Week-long session of Trade and Development Commission emphasizes contributions trade can make to inclusive development
Geneva, 10 June 2011 - Trade has a resurgent and critical role to play in recovery from the global recession, and especially in raising living standards for the world´s billions of poor, a week-long conference here has emphasized.
The Chair of the Trade and Development Commission, Tom Mboya Okeyo (Kenya) summarized the message of the third annual session of the Commission by saying in an interview this morning: "Behind this scenario are women, children and young people who wake up in the morning and they need food. For that, they need jobs. And how can they have jobs if it´s a globalized world and developing countries can´t trade equitably?"
"Such discussions in UNCTAD constitute a very useful complement to the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, and can even help WTO members consider options within a wider development context," Mr. Mboya Okeyo said.
He emphasized the importance of continuing to make substantial efforts for an early and successful conclusion of the WTO Doha Round of trade negotiations. An ambitious, comprehensive, balanced, and development-oriented outcome is needed, he said, thus ensuring a more open, equitable, rules-based, and transparent multilateral trading system. Mr. Mboya Okeyo said there continue to be serious difficulties faced by least developed countries (LDCs) in effectively and meaningfully integrating into the multilateral trading system.
Mr. Mboya Okeyo stressed that steps were needed to help developing countries carry out trade in products that are labour-intensive, so that employment is generated in regions where joblessness is high. He said that for that to occur, help is needed, so that such countries can link more easily into global supply chains for such goods, and commented further that roads, railroads and ports must be improved so that transport is faster and less costly, and trade is enhanced.
He stressed the quality of the analyses provided by the UNCTAD secretariat on issues relating to the international trading system, trade and employment, the fight against poverty, and efforts to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
UNCTAD, as part of the United Nations General Assembly, is boldly addressing critical issues of trade, development, and employment, Mr. Mboya Okeyo said. This approach was welcomed, and the outcome of the meeting should be widely disseminated among member States.
Over the week, the Trade and Development Commission focused repeatedly on the topic of inclusive development - also the theme of UNCTAD´s upcoming thirteenth quadrennial conference (UNCTAD XIII) set for April 2012 in Doha, Qatar. Experts emphasized that trade rules and international assistance for poor countries should ensure that less developed nations are able to sell goods effectively in the global marketplace; that they are able to broaden the bases of their economies to produce wider varieties of goods and services, and more sophisticated goods (often referred to as improving productive capacities); and that they are able to spread the benefits of economic growth and job creation to all - including the poor, women, and other vulnerable groups.
UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Petko Draganov opened the week´s meetings by noting: "We are aware that many developing countries have confronted serious structural problems in seeking to enhance the contribution of trade to their overall development. For example, the commodity exports of many developing countries have become more concentrated during the recent period. Developing countries have also continued to confront various restrictive trade measures in their overseas markets."
The Minister of Trade of Indonesia, Mari Pangestu, speaking at Monday´s opening session by Skype from Jakarta, urged - as Mr. Mboya Okeye has - that agreement be reached this year on steps under the Doha Round to help spur trade for LDCs, even if other aspects of the Doha Round cannot be completed during 2011.
The Indonesian Minister pointed to the importance of a strengthened multilateral trading system as a way of halting possible protectionist measures that might impede flows of trade and investment that are vital as the world struggles to recover from the global financial crisis. "Everybody recognizes the importance of keeping open trade and investment flows as part of the recovery and therefore ensuring that growth continues," she said.
She added, "The increasing role of developing countries and emerging economies in the recovery has been something which a lot of us have put a lot of thinking into, in the sense that it is no longer just about North-South trade, but about how South-South trade has become increasingly important." She noted that in Indonesia, "the percentage of South-South trade has more or less doubled in the last 10 to 15 years."
Ms. Pangestu said that while the Doha Round may not be concluded this year, "I think that there is still a general agreement that the development objective should be the number one priority." She said she hopes that the negotiations can "deliver by the end of the year" a partial agreement relating to LDCs that will provide duty-free quota-free market access for their exports and also will also simplify rules of origin standards for such nations, and offer "an effective aid for trade capacity-building package" for LDCs.
At a debate on Monday afternoon on the subject of "assessing the evolution of the international trading system and enhancing its contribution to development and economic recovery," the Deputy Director-General of WTO and the Executive Director of the Employment Sector for the International Labour Office (ILO) emphasized that trade and development and trade and job creation - which leads to better living standards - are intrinsically connected.
WTO Deputy Director-General Harsha V. Singh told the meeting that "trade and trade policy have today become fundamentally important tools for attaining national development objectives, and also are seen as crucial elements on the road to achieving the Millennium Development Goals."
ILO Executive Director José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs said that, "Trade can be an important driver of growth, employment creation, and poverty reduction. Nobody questions that integrating into the world economy and doing business with the rest of the world through trade and investment is crucial for development."
In the discussion that followed, many delegations stressed that the fragile recovery in trade and economic growth since the 2008 crisis must be monitored and nurtured. They also said the recovery should be made more "development-enhancing" and "employment-sensitive."
Other topics of discussion during the week included "integration of developing countries into global supply chains, including through adding value to their exports" - a theme that tied into the repeatedly cited necessity of expanding developing countries´ productive capacities. In addition, UNCTAD introduced its first country studies on the creative industries, with presentations on the status of production and trade of creative goods in Mozambique and Zambia. There also was a presentation and exhibit on the subject of "Product space and the evolution of economic diversity".
