Climbing the trade and development ladder: UNCTAD´s new Trade and Development Index
Moving up the trade and development ladder is a key development challenge facing developing countries in their effort to integrate effectively into the trading system and accelerate development. In helping developing countries address this challenge, UNCTAD´s pioneering work on the Trade and Development Index (TDI) and benchmarks, tries to provide a quantitative indication of how trade is integrated with human development. It combines 29 indicators representing structural and institutional factors, trade policies and processes, and human development. The TDI, gives a special focus on Africa and LDCs. It not only provides country rankings in terms of trade and development performance of countries, but also offers a diagnostic and policy tool by systematically identifying factors explaining such performance. It should, therefore, prove useful to policy-makers formulating development strategies, as well as development cooperation with a view to helping developing countries climb up the development ladder. The High level segment will involve Eminent Panelists that will comment on the TDI as a tool in assessing the contribution of trade to promoting development and alleviating poverty, and identifying related national and international policy issues.
Commodities and development
The Commission will examine the relationship between development and commodity production and trade, focusing particularly on how projects and programmes to enhance the capacity to trade in commodities can contribute to poverty reduction. Institutional and other constraints and bottlenecks in several aspects of the commodity economy will be considered, and the relevance of remedying such constraints and bottlenecks in ensuring that broad segments of the population benefit from commodities trade will be analysed. The discussion will cover possible actions for the improvement of supply capacity, the reduction of transaction costs, improved integration of developing country producers into international supply chains, and better management of commodity sector revenues. International cooperation to support commodity sector development will also be discussed, including cooperation through the International Task Force on Commodities.
Market access, market entry and competitiveness
The Commission will examine the market access, market entry and competitiveness of selected dynamic and new sectors of world trade. In addition, since non-tariff measures can act as important market entry barriers to developing country exports, the Commission may wish to consider how to take forward international policy dialogue, research and analysis and disciplining of non-tariff barriers that affect developing countries´ exports.
Trade in services and development implications
The Commission will examine the increasing role of developing countries in international trade in services, as well as their experiences, challenges and opportunities in the ongoing negotiations on services. Most developing countries have embarked on reform processes, recognizing the positive effects that can accrue from progressive liberalization of trade in services in terms of generating jobs, technology and investment. Trade liberalization by itself, however, may not produce the expected results without necessary complementary policies. Thus, the Commission will address the importance of establishing adequate policy and regulatory frameworks as necessary conditions for trade liberalization in order to generate beneficial results.
Trade, environment and development
The Commission will address selected trade and environment issues that have received considerable attention in recent international debates, as well as in UNCTAD activities. These will include considerations in the field of environmental requirements and market access for developing countries, trade liberalization in environmental goods and services, the promotion of production and use of renewable energy, and the protection, preservation and sustainable use of traditional knowledge.
A distinct area of consideration includes opportunities for promoting trade in products derived from the sustainable use of biodiversity, in particular through the BioTrade Initiative, as well as the BioFuels Initiative.
