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Rewiring global value chains in a changing global environment

Blog post Published on 25/02/2026
By Victor Stolzenburg

Global value chains are the backbone of the world economy, even at a time when they are undergoing structural and policy-driven changes in the face of a rapidly changing global environment.

Over the past two decades, international production networks have been tested in various ways - by the COVID-19 pandemic, by intensifying geopolitical frictions, by financial shocks and by accelerating climate challenges.  These overlapping crises have sparked debates about deglobalization - reducing dependence on trading partners - and reshoring - returning production processes to the home economy. 
Rewiring global value chains in a changing global environment

Yet the evidence presented in the recently released Global Value Chain Development Report 2025 is clear: global value chains (GVCs) have remained resilient and indispensable to the functioning of the world economy.

The latest data show that, although GVCs are under strain, they still account for 46.3 per cent of global trade, not far off their 2022 peak of 48 per cent (see Figure 1). Rather than unravelling, GVCs are adapting by becoming more digital and more regional. They are also increasingly shaped by security concerns, with potentially important implications for sustainability and inclusiveness.

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