Development and building trade capacity
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).
WTO contribution to the 2022 UN High-Level Political Forum
The WTO is playing an important role in the achievement of the UN's Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and collaborates closely with the UN's Department for Economic and Social Affairs in monitoring progress in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since 2016 the WTO has submitted annual reports to the UN's High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on WTO efforts to achieve trade-specific targets in the SDGs. In its 2022 report the WTO provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between trade and SDGs 4 (“quality education”) 5 (“gender equality”) 14 (“life below water”) 15 (“life on land”) and 17 (“partnerships for the Goals”) as well as the WTO’s role in contributing to the realisation of these five goals.
Textiles and clothing in Asian graduating LDCs
The textiles and clothing sector has been a key driver of export growth in least-developed countries (LDCs) that are on the path of graduation especially from Asia. Graduation from LDC status would imply loss of LDC trade preferences. This report a product of inter-agency collaboration examines impacts of graduation for Asian graduating LDCs; it looks at market access scenario after graduation the nature of their participation in global value chains and business insights including at the firm level. The report also offers a forward-looking perspective to ensure a smooth transition from LDC status. It sheds light on possible strategies to maintain market access after graduation and to support industrial upgrade and economic diversification. In addition the report points to other factors affecting export potential of textiles and clothing including increased attention to environmental and social standards. LDC-focused development assistance could play an important role in supporting these countries with bolstering the overall competitiveness of their textiles and clothing sector.
Boosting trade opportunities for least-developed countries
This report looks at progress over the past decade in supporting the integration of least-developed countries (LDCs) into the multilateral trading system. Prepared as the WTO's contribution to the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) the report highlights that international efforts to help LDCs increase their participation in global trade are needed more than ever before in view of the enormous challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Important progress has been achieved in boosting LDC exports over the last decade by improving market access opportunities for LDCs and by granting them flexibilities in the implementation of WTO rules. Further efforts will be needed to support trade growth in LDCs in the next decade. LDC5 can set a path for allowing LDCs to fully realize their trade potential and to take advantage of emerging opportunities. The integration of LDCs into global trade is still a priority as trade can play an important role in driving economic growth and supporting sustainable development.
Easing Trade Bottlenecks of Landlocked Developing Countries
Without direct access to a sea or ocean and isolated from the world’s largest markets landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) face many challenges to integrate into global supply chains. This report identifies specific trade bottlenecks in LLDCs which have increased trading costs lengthened the time to process goods at the border and restricted the movement of goods across borders. Compounded by the devastating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic LLDCs have seen trade decline more sharply and for longer than the rest of the world. The report demonstrates the vital role the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) can play in boosting output and facilitating world trade by simplifying modernizing and harmonizing the movement release and clearance of goods. Participation in the TFA can broaden the opportunities for developing countries – and LLDCs in particular – to participate more fully in global value chains. The report concludes with recommendations on the steps that LLDCs neighbouring transit countries and international organizations can undertake to ease trade bottlenecks to keep trade flowing smoothly and to make trade more inclusive.
WTO’s TBT Agreement: technical barriers to trade
The WTO’s TBT Agreement entered into force with the establishment of the WTO on 1 January 1995. It aims to ensure that product requirements in regulations and standards (on safety quality health and the environment) as well as procedures for assessing product compliance with such requirements (certification testing inspection accreditation) are not unjustifiably discriminatory and do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. The TBT Agreement also emphasizes the importance of transparency and contains disciplines that strongly encourage the use of international standards as a basis for harmonizing regulations across WTO members.
Landlocked developing countries and trade bottlenecks
Trade is critical to the economic growth of countries which means facilitating trade is a priority for governments. Landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) are without direct territorial access to a sea or ocean so ease of trade is linked to their survival.
Foreword by Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Among the outreach activities I have undertaken since becoming Director-General have been very detailed and substantive meetings with landlocked developing countries (LLDCs). They have told me how the particular barriers they face due to a lack of territorial access to the sea and isolation from the world’s largest markets restrict the free flow of trade and impose constraints on their socio-economic development. The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially damaging to their fragile economies which has brought new challenges such as container shortages high shipping costs and the closure of borders to stop the spread of COVID-19. In response I requested the WTO Secretariat to conduct this study on the logistical constraints impacting the trade performance of LLDCs and how trade bottlenecks could be reduced. I am very happy that the study has been produced in such a short time.
Recommendations
LLDCs are a very special group of countries which face very atypical constraints. To address these challenges will require special measures to more fully integrate LLDCs into the multilateral trading system. This report has identified some of the areas and issues where targeted steps need to be taken to ease trade bottlenecks – not only by the LLDCs themselves but also transit countries and organizations involved. The paucity of up-to-date data and the difficulties to collect it from some of the remotest areas of the world make it hard to capture all the factors comprehensively and accurately.
WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement
The TFA contains several provisions for expediting the movement release and clearance of goods including goods in transit and easing trade bottlenecks at borders. It sets out measures for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. A key pillar of the TFA is a series of provisions for technical assistance and capacity building (TACB). Entering into force on 22 February 2017 all 26 LLDCs who are WTO members have completed their domestic ratification process.
Trade profiles of landlocked developing countries
Trade plays a critical role in achieving the development objectives of LLDCs and is key to realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in particular target 17.11: significantly increase the exports of developing countries.
COVID-19 and border measures
Countries have put in place a range of restrictions on the movement of persons across borders especially for non-essential purposes as well as export prohibitions on essential goods and food. There has been a proliferation of measures banning the export of essential medical supplies as well as food paired with measures to facilitate the import of the same types of product (i.e. value added tax and import duty exemptions).
WTO’s SPS Agreement: sanitary and phytosanitary measures
The WTO SPS Agreement sets out the basic rules for food safety and animal and plant health standards. It aims to strike a balance between WTO members’ rights to protect human animal or plant life or health and their obligation not to restrict trade more than necessary. Given the technical and costly nature of some of these measures certain sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements imposed by importing members could be difficult to meet for LLDCs for whom agricultural products might represent an important part of their exports.