Beyond the transaction: commodity trade and sustainable development

Commodities represent around 33% of global trade in goods. Energy products dominate (45%), followed by agricultural exports (32%, of which 87% are food commodities), while minerals, ores, and metals account for the remaining 23% of global commodity exports in 2021−2023.1 Commodity trade links primary extraction and production with processing, manufacturing and consumption, thereby connecting distant ecologies and social realities. Commodity trade is not merely a neutral service enabling the world economy; rather, it is an integral component that actively shapes production systems, investment patterns, and global value chains. Commodity trading delivers not just materials and goods, but also economic, environmental, and social impacts − whether intentionally or not. Moreover, commodity trade sits at the fault line where geopolitics and geoeconomics increasingly converge. Trading hubs in Switzerland, the US, the UK, Singapore or Hong Kong, among others, play a key role in global commodity trading. They serve as nodes anchoring global networks of material, informational, and financial flows while competing for strategic and regulatory advantage. Public policy faces the challenge of balancing trade facilitation, supply chain resilience, and long-term sustainable development. This review takes stock of the current evidence on commodity trade and global sustainable development across the academic disciplines of law, economics, environmental, political and social sciences. It considers hard and soft commodities, as well as derivatives trading. Part I maps the broader infrastructure of commodity trade, its interaction with geopolitical dynamics, and sustainability governance in international law. Part II presents current evidence on commodity trade-related sustainability outcomes from an economic, environmental, social, and health perspective. Part III discusses the political economy analysis of trade-related sustainability regulation in Switzerland and synthesises the aggregated evidence on the effectiveness of sustainability regimes to promote responsible business behaviour. The report concludes with priorities for policy and research.

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