Digital trade can unlock next wave of growth in Caribbean - new report highlights

WASHINGTON — Digital trade – international trade that is ordered or delivered online – quintupled in two decades in Latin America and the Caribbean to nearly $90 billion and it is rapidly becoming a powerful engine of growth across the region, creating new opportunities for businesses, workers, and entrepreneurs while helping countries compete in an increasingly digital global economy, according to a new report.

The analysis released today by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the World Bank Group, Digital Trade in Latin America and the Caribbean: Connecting Markets, Powering Growth, examines how digital technologies are reshaping trade across the region and identifies policies needed to unlock their full potential and boost growth and competitiveness.

The region’s exports of digitally delivered services nearly quintupled from $18.5 billion in 2005 to $87.7 billion in 2024. The increase underscores the growing importance of digitally delivered services to the region’s trade performance and economic growth, the report finds.