World Trade fell at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 but rose to above pre-pandemic levels before the end of 2020, and set new records in 2021. The last time U.S. purchases of physical goods grew so quickly was during the recovery from World War II. FDI surged back to above its pre-pandemic level in 2021, and the UN Conference on Trade and Development reported a positive outlook for FDI growth as of January 2022.