WTO Public Forum 2026: Powering the Future

Why It Matters

Modernizing service‑trade rules is essential for sustaining global growth, fostering inclusion, and ensuring that digital economies benefit businesses and workers worldwide.

Key Takeaways

• Services now represent over two‑thirds of global GDP.
• Service trade projected to grow 4.8% in 2026, outpacing goods.
• WTO aims to modernize rules for digital and inclusive services.
• Young people and women stand to gain from service‑driven diversification.
• Forum invites global stakeholders to shape future service‑trade policies.

Summary

The World Trade Organization’s 2026 Public Forum put services at the centre of its agenda, framing them as the engine that will power the next wave of global trade. By highlighting that services already account for more than two‑thirds of world GDP, over half of employment, and a similar share of value‑added trade, the WTO underscored the sector’s centrality to modern economies.

The forum noted that service‑related trade is expected to expand by 4.8% in 2026, outpacing growth in goods. It stressed the need to adapt trade rules to digital delivery, reduce regulatory barriers, and ensure that innovation is not stifled. Particular emphasis was placed on expanding market access, connectivity, and skills for younger workers and women, especially in developing and least‑developed nations seeking diversification and resilience.

Speakers described services as “the infrastructure of trade,” arguing that every physical product relies on logistics, finance, and digital platforms. The WTO called on students, academics, businesses, and civil‑society groups worldwide to contribute ideas on how to make digital services trade more inclusive and to help smaller economies capture its benefits.

The implications are clear: policymakers must modernize WTO frameworks to accommodate rapid technological change, while firms should prepare for a service‑centric trade environment. Inclusive, transparent rules could unlock new growth avenues, reduce economic fragmentation, and broaden participation across demographics and regions.

Original Description

Trade in services is not just a driver of global economic growth. It is the most dynamic component of world trade. In 2026, services trade volume is projected to expand by 4.8%, significantly outpacing trade in goods.

This year’s Public Forum will place services at the centre of the conversation, examining their role as an engine of development, source of income, and driver of job creation and empowerment worldwide, particularly for women and young people.

Download this video from the WTO website:

https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/webcas_e/webcas_e.htm