Development and building trade capacity
Acknowledgements / Disclaimer
This publication is the result of a joint effort of the World Bank and the WTO. The publication was co-authored and coordinated by Martin Roy of the WTO and Pierre Sauvé of the World Bank under the supervision of Deputy Director-General Anabel Gonzalez and Xiaolin Chai, Director of the Trade in Services and Investment Division, at the WTO, and Mona Haddad, Global Director of Trade, Investment and Competitiveness, and Sebastien Dessus, Practice Manager, Trade and Regional Integration, at the World Bank. The publication was edited by Ross McRae and Anthony Martin of the WTO.
Executive summary
This co-publication by the World Bank and the WTO is motivated by a shared view that the structural changes associated with a more service-centric world economy and the central contribution that expanded trade and investment in services can make to economic growth and development warrant greater policy attention and revived international cooperation. An important aim of the publication, and a key reason for its joint nature, is to recall the benefits of advancing the negotiating agenda on trade in services, and the opportunity costs of not doing so. Accordingly, the publication aims to foster reflection on how best to mobilize additional support – and better assistance – for developing and least-developed economies in implementing services sector reforms and reaping the development gains from expanded trade and investment in services.
Conclusion
The composition of global trade in services has changed markedly in recent years, a period that has seen developing economies register significant export gains in the services sector despite the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such gains cover a host of non-traditional, high-value adding, services that can be more readily supplied today through digital means.
Avant-propos
La réussite de la douzième Conférence ministérielle de l’OMC (CM12) est une étape importante vers un système commercial multilatéral plus solide et plus efficace. La CM12 montre que l’OMC parvient à des résultats bénéfiques pour les populations du monde entier. Elle a également mis en avant le rôle important de l’OMC dans la résolution des problèmes qui touchent le patrimoine commun de l’humanité, dans des domaines comme l’environnement et la sécurité alimentaire, et dans l’action dans l’intérêt des Membres à différents niveaux de développement économique.
Prólogo
La conclusión satisfactoria de la Duodécima Conferencia Ministerial de la OMC (CM12) es un paso importante hacia un sistema multilateral de comercio más fuerte y eficaz. La CM12 ha demostrado que la OMC produce resultados que benefician a la población de todo el mundo. La CM12 también ha puesto de relieve la importancia de la OMC para resolver los problemas relacionados con el patrimonio común de la humanidad en esferas como el medio ambiente y la seguridad alimentaria y para actuar en favor de los intereses de los Miembros sea cual sea su nivel de desarrollo económico.
Conclusion
Les résultats de l’exercice de suivi et d’évaluation OCDE-OMC 2022 soulignent qu’il est nécessaire de renforcer l’Aide pour le commerce et de mieux cibler les financements. Ils confirment que la pandémie de COVID-19 a constitué un revers important pour l’intégration de nombreux pays en développement dans le commerce mondial et pour leurs perspectives de développement, notamment pour les pays les moins avancés (PMA).
Introducción
La Ayuda para el Comercio tiene por objeto permitir a los países en desarrollo, y en particular a los países menos adelantados (PMA), utilizar el comercio para fomentar el crecimiento económico, el desarrollo sostenible y la reducción de la pobreza. Promueve la integración de los países en desarrollo, especialmente los PMA, en el sistema multilateral de comercio y su objetivo es movilizar el apoyo necesario para crear capacidad de oferta e infraestructura relacionada con el comercio en estos países a fin de mejorar los resultados comerciales.
Introduction
L’Aide pour le commerce vise à permettre aux pays en développement, et en particulier aux pays les moins avancés (PMA), d’utiliser le commerce comme moyen de promouvoir la croissance économique, le développement durable et la réduction de la pauvreté. Elle favorise l’intégration des pays en développement, en particulier les PMA, dans le système commercial multilatéral et vise à dynamiser le soutien pour renforcer les capacités du côté de l’offre et l’infrastructure liée au commerce dans ces pays afin d’améliorer les résultats commerciaux.
Introduction
Aid for Trade seeks to enable developing countries, and in particular least-developed countries (LDCs), to use trade as a means of fostering economic growth, sustainable development and poverty reduction. It promotes the integration of developing countries, especially LDCs, into the multilateral trading system and aims to galvanize support to build supply-side capacity and trade-related infrastructure in these countries to improve trade performance.
Foreword
The successful conclusion to the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) is an important step towards a stronger and more effective multilateral trading system. MC12 shows that the WTO delivers results for the benefit of people around the world. MC12 has also highlighted the important role of the WTO in addressing the problems of the global commons in areas such as the environment and food security and in acting in the interests of members across different levels of economic development.
Conclusion
The results of the 2022 OECD–WTO monitoring and evaluation (M&E) exercise underline the need for more Aid for Trade and for better-targeted financing. They confirm that the COVID-19 pandemic was a significant setback for the integration into world trade of many developing countries and for their development prospects, especially for least-developed countries (LDCs).
