Trade Without Rules? Inside Rise Of Bilateral Deals And A Fractured Global Order | #BTDavos2026

At BT Davos 2026, Siddharth Zarabi, Group Editor, Business Today, was in a deeply informative conversation with Kimberley Botwright, Deputy Head of the Centre for Regions, Trade & Geopolitics at the World Economic Forum, on the rapidly changing global trade landscape. Botwright explained how the old multilateral trade order is facing headwinds, giving way to a more fragmented system marked by bilateral, regional, and plurilateral agreements. Citing WEF’s Global Collaboration Barometer and Chief Economist Outlook, she highlighted the acceleration of bilateral and regional trade deals worldwide. The discussion also focused on the growing importance of digital trade and services, shifting trade rules, and how these global realignments could shape opportunities and challenges for economies like India in an increasingly multipolar world.