2011, slightly above forecasts by the World Trade Organization. After positive growth prospects at the beginning of the year, a series of global shocks including the Arab Spring, the tsunami in Japan and the continuation of the global debt crises, resulted in an uneven performance for the year.
The survey, which provides some of the most important international data on trade finance, suggests the current environment is dampening prospects for 2012, with annual trade growth forecast at 5.2 percent this year, increasing to 7.2 percent in 2013, according to the report.
Developing countries continued to lead trade growth in spite of the slowdown towards the end of the year. South Asia exports, driven by soaring Indian trade with China, outperformed other developing regions in the first three quarters of 2011, but subsequently plummeted.
The report – in which representatives of 229 banks in 100 countries, a sharp increase on last year, took part – reveals that China’s trade experienced particularly volatile growth throughout the year, and exports from East Asia have fallen. Many major developing countries in the region are experiencing a slowdown in growth due to a tightening of domestic policy initiatives introduced between late 2010 and early 2011 to combat high inflation.
Read more on ICC’s website.
Staff contact: Eva Hampl
