The Partnership for Cultural Trade in the New South

Cultural trade is a dynamic engine for economic diversification in the New South. Despite decades of diversification rhetoric, however, this sector remains underrealized. Thus, many countries across Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and the Middle East are still commodity-dependent, even though the global creative economy has grown roughly eightfold since 2002, to surpass $2 trillion—that figure, moreover, does not even account for the nonmonetary benefits that merit consideration in equal measure. In any case, given that conventional trade statistics understate the creative sector’s potential, such approaches as trade in value added (TiVA) may prove essential: they could better capture the creative and cultural inputs embedded in global value chains, including products that are increasingly driven by artificial intelligence.

This paper examines the state of cultural and creative trade across the tourism, arts, and education sectors, as well as cultural diplomacy, with particular attention paid to South-South cooperation, digital technologies, infrastructure and intellectual-property gaps, and barriers to the movement of artists (visas). It also raises cross-cutting policy issues: professionalism and follow-through in creative production, fair attribution and value capture for New South creators, the non-monetary social and diplomatic benefits of cultural exchange, and the risks of over-tourism and reputational ‘value-subtraction.’ 

Building on this diagnosis, the study proposes institutional mechanisms for a ‘Partnership for Cultural Trade in the New South.’ These include a dedicated Cultural Fund, inter-South cultural exchange and library programs, visa facilitation for artists, and stronger interministerial and regional coordination. Cultural trade can advance economic diversification, while also fostering shared prosperity and peace among New South nations. But policymakers need to move beyond treating cultural diversification as rhetoric, and translate it into coordinated action.