A radical transformation in the international trade landscape, driven by drastic changes in US tariff policy, is redefining export competitiveness globally , with developing economies and least developed countries (LDCs) being the most exposed as they generally face larger tariff increases, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) warned .
According to the most recent World Trade Update , the organization detailed that until 2024, access to the U.S. market was governed primarily by the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Most Favored Nation (MFN) rules , where most trading partners faced similar tariffs. However, by early 2026, the average applied tariff had risen by almost 15 percentage points.
This change has reduced the proportion of imports subject to MFN or duty-free tariffs from 66% to just 20%, resulting in a highly differentiated tariff structure.
UNCTAD pointed out that competitiveness no longer depends solely on productive efficiency, but also on relative preferential margins , which shows how non-uniform tariff structures create advantages for some exporters and disadvantages for others.
In that regard, he cited the example of rice, whose US imports from Italy have become, on average, 12 percentage points cheaper than rice from other suppliers. Conversely, at the beginning of 2026, US imports of South African wine were approximately 17 percentage points more expensive relative to other countries than they were in 2024.
The report warned that developing economies and LDCs are the most exposed , since their exports are generally mostly to the United States.
While developed economies have managed to maintain or even improve their relative competitive position in sectors such as machinery and textiles, many developing nations face increasing obstacles, the analysis indicated.
In that context, for some LDCs, the average tariff increase has exceeded 35 percentage points , which worsens their ability to compete on price in the US market.
Nevertheless, the tariff disparity opens up specific opportunities. For example, countries like Cambodia (with rice) and Haiti (with men’s shirts) could benefit if their competitors face larger price increases.
The escalating tariffs remain a persistent barrier. One example is the cocoa supply chain: while raw cocoa beans enter the United States duty-free, tariffs on chocolate have risen significantly, making it difficult for producing countries like Ivory Coast, Ghana, or Ecuador to process their own raw materials for export.
Given this scenario, conditioned by geopolitical and economic factors, UNCTAD recommended monitoring changes in relative competitiveness , diversifying export markets to reduce dependence on restrictive unilateral policies, and taking advantage of preferential positions where agreements exist.
The report reveals how global trade has entered an era of strategic fragmentation, where the paradigm of a world market with uniform rules and low tariffs is being replaced by a complex chessboard, in which politics weighs as much as productivity.
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