The Global Value Chains Outlook 2026: Orchestrating Corporate and National Agility, published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Kearney, offers a timely and sober assessment of how global production, trade and supply networks are being reshaped. Rather than treating recent disruptions as temporary shocks, the report argues that global value chains are undergoing a structural transformation driven by geopolitics, technology, climate risks, and shifting policy p

As of 2026, uncertainty has become the defining feature of the global risk landscape. Risks are no longer isolated or slow-moving; they are expanding in scale, interacting across systems and accelerating in impact. At the same time, the foundations of international cooperation are weakening. Governments are increasingly withdrawing from multilateral frameworks, eroding the trust, transparency and rule-based order that have long underpinned global stability. In this shifting e