to assure developmental gains from international trade...

“To assure developmental gains from international trade, the trading system and trade

negotiations in goods and services and to enhance the commodity sector's contribution to the development process for the effective and

beneficial integration of developing countries and countries with economies in transition in the

global economy”(2006-07 programme budget objective, based on SPC)

Mrs. Lakshmi Puri, DirectorDivision on International Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities

22 March 2007

OUTLINE

•General performance. •A. Enhanced analytical work as a basis for consensus building.•B. Providing modern tools for trade, trade negotiations, and commodity analysis and information•C. Helping countries to build capacities•D. Partnering with organizations•E: Main results

General Performance•DITC accounts for 35% of total UNCTAD programmed substantive outputs in 2006-07 biennium.•It has already implemented 51% of the budgeted work programme at end of 2006.•It will implement remaining programmed outputs in 2007, taking into account MTR outcome.•It has 20% of the total UNCTAD budget resources for the biennium.

A. ENHANCED ANALYTICAL WORK AS A BASIS FOR CONSENSUS BUILDING

DITC's analytical work provided;- innovative and ahead of the curve analyses and

policy option on trade in goods, services and commodities,

- helped to inform countries on critical trade & trade negotiations issues,

- helped with building of confidence and consensus among countries on appropriate policies, measures and institutions,

- integrated MDGs consideration into technical analyses and policy papers


• Mid-term Review of UNCTAD XI• Multilateral and regional trade negotiations• Services sector assessment• Trade and development benchmarks - TDI• Analytical studies on topical trade issues• Sectoral review of new & dynamic sectors of

world trade - energy


• Commodity & development• Competition policy analyses• Competition policy voluntary peer reviews• South-South trade – IBSA trade potential• The Trade and Environment Report 2006


• BioFuels analyses• BioTrade study• Inter-agency and Expert Group on MDG

Indicators (IAEG) of the UN Secretariat –produced MDGs Report 2006

• Annual World Economic Situation and Prospects 2007 (with DESA)

B. PROVIDING MODERN TOOLS FOR TRADE, TRADE NEGOTIATIONS, AND COMMODITY

ANALYSIS AND INFORMATION

DITC strengthened it series of specific trade-related tools to assist the work of policy makers, trade negotiators, academics, civil society and business executives



• The Trade Analysis and Information System (TRAINS)

• The Common Analytical Market Access Database (CAMAD)

• The Agricultural Trade Policy Simulation Model (ATPSM)

• Measures Affecting Services Trade (MAST)



• Commodity modern market tools for knowledge management and market transparency, and in commodity financing– Infocomm – Infoshare– Commodity financing – Mining websites

C. HELPING COUNTRIES TO BUILD CAPACITIES

DITC implemented, with RB & mostly XB funds, demand-driven and sustainability-focused TC &CB projects for developing countries, especially LDCs and African countries, & economies in transition.

DITC cooperates with other UN entities, international agencies, academia, civil society & private sector.

DITC staff participated in a large range of meetings organized by various Member States and other entities.

2005 DITC’s expenditure on TC amounted to US$8.88 million, accounting for 29% of total UNCTAD expenditure for that year. It had doubled from $4.4 million in 2002.


• Aid for Trade• WTO Doha

negotiations & WTO trade agreements

• Support on WTO accession & post accession – evaluated in 2006

• Development of trade in services

• ACP-EU Negotiations of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)

• Support to SADC Regional Integration and MTS

• Generalized System of Preference (GSP)


• Joint Integrated technical Assistance Programme to Selected Least Developed and Other Developing Countries (JITAP)

• UNCTAD/DFID/India Project on Strategies and Preparedness for Trade and Globalisation in India

• Dispute Settlement in International Trade, Investment and Intellectual Property

• Open meetings on WTO panel and Appellate Body rulings

• NTBs – SG’s Group of Eminent Persons on NTBs

• Creative industries and creative economy

• Sustainable Commodity Initiative

• Assistance to Guinea, Mozambique and Tanzania to build institutional capacities to comply with SPS requirements and private sector standards.


• Assistance on competitiveness and diversification in commodity sectors (JITAP, Peru)

• In-depth advice and training to national and regional developing countries' banks on commodities (India, Zambia).

• Assistance on defining the concept and implementation plan of the Pan African Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (PACDEX)

• Training package on the economics of commodity production and trade was prepared and disseminated.

• Annual UNCTAD Africa Oil and Gas Trade and Finance Conference, Algiers (2-5 April 2006)

• Launching a fund for financing plantation of jatropha trees and biofuel production in West Africa


• Competition law & policy:– second Lusophone Conference

on Competition (May, Lisbon).– Four regional seminars on

common competition rules of UEMOA

– 11th International Workshop on Competition Policy (Busan, Korea, September)

– regional workshop (Cape Town, 4 October)

– Workshop on consumer protection for CARICOM States and a regional meeting of OECS, St Lucia, November)

– COMPAL (Competition and Consumer Protection Policies for Latin America programme) with Bolivia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Peru.

– Several national level support on activities.

• Supported three regional Para 166 courses:– for countries in Eastern

Europe, in Belgrade, Serbia. – For countries in the Asia and

Pacific region, in Bangkok, & – member states of the ESCWA in

Beirut, Lebanon.


• The BioTrade Initiative:– at the national level assisted

Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uganda, and Venezuela in the developing National BioTrade Programs to strengthen their institutional capacity.

– regional programmes develop regional strategies and policies in the Andean and Amazonian regions and in Southern Africa

• Trade & MDGs project.

• Enhanced understanding of conceptual and practical issues on liberalization of trade in EGS & interests of developing countries– UNEP-UNCTAD Capacity

Building Taskforce for Trade, Environment and Development.

– National workshops e.g. Senegal.