Executive summary
Trade objectives feature prominently in the development strategies of developing countries. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, trade remains a development priority. This is the strong message that emerges from the 2022 Aid for Trade monitoring and evaluation (M&E) exercise, conducted jointly with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Conclusiones
Los resultados del ejercicio conjunto de vigilancia y evaluación de la OCDE y la OMC de 2022 ponen de manifiesto la necesidad de más Ayuda para el Comercio y de una financiación mejor orientada. Confirman que la pandemia de COVID-19 fue un importante retroceso para la integración de muchos países en desarrollo en el comercio mundial y para sus perspectivas de desarrollo, especialmente en el caso de los países menos adelantados (PMA).
Women’s exporting success: evidence from Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises
Based on the Statistics Canada 2017 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises, this chapter examines the role of gender on the export participation of Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and identifies specific characteristics and business activities of women-owned SMEs that are associated with their export propensity and export intensity. It also provides empirical evidence of the benefits of online payments and innovations to the internationalization of women-owned SMEs. The study finds no statistically significant gender differences in the export propensity and the export intensity when business characteristics are controlled for. However, the impact of some characteristics on export propensity are significantly different between men and women-owned SMEs. Firstly, larger SMEs owned by women are less likely to export than men-owned and equally owned SMEs of the same size. Secondly, online payment and innovations play a more crucial role in facilitating exports for women-owned SMEs. Finally, for higher export intensity, the owner’s education level and managerial experience are much more important for women-owned SME exporters than for men-owned and equally owned exporters.
Foreword
Services have emerged as the driving force that is shaping the economic landscape of countries at all levels of development. They account for the largest share of global economic activity by generating more than two-thirds of GDP, employ the most workers, and are the source of most new job creation, especially for female and young workers. At the same time, services trade has turned into a key element in growth strategies, becoming the most dynamic component of global trade in recent times, and creating higher value-added jobs.
Gender and trade: How are gender provisions in trade agreements perceived by Chilean women exporters?
There is widespread literature that illustrates the link between gender and trade, as it can reveal the different roles of women and men in economic activity. Therefore, trade policy can be a critical instrument for reducing or reinforcing gender inequalities.
Facilitating women’s economic empowerment through trade with voluntary sustainability standards
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) expressed an overarching objective of leaving no one behind. SDG 5 holds integral to all dimensions of inclusive sustainable development. Gender equality is a right and ensuring the rights of women and girls across all the SDGs will lay the foundations for a just and equitable society that works for all. By creating enabling conditions for women to fully participate in the economy and offer their diverse skills and abilities, it would not only address the constraints rooted in the existence of gendered social structures but also drive the economy to benefit all.
Sustainable development and women’s empowerment: the challenges and opportunities of digitalization
This study looks at digitalization from a gender and development perspective. It investigates which countries and, within countries, which segments of the population have been able thus far to benefit from the dynamism provided by digitalization, especially through e-commerce and technological advances in agriculture. The study points to digital divides between developed and developing countries, as well as to other divides linked to gender, age and socioeconomic factors that determine individuals’ ability to have access to digital technologies and use them in a productive and beneficial manner. The analysis zooms in on the potential opportunities that digitalization provides to women, especially in the developing world, and on the obstacles they face to benefit from it. The study makes a distinction between having access to technology, using it and using it in a productive manner, and highlights the link with gender and other gaps in society and the economy. In the conclusions, the study puts forward some suggestions to help digitalization provide shared benefits and leave no one behind.
Lived experience of women entrepreneurial exporters in a developing country context
Entrepreneurs operate within a broad ecosystem, which enables them to access different types of support when needed – from financial and logistical to emotional. The ability to tap into available resources in an entrepreneurial ecosystem is particularly important for those embarking on an internationalization strategy, such as exporting, given its many complexities. However, many women entrepreneurs, both aspiring and active exporters, feel discriminated against by government and private-sector actors in the ecosystem, which constrains their internationalization efforts.
Trade negotiation dialogue and capacity building: applying the PXA Framework
The increasing trend of the inclusion of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment concerns in the negotiation of trade agreements creates a need to strengthen informed dialogue between the public and private sectors. Trade negotiators are often not aware of the specific barriers faced by women in their various economic roles, and as a result, face a challenge in promoting provisions that will successfully address these barriers. At the same time, the private sector is often not equipped to communicate its needs to a policy audience and identify the ways in which it can inform the negotiation processes with its information and experience. This gap can be bridged with the help of an institutionalized and structured dialogue between public and private, and international organizations can provide the required institutional and structural support. The public–private coordination and exchange can also help countries – particularly developing countries – overcome the capacity gap in trade negotiations as they can benefit from the inputs coming from the private sector and experts.