The division seeks to build consensus, strengthen capacity and promote partnerships for trade policy, trade negotiations, trade in goods and services and the creative economy, competition and consumer protection laws, and managing issues arising at the intersection of trade, the environment and climate change.
It monitors trends and provides evidence-based analysis to make international trade an engine for sustainable development. The Division also aims to ensure the effective, qualitative and beneficial participation of women in international trade, strengthen development gains from the commodity economy, and address the trade and development challenges of commodity dependence.
Alignment with the SDGs
- Goal 1:End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
- Goal 5:Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
- Goal 8:Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
- Goal 10:Reduce inequality within and among countries.
- Goal 12:Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
- Goal 14:Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
- Goal 15:Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
- Goal 17:Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
Global Trade Update
Luz Maria de la Mora, Director
Biography
Luz Maria de la Mora is the Director of UNCTAD's Division on International Trade and Commodities. As a former Vice-Minister for International Trade and decades of government and private sector positions, Ms. de la Mora developed a career in international trade policy, negotiation, operations, and trade promotion.
During her tenure as Vice-Minister for International Trade of Mexico from 2018 to 2022, Ms. de la Mora led Mexico's trade and investment policy, overseeing fourteen free trade agreements with 51 countries. To bolster Mexico's development, she steered discussions in the World Trade Organization, the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and Pacific Alliance, among others. She also coordinated policy dialogues and handled private sector consultations.
Ms. de la Mora holds a PhD in Political Science from Yale University, USA, a Master's degree in International Affairs from Carleton University, Canada, and a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from El Colegio de México, Mexico.
She is fluent in English and Spanish, and proficient in French.
Ongoing projects
Commodities
- Critical energy transition minerals: Rapid assessment of value addition and diversification capacity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Critical energy transition minerals: Rapid assessment of value addition and diversification capacity in Southern Africa
- Sustainable coffee export strategies and traceability for a green, sustainable, and inclusive economy in Asia
CCPB
- Technical assistance and capacity building in competition and consumer protection for African Portuguese-speaking developing countries and Timor-Leste
- Advancing consumer information and consumer protection in alignment with multilateral environmental agreements though a synergistic partnership between UNEP and UNCTAD
- Fostering competition law and policy and competition culture in Albania
- Strengthening consumer product safety in Sub-Saharan African countries
Trade and Gender
- Advancing gender-responsive science, technology and innovation policies for inclusive digital transformation in countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
- Data and statistics for more gender-responsive trade policies in Africa, the Caucasus and Central Asia
- Myanmar UN Cluster: Enhancing horticulture supply and sustainable tourism to develop business linkages
TAB
- Digitalization and artificial intelligence-powered transparency on trade-related regulations for gender-sensitive policymaking in Africa
- Improving Pacific Islands Customs and Trade (IMPACT)
- AfCFTA support programme on non-tariff barriers, regulatory transparency, trade facilitation, and intellectual property rights
TED
- Sustainable coffee export strategies and traceability for a green, sustainable, and inclusive economy in Asia
- Inclusion of green initiatives in AfCFTA National Implementation Strategies of 20 African Countries
- Evidence-based and policy-coherent Oceans Economy and Trade Strategies