Introduction- Capacity building for trade

Research 

Links

Introduction- Capacity building for trade

Many developing countries face a multiple set of trade negotiations at bilateral, regional and multilateral level. It is increasingly being recognised that developing countries have insufficient capacity for the formulation and implementation of trade policy reforms and also for the negotiation process itself. Trade-related capacity building projects have therefore acquired an important place on the aid agenda.

The recent attention for trade capacity building has been expressed among others in the Doha Declaration of November 2001. In this Declaration, WTO member governments have made new commitments on technical cooperation and capacity building in a number of areas and have also agreed that the WTO Secretariat, in coordination with other relevant agencies, is to encourage WTO developing-country members to consider trade as a main element for reducing poverty and to include trade measures in their development strategies. The importance of trade-related assistance was reconfirmed during the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development in March 2002. Already, international development agencies had been focusing on trade capacity building in the so-called Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries (IF), which aims “to assist LLDCs to develop a trade integration strategy that would foster sustainable pro-poor growth by embedding trade policies and priorities into national development strategies” The IF is supported by the World Bank, the IMF, UNDP, WTO, UNCTAD and ITC. In a communication of the European Commission in September 2002 trade capacity building was identified as an important pillar in the European Union’s development aid policies.

Trade capacity building covers trade-related technical assistance and institutional capacity building. Trade-related technical assistance refers to projects which e.g. enhance trade competencies of a certain sector in a developing country, or which aim to assist in meeting technical, phyto-sanitary and other standards. Institutional capacity is related to the administrative and management capabilities of developing countries within the national and local governments. Many developing countries lack resources and experience in multilateral or regional trade negotiations. They also lack capabilities to implement international trade agreements.

Although the benefits of trade capacity building seem self-evident, there is also criticism on this kind of development aid. Some critics point to the role of donors in capacity building: they are helping countries to negotiate, but both donors and recipients will in many cases sit around the same negotiating table (e.g. in the WTO). As donors have high stakes in these negotiations, this may give a bias in the kind of capacity building that is offered, influencing the outcome of the negotiations. There is also criticism on the way capacity building is provided. In the past, this mainly happened through short courses or seminars. It is increasingly being recognised that a more structural approach is needed. 

Research

This section provides papers on various aspects of trade capacity building.

In the annual EU-LDC Conference 2002, one session focused on the Integrated Framework. Proceedings of session during the EU-LDC Conference 2002 “Improving global governance for development: issues and instruments”. For the proceedings click here

First Joint WTO/OECD Report on Trade-Related Technical Assistance and Capacity Building (TRTA/CB), joint WTO-OECD publication, November-December 2002

Critical components of the Doha Development Agenda are technical co-operation and capacity building in favour of developing, least developed and low-income transition economies. Without successful co-ordination and coherence, however, the delivery of technical co-operation and capacity building activities cannot fulfil their objectives of cost-efficiency and sustainability. The Doha Development Agenda Trade Capacity Building Database (TCBDB) and this associated report should assist the development and trade policy communities to achieve higher degrees of co-ordination and coherence, avoid duplication, share information, and monitor the implementation of commitments registered in the Doha Ministerial Declaration. This report establishes a baseline for 2001 that shows that there were over 1200 commitments to activities that cover all aspects of trade policy and regulations identified in the Doha Declaration and a further 1300 or so to activities in trade development.

The full text of this publication is available here

The Trade Capacity Building Database can be accessed here

Building Capacity to Trade: What are the Priorities? H.B. Solignac Lecomte, 2002; paper presented during the International CTA Seminar 2002 “Meeting the Challenge of Effective ACP Participation in Agricultural Trade Negotiations: the Role of ICM”, 27-29 November 2002, Brussels

This document points at the potential negative aspects of trade capacity building. Often, it is too easily assumed that trade capacity building will automatically benefit developing countries. Some developing countries view trade capacity building as a means to force market and economic reforms upon developing countries. It is unclear whether trade capacity building is aiming to offer more opportunities to developing countries, or whether it is only a way of helping them to carry out commitments that they have accepted in international trade negotiations. The paper is an attempt to clarify some of these issues. The paper concludes that in general trade capacity building is a contributing factor to development. However, it contains some critical risks, for example related to tied aid, or a distinction between projects that will benefit donor countries and those that will harm them. As for the latter one can think of support in dealing with anti-dumping measures, which developing countries might eventually use against donor countries.

For the document click here.

Capacity for development: New solutions to old problems, S. Fukuda-Parr, C. Lopes, K. Malik, (Eds.), 2002, UNDP, New York

This publication is part of the UNDP’s project on Reforming Technical Co-operation for Capacity Development (http://capacity.undp.org). The document focuses on the technical assistance aspects of capacity building, but not only on trade-related technical assistance. The publication gives a description on the concepts of development co-operation and technical co-operation including capacity building. It addresses key-points for improving capacity building. Emphasis lies with ownership of capacity building projects in developing countries. The document also underlines the need for considering local circumstances in capacity building and the need for trying out new methods of capacity building. 

The executive summary together with more information on the publication is available here.  

Developing Capacity Through Technical Co-operation, Browne, S., (Ed.), 2002, UNDP, New York

This document is part of the UNDP’s project on Reforming Technical Co-operation for Capacity Development (link/ http://capacity.undp.org/). The document deals with capacity building in general, and not only with trade-related capacity building. It discusses the definition of capacity building and identifies several goals which are relevant in order to develop national capacities. The goals can be summarised as setting policies and legal frameworks, implementing these, creating partnerships within and beyond borders of a recipient country, managing of resources and monitoring effectiveness of capacity building projects. The publication includes country studies on Bangladesh, Bolivia, Egypt, Kyrgyz Republic, Philippines and Uganda.

