Can the World Trade Organization Reduce Technological Inequality Among Nations?

A rising inequality between developed and least developed countries (LDCs), as well as between LDCs themselves, has prompted the World Trade Organization (WTO) to review the role of technology in this equation. The United Nations defines LDCs as countries that are “confronting severe structural impediments to sustainable development” and are “highly vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks and have low levels of human assets.” Forty-four countries are currently designated by the United Nations as LDCs.

The global economy has changed significantly as a result of globalization and the advance of technology. These changes continue today, in particular since the COVID-19 pandemic, and include increasingly protectionist policies, regionalization of trade and rising inequality between and within countries. The WTO, the body responsible for enabling countries to collaborate in global trade, is reviewing its role in the new international economic environment.