Development and building trade capacity
Annex
This annex provides a comprehensive, but non-exhaustive, list of quality infrastructure elements for green hydrogen (GH2) that should be implemented, according to an Expert Survey for IRENA’s ongoing project “Quality Infrastructure for Green Hydrogen: technical standards and quality control for the production and trade of renewable hydrogen”.
Acknowledgements/Abbreviations
This publication has been prepared under the overall guidance of Aik Hoe Lim of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Roland Roesch of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Mapping supply chain issues from a trade perspective
Green hydrogen has a number of uses. It can be used directly as an energy carrier and chemical input in multiple end-use applications. It can also be combined with a sustainable carbon source or with nitrogen, to produce derivative compounds such as methanol or ammonia, which can be used as feedstock for chemical production (e.g., plastics and fertilizers) or as sustainable fuels.
Acknowledgements
The World Trade Report 2024 was prepared under the general responsibility and guidance of Johanna Hill, WTO Deputy Director-General, and Ralph Ossa, Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division. Director-General Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Chief of Staff Bright Okogu and Trineesh Biswas from the Office of the Director-General provided valuable advice and guidance.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment in the African Continental Free Trade Area: What lessons can be learnt from the SADC?
The Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA Agreement), which has been signed by 54 out of the 55 African countries, seeks to create a single continental market for goods and services and facilitate the free movement of people on the continent thereby enhancing the competitiveness of intra-African trade and boosting intra-African trade. This will generate employment and improve the welfare of mostly young men and women on the continent. However, whilst the AfCFTA Agreement, under Article 3(e), emphasizes that one of the general objectives of the AfCFTA is to promote gender equality, experiences in other African regional economic communities have proven that gender and gender equality have not been adequately mainstreamed in implementing free trade areas, which has resulted in gender inequalities in international trade and commerce. As a result of this, the majority of women have been left marginalized in trade and faced with serious challenges in accessing opportunities created by regional trade agreements.
Acknowledgements
This publication is one of the outcomes of the 2022 World Trade Congress on Gender – the first research conference on trade and gender to be held internationally. The Congress was organized by the WTO Trade and Gender Office and the WTO Gender Research Hub, with the cooperation of the Development Division, the Administration and General Services Division, the Information and External Relations Division, and the Office of the Director-General.
Negotiating towards a tailor-made gender protocol under the AfCFTA: Could integrating Africa’s fragmented gender chapters be the key?
Recently, the understanding that enhanced intra-regional trade among African countries could be a powerful tool in accelerating economic growth, development and poverty reduction on the continent has led African leaders to place considerable importance on regional integration (Brenton et al., 2013). However, tapping into the benefits of intra-African trade requires careful attention to inclusivity issues in ensuring both men and women benefit and participate equally in regional economic integration (Bussolo and and De Hoyos, 2009). The decision by African heads of state to negotiate a separate Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade under the newly implemented African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement reaffirms the belief that improving women’s access to opportunities and removing barriers to their participation in international economies contributes to economic development.
Acknowledgements
The World Trade Report 2024 was prepared under the general responsibility and guidance of Johanna Hill, WTO Deputy Director-General, and Ralph Ossa, Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division. Director-General Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Chief of Staff Bright Okogu and Trineesh Biswas from the Office of the Director-General provided valuable advice and guidance.
Foreword by the WTO Director-General
The mission of the World Trade Organization, as set out in the preamble to its founding Marrakesh Agreement, is to use trade as a means to raise living standards, create jobs and promote sustainable development. As we mark the WTO’s 30th anniversary, it is clear that members have used the open and predictable global economy anchored in WTO rules and norms to accelerate growth and development, with enormous positive impacts for human well-being. At the same time, many people and places have not shared adequately in these gains.
Inclusive trade and international cooperation
This chapter discusses how the multilateral trading system has helped some economies to take advantage of trade to further their development, but has not succeeded in helping others to harness trade for growth and considers what could be done to ensure that the WTO leaves no economy behind. It also examines the effect of the WTO on how the benefits of trade are shared out within economies, and discusses how the WTO and trade can be made more inclusive for people and firms. Finally, the chapter outlines the areas in which work at the WTO could be coordinated with work at other international organizations to help make trade more inclusive, such as by enhancing infrastructure and digital connectivity to bridge the digital gap or by ensuring coherence between trade and environmental policies.