Concepts and Approaches to Mainstreaming Trade AdHoc Expert Group Meeting on Mainstreaming Trade int

1
Concepts and Approaches to Mainstreaming Trade
Ad-Hoc Expert Group Meeting on Mainstreaming
Trade into National Development Strategies29-30
May, Casablanca, Morocco

• Taufiqur Rahman, Development Division, WTO

2
Concept of Mainstreaming trade

• Integration of trade policy into the national
  development strategies/Poverty Reduction
  strategies
• Process of reflecting trade policies and priority
  areas of action within the overall national
  development plan or strategy
• a process of bargaining among key stakeholders,
  and establishing a correct balance between trade
  liberalisation and companion policies
• a process that combines country ownership with
  multilateral agency intervention, with donor
  support, within established development vehicle,
  such as PRSPs
• Bring trade matters into the dialogue on the
  poverty reduction
• Raising the profile of trade in the development
  debate

3
Rationale

• Rationale