According to the World Bank Global value chains (GVCs) powered the surge of international trade after 1990 and now account for almost half of all trade. This shift enabled unprecedented economic convergence: poor countries grew rapidly and began to catch up with richer countries. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, however, the growth of trade has been sluggish and the expansion of GVCs has stalled. Meanwhile, serious threats have emerged to the model of trade-led growth.
