New Delhi, June 29 -- As 2025-26 marks a turning point from globalization to geo-economic fragmentation, a full East-West economic decoupling could cost the global economy up to USD 6.9 trillion in GDP, according to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

As per WEF, "an increasingly likely escalation could raise the economic cost to USD 6.9 trillion," which could severely impact emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) due to reduced access to capital.

The report notes that fragmentation is already reducing gross domestic product (GDP) growth by between USD 213 billion and USD 307 billion while pushing inflation by 0.2-0.3 percentage points (pp). At the same time, countries are increasingly adopting unexpected trade and fi...