“It is the time to double down so trade can be again the engine of growth and opportunities it has been for so, so long,” Kristalina Georgieva said at an online event organised by the World Trade Organization. Trade volumes could grow 8.5 percent this year and 6.5 percent next year, she added.
“A rebound in trade, if managed well, can lift growth and living standards in the developing world,” Georgieva said.
Georgieva warned last week, outlining that the pandemic significantly strengthened the pre-existing signs of market power of big companies, resulting in potential bankruptcy of smaller businesses and slow down in innovation.
"Due to the pandemic, we estimate that this concentration [of revenues among biggest players] could now increase in advanced economies by at least as much as it did in the 15 years to end of 2015. Even in those industries that benefited from the crisis, such as the digital sector, dominant players are among the biggest winners," Georgieva noted.