– WTO secretariat workshops– MDGs aspects

D. PARTNERING WITH ORGANIZATIONSCooperation with partner organizations helps to

widen & deepen impact & outreach of activities, avoid duplication, & create synergies. 6 Examples:

1. The Working Group on Trade of the UN Executive Committee for Economic and Social Affairs –coordinated by UNCTAD:– coordinate work programmes and promote synergies

among on trade issues among UN regional commissions, UNEP, UNDP and UNCTAD.

– Produce a UN-wide vision on international trade that was endorsed by UN SG in March 2006.

– Produced a joint report on regionalism & multilateralism with UNU-CRIS

•

D. PARTNERING WITH ORGANIZATIONS2. The UNEP-UNCTAD Capacity Building Taskforce for

Trade, Environment and Development (CBTF), and with FAO and IFOAM, the International Task Force for Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture (ITF).

– e.g. Promote production and trading opportunities for organic agricultural products in East Africa, including the elaboration of a regional standard for organic agriculture for East Africa

3. Consultative Task Force on Environmental Requirements & Market Access (CTF)

• Multi-stakeholder public-private initiative of governments, private sector, NGOs, academia and relevant international organizations to deal with environmental, health and food-safety requirements set by the private sector or NGOs in key export markets.

•

D. PARTNERING WITH ORGANIZATIONS4. Commodity partnerships with:

– the International Institute for Sustainable Development for the Sustainable Commodity Initiative;

– the International Council on Mining and Metals and the World Bank on the research on mineral wealth;

– the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development on the developmental aspects of mining;

– Swiss Option and Futures Association on commodity exchanges; – the Raw Materials Group (Sweden) on iron ore market reviews and

statistics– G-NEXID (Global Network of EXIM Banks and Development Finance

Institutions) to support South-South trade & investment including in commodities

•

D. PARTNERING WITH ORGANIZATIONS5. Multi-Agency Support Team on Non-Tariff Barriers

serving the Group of Eminent Persons on NTBs:– Members: FAO; IMF; ITC; OECD; UNIDO; World Bank; and WTO. – UNCTAD and the World Bank act as Co-convenors of the Team.

6. UNCTAD's Biofuels Initiative offers a hub for other initiatives.– the International Bioenergy Platform of FAO– the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change – for biofuels projects

under the CDM; – the G8 Global Bioenergy Partnership– UNEP-Risoe– International Federation of Agricultural Producers; – European Investment Bank (EIB) – Inter-American Development Bank

•

E: MAIN RESULTS• Trade negotiations:

– Helped to clarify & promote the development dimension of the Doha negotiations;

– Helped countries in making informed decisions and building consensus on how to ensure that trade negotiations and their results promote development & have a positive impact on peoples’ lives.

– Innovative work on trade in services produced analyses and policy conclusions that provide important reference & policy material.

– Build & strengthen institutional, human & regulatory capacities to benefit from the MTS.

– Helped WTO acceding countries or post accession countries manage the complex negotiations and attendant adjustment measures

E: MAIN RESULTS• Trade analysis:

– Strengthened analytical, statistical and information bases and tools for trade and trade-related decision-making.

– Further updating of analytical tools including WITS-TRAINS

– Major step forward on addressing non-tariff barriers; – Sectoral review of the energy sectors.– Follow up on an UNCTAD-Royal Philips Electronics

partnership on energy saving light bulbs in SADC region.– Promotion of creative industries. – Refining conceptual, analytical and technical aspects of

the Trade and Development Index; – Contributing to the conceptualization and practical

realization of Aid for Trade initiative.

E: MAIN RESULTS• Commodities:

– Deepened understanding of the relationship between commodity production and trade and poverty reduction.

– Generated new ideas on to technical assistance, including on the role of standards and competitiveness, from work on commodities supply chain.

– Mobilized world-wide acceptance of the link between national level policies and local level development in mining.

– Promoted wide discussion, analysis and use of mutually supportive tools in commodity financing.

– Contributing to dealing with energy issues, as a result both of market developments and intergovernmental deliberations.

– Provide much needed and utilised commodity information and continually reinventing such tools to respond better to the needs of developing country producers and processors.

E: MAIN RESULTS• Competition law and policy:

− Strengthened creation of a competition culture world wide.− Strengthened follow-up on UN SET to combat anti-

competitive practices & deepened network among competition agencies e.g. through the IGE.

− Widened understanding of competition policy issues in regional integration agreements.

− Successful voluntary peer review of the Tunisian competition policy & further reviews scheduled.

− Strengthened awareness of adopting competition law and policy, & increased implementation & institution building in several countries & regional groupings.

E: MAIN RESULTS• Trade & environment:

− Increased opportunities for production and trade in biotrade products in several developing countries.

− Promoted the consideration of biofuels as an option in achieving energy security and sustainable development.

− Enhanced understanding on environmental and health related requirements and market access; liberalization of trade in EGS; protection, preservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and TK; and organic agriculture.

− Helped countries develop mutually supportive trade, environment and development policies.

− WTO Members have drawn on UNCTAD's work on trade in environmental goods and market access issues.

− Strengthened collaborative approach to trade, environment and development via the ITF on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture, CBTF, and CTF.

E: MAIN RESULTS• South-South trade:

− Improved opportunities for S-S trade - support to 3rd round of GSTP negotiations; & developing services trade in SADC.

− Increased understanding of competition provision in RTAs; Helped developed & implement common competition legislation in UEMOA, & other RTAs.

− Improved data availability on S-S trade through developing a new S-S trade database.

− Improved awareness of impact of EPAs on ACP States & strategic issues in negotiation with the EU.

− Institution building & networking, e.g G-NEXIDThese help to follow up on implementing the Doha Declaration

and Plan of Action of the South Summit.

to assure developmental gains from international trade...

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