UNCTAD Report Highlights Shift in Global Trade Partnerships Amid Rising Price Pressures
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released a report indicating a significant shift in global trade partnerships. Since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, trade alliances based on political proximity, known as 'friendshoring,' have gained strength, while those based on geographical proximity, or 'nearshoring,' have weakened. The report, titled 'Global Trade Continues to Evolve Amid Rising Price Pressures,' was published in Geneva on July 22, 2026. It highlights a decrease in trade interdependence between the US and both the European Union (EU) and Canada, while trade between the EU and Canada, as well as Canada and China, has increased. The report also notes a decline in trade dependency between the US and Japan, and a widening gap in trade dependence between the US and China. 
