Fourth Global Review of Aid for Trade 2002 (9240992540)

Aid for Trade is an initiative by the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

(WTO), as well as a policy concept in international

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and trade development, concerned with helping

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

and particularly the least developed countries build trade capacity and

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

. Aid for Trade is included in

Sustainable Development Goal 8 Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8 or Global Goal 8) is about "decent work and economic growth" and is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals which were established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. The full title is to "F ...

concerning "decent work and economic growth", which is one of the 17

Sustainable Development Goals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

which were established by the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

in 2015. Target 8.a aims to "Increase Aid for Trade support for developing countries, in particular, least developed countries, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries."United Nations (2017) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
A/RES/71/313
In 2018, aid for trade commitments remained stable, at $58 billion, based on current prices.

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

received the highest share thereof (31.4 per cent), followed by

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

(29.2 per cent). Lower-middle-income countries received 37.5 per cent of aid for trade, followed by least developed countries (36.8 per cent).

Overview

Aid for Trade Global Review 2017 – Day 1 (35486819660)

Aid for Trade includes measures to help countries develop trade strategies, plans or projects and implementation, such as building

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

s, and

telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

s that link domestic and

global markets International finance (also referred to as international monetary economics or international macroeconomics) is the branch of financial economics broadly concerned with monetary and macroeconomic interrelations between two or more countries. Inter ...

, or investing in industries and sectors to help diversify

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

s. Many have credited Aid for Trade with economic improvements in developing countries, while others point out that not all trade initiatives are successful and some of the funding is lost to

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

. The

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

and

WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

established an 'aid-for-trade monitoring framework' to track progress in implementing the Aid-for-Trade Initiative. It consists of the following elements: * mainstreaming and prioritising trade (demand). * mainstreaming and prioritising trade (demand) * trade-related

project A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

s and programmes (response). * enhanced capacity to

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

(outcome). * improved trade performance and reduced

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

(impact).

Value of commitments

According to the UN, in 2017, the global total value of Aid for Trade disbursements exceeded USD 43 billion, with an additional USD 15 billion committed. Increasing Aid for Trade support is included as an objective in the United Nations Sustainable development growth 8 "decent work and economic growth" indicator 8.a. The EU and its member states are the largest contributor of Aid for Trade. In 2018, aid for trade commitments remained stable, at $58 billion, based on current prices.

and

received the highest share thereof (31.4 per cent), followed by

(29.2 per cent). Lower-middle-income countries received 37.5 per cent of aid for trade, followed by least developed countries (36.8 per cent).

Origins and oversight

The Aid for Trade initiative was launched at the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in December 2005, and in 2007, the WTO started implementation of its February 2006 recommendations of the Aid for Trade Task Force as it moved into its first stage. The purpose of the Global Review is to provide strong monitoring and evaluation for the Aid for Trade agenda. Global Review events have been held under the themes of “Maintaining Momentum”, “Showing Results”, and “Connecting to Value Chains” in 2009, 2011 and 2013 respectively. *First Global Review 2007 *Second Global Review 2009 *Third Global Review 2011 *Fourth Global Review 2013 *Fifth Global Review 2015 *Sixth Global Review 2017 *Seventh Global Review 2019 *Eighth Global Review 2022

Sustainable development

Aid for Trade is included in the

about "decent work and economic growth" which is one of the 17

which were established by the

in 2015. The official wording for Target 8.a is to "Increase Aid for Trade support for developing countries, in particular, least developed countries, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries." This target has one indicator. Indicator 8.a.1 is the "Aid for Trade commitments and disbursements". The indicator 8.a.1 is measured as total Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocated to aid for trade in 2015 US$.

References

{{reflist

External links

'What is Aid for Trade?' (Australian government briefing paper)
International development Economic development Economic growth Trade Aid Sustainable development