The latest news and comment on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
October 2023
UN report: 80% of Gaza inhabitants relied on international aid before war
Central banks ‘risk global recession unless they relax 2% inflation targets’
October 2022
UN accuses richest countries of ‘imprudent gamble’ in inflation fight
Report says policies of high interest rates and austerity risk triggering global recession that will hit developing nations hardest
September 2021
Poorest countries will be $12tn worse off by 2025 due to Covid – UN
Pandemic has added to their debts while wealthy nations limit access to vaccines, says annual report
September 2020
UN warns of lost decade without Covid economic recovery plan
Austerity policies will choke off recovery and risk a double-dip recession, says Unctad
May 2020
Global trade to fall by record 27% due to Covid-19, says UN
Data reveals pandemic has caused severe decline in supply and demand for products
March 2020
UN calls for $2.5tn emergency package for developing nations
Rich countries urged to help emerging economies cope with coronavirus ‘financial tsunami’
September 2019
Global recession a serious danger in 2020, says UN
Report calls on policymakers to ward off threat by refocusing on jobs, wages and investment
September 2018
Corporations behind increase in developing-world debt – report
Poorest countries have little protection against Trump’s trade wars and growth slump
December 2017
'It's about our dignity': vintage clothing ban in Rwanda sparks US trade dispute
Secondhand garments are stifling the country’s fashion industry, officials say, but the ban has dismayed local traders – and reportedly imperils 40,000 US jobs
November 2017
Infrastructure boost is a no-brainer for Philip Hammond
Letter: Richard Kozul-Wright and Dianna Barrowclough of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on industrial strategy
December 2016
Commodity price falls mean poorest countries miss UN poverty goals
Unctad reports weakest year of GDP growth in 20 years for least developed nations, scuppering hopes that half would escape extreme poverty by 2020
September 2016
UN warns over global fallout from debt crisis in poor countries
International community urged to prepare for further volatility due to increasing financial vulnerabilty of developing nations
August 2016
Africa's farmers fret over Brexit amid calls to boost regional trade
UN trade conference in Nairobi says boosting intra-African trade would help protect continent from economic shocks
July 2016
Financing for development
On debt and taxation, rich and poor countries are worlds apart
Tove Maria Ryding
At last week’s UN trade conference in Kenya, hopes for progressive action on debt crises and global tax standards foundered
October 2015
Heather Stewart's economics comment
The world still needs a way to stop hot money scalding us all
Heather Stewart
Wealthy countries must bolster public spending to avoid global slump, says UN
September 2015
Europe should back debt crisis principles at the UN
Letters: Yesterday Argentina, today Greece, and tomorrow perhaps France as well: any indebted country can be blocked from restructuring its debt in spite of all common sense
May 2015
Heather Stewart's economics comment
Greece’s misery shows we need Chapter 11 bankruptcy for countries
Heather Stewart
Argentina defaulted in 2001, and is still not free of its creditors. There needs to be a clear resolution to the blight of vulture funds and neverending austerity
November 2014
Poor countries must undergo economic transformation to beat poverty, says UN
Unctad urges least developed countries to innovate, upgrade skills and focus on more sophisticated products and activities