The executive summary of the publication and more information on the publication are available here.

Building Capacity to Trade: A Road Map for Development Partners – Insights from Africa and the Caribbean, H.B. Solignac Lecomte, 2001, ECDPM Discussion Paper 33.

This paper provides an overview of the reasons behind the growing importance of trade capacity development (TCD), identifies success factors and the limitations of TCD, and provides a road map for donors. The road map is “an invitation to look at trade policy making as a dynamic process involving a diversity of actors and sectors”. The issues discussed include the risk of biased aid, donor co-ordination and capacity bottlenecks, comprehensiveness of TCD projects, and the legitimacy of TCD.

For the document click here.   

Building Trade Policy Capacity in Developing Countries and Transition Economies: A Practical Guide to Planning Technical Co-Operation Programmes, Pengelly, T. and George, M., March 2001, International Trade Department, DFID.

The aim of this guide is to provide practical advice for planning trade policy technical co-operation (TPTC) programmes in developing countries and transition economies. It is based on insights gained from TPTC programmes supported by DFID since the late 1990s in Africa, South Asia, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean. The publication is targeted at donors and contains information on issues like consultations, co-ordination between donors, links with national development plans, flexibility and neutrality. 

The full text of this publication is available here.

Capacity Building for WTO Participation – African Perspectives, K.O. Frempong, Policy Brief No.3, 2001, CUTS Africa Resource Centre, Lusaka

The main question of this policy brief is to explain the limited participation of African countries in WTO negotiations and to recommend ways for increasing their influence in the WTO processes. The main recommendations for African countries are to identify specific interests within the negotiations and to co-operate more intensively to get a stronger voice in the negotiations.

The policy brief can be downloaded here. 

DAC Guidelines on Capacity Development for Trade in the New Global Context, OECD, 2001, Paris

The DAC Guidelines on Capacity Development for Trade offer policy guidance for donors and developing country partners by providing a common reference point for the trade, aid and finance communities on capacity development for trade. The Guidelines put trade capacity building in the context of comprehensive approaches to development and poverty reduction. The Guidelines identify the "what" and "how" of trade capacity building through comprehensive and integrated approaches involving both the bilateral and multilateral agencies.

The guidelines can be downloaded here. 

For a related policy paper on this issue click here.  

Technical Assistance Services in Trade-Policy: a Contribution to the Discussion on Capacity Building in the WTO, M. Kostecki, ICTSD Resource Paper No. 2, 2001, ICTSD, Geneva

The paper provides an overview of policies and procedures used by major multilateral agencies (WTO, ITC, UNCTAD and the World Bank) when formulating, implementing and assessing capacity building programmes in the field of trade policy. Knowledge of the various schemes for technical co-operation in the field of trade policy helps to move the debate forward and contributes to the establishment of better practises and instruments in the interest of sustainable development as a superior public goal. This study suggests that technical assistance in trade policy should be given increased financial resources and that it should be based on an improved institutional footing.

For the paper click here. 

Links

More information on trade related technical assistance and capacity building

Doha Development Agenda Trade Capacity Building Database (TCBDB) 

TCBDB is a joint WTO-OECD initiative, which provides information on trade-related technical assistance and capacity building projects. Information is provided on the typs of capacity building, the recipients, and providing countries and agencies. The website also contains links to relevant WTO and OECD documents.

WTO –section on technical co-operation

This website provides information on the WTO’s mandate regarding capacity building, its activities in this field, co-operation with other organisations, and the latest news.

OECD- section on trade, development and capacity building

This website contains a number of relevant OECD papers, a Trade Capacity Building database, and links to other websites of interest.

World Bank- section on WTO 2000 capacity building project

This website is about the World Bank’s 3-year WTO 2000 trade capacity building project, which started in 1999. It contains a project description, background papers, and links to related World Bank projects.

UNCTAD– section on technical co-operation in trade

This section gives an overview of the technical co-operation activities of UNCTAD in the field of trade and provides links to related information.

UNCTAD/ICTSD- Capacity Building project on IPRs

The joint website of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) on their Capacity Building Project on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)). The project is producing a series of documents (discussion papers, resource, book, case studies) through a participatory process involving trade negotiators, national policy makers, as well as eminent experts in the field, the media, NGOs, international organizations, and institutions in the North and the South dealing with IPRs and development.

UNDP- section on Reforming Technical Co-operation for Capacity Development 

An elaborate website on capacity building in general, not focusing on trade. It contains thematic papers, country studies, complementary research and evaluation and insights into capacity building approaches. The site also organises a number of e-discussions.

Capacity.org

This website, maintained by the European Centre for Development Policy Management ECDPM, provides useful links and a selected bibliography on the issue. It provides information on capacity building in the field of trade as well as in the field of ICT.

ACP-EU-Trade - section on “Capacity building for trade”

This website provides a large number of documents of trade-capacity building, and focuses on trade capacity building in the ACP countries. It also contains links to other relevant websites.

Integrated Framework

Website on the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries (IF), which contains background information on this capacity building programme, an overview of the progress, country programmes and other relvant material. The IF is a programme of the World Bank, IMF, UNCTAD, UNDP, ITC and the WTO.

JITAP

Website on the Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Programme (JITAP) of the WTO, ITC and UNCTAD, which provides trade-related technical assistance to a number of African countries. The site provides information on JITAP, the countries involved, thematic clusters, and news.

CIDA- section on capacity building

Website of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) on capacity building. Next to a description of Canada’s policy, this site contains an elaborate bibliography, with papers from the 1990s, sometimes with short summaries.

As a recently launched site, we still have some way to go towards providing a comprehensive information resource. You can help by submitting your own contributions (academic papers, position papers, analysis or comments etc.). To do this, go to Contact us.