ZURICH, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Companies found it harder to do business in 2025 due to a deterioration in global cooperation on issues including trade, climate, technology and security, a survey published by the World Economic Forum showed on Thursday.
Released ahead of the WEF’s next annual gathering in Davos later this month, the online poll of 799 executives in 81 economies using a McKinsey global survey panel showed 43% found doing business got more difficult compared to 2024.
Only 7% were of the opposite view, with the remainder saying things had stayed the same or offering no opinion.
Nearly four in ten executives indicated growing barriers to trade, talent and cross-border capital flows had made it harder to do business, with only 10% of the opposite point of view.
“Undeniably, a series of U.S. tariff announcements in 2025 raised questions about the future of trade,” said the WEF in its Global Cooperation Barometer 2026 report.
U.S. President Donald Trump in April announced a raft of tariffs against the United States’ trade partners, testing global supply chains. Bit by bit, Trump lowered many tariffs as he struck deals with various countries.
The fact that six out of ten executives did not highlight trade problems indicated many have found ways to readjust strategies to navigate the turbulence, the WEF said.
Fully 42% saw cooperation on peace and security in decline, compared to 13% who saw it improving. In addition, 29% saw collaboration over climate and natural resources getting tougher, while 17% expressed the view it was improving.
Still, the report said global new investment in renewable energy rose nearly 10% in the first half of 2025 from the same period in 2024, and that installed solar and wind capacity leapt 67% to 408 gigawatts over the same period.
A parallel September poll by the WEF of members of its Global Future Councils showed they were more negative than executives on the state of overall global cooperation, with 85% of the view that it had declined in 2025 compared to 2024.
(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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