Hill said the current period is a boom for AI development, with the focus on building the AI economy and related systems, including both infrastructure such as data centers and practical AI applications that could be adopted globally. The WTO forecasts that AI applications will boost global trade by nearly 40% by 2040, driven by lower trade costs and higher productivity.
Staiger said the AI investment boom has significantly boosted global trade and enhanced trade resilience, but the growth is regional rather than globally widespread. He mentioned that the WTO's World Trade Report 2026 projects AI could add over 13% to global GDP by 2040 and increase trade by 40%, and noted that the WTO's expertise lies in trade, market access and intellectual property, while cross-border policy spillovers such as data and subsidies make multilateral cooperation more necessary.