A file photo shows the logo of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 5, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

The World Trade Organization (WTO) said Wednesday that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) could boost global trade by nearly 40% by 2040, while emphasizing the need to bridge digital divides.

AI could lead to significant increases in trade and GDP by 2040, with global trade projected to rise by 34 to 37%. The development and deployment of AI is also projected to generate substantial global GDP increases of 12 to 13%, said the WTO in its 2025 edition of the World Trade Report, the organization's flagship publication.

The report highlighted the role of trade in enabling inclusive AI-supported growth by helping economies access AI-enabling goods, including raw materials, semiconductors and intermediate inputs. It is estimated that global trade in these goods totaled 2.3 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023.

However, the report also warned of the risk of widening digital divides.

Without targeted investment, inclusive policy frameworks and international coordination, AI could exacerbate existing divides and even create new ones, undermining the development potential of AI, it said.

"AI has vast potential to lower trade costs and boost productivity. However, access to AI technologies and the capacity to participate in digital trade remains highly uneven," WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in her foreword to the report.

Okonjo-Iweala called for "the right mix of trade, investment and complementary policies" to enable AI to create new growth opportunities in all economies.

The report underscored the need for open and predictable trade policies, unveiling a sharp rise of quantitative restrictions applied to AI-related goods from 130 in 2012 to nearly 500 in 2024.

The report urged greater international cooperation, particularly stronger cooperation on AI and trade, to support wider participation in AI development and deployment.

It said that the WTO can play a central role in ensuring AI supports inclusive trade-led growth.

With the right frameworks in place, supported by investment, domestic reform and international cooperation, AI could expand opportunities and strengthen the multilateral trading system, it added.