Global trade weakness
Global merchandise trade contracted in the first
half of 2015, for the first time since 2009 (Figure
1.10). This was largely driven by a drop in import
demand from emerging and developing
economies, including in East Asia and the Pacific,
Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and
the Caribbean. Growing import demand from the
United States and the Euro Area did not offset the
drop in developing countries’ import demand,
which now accounts for half of global trade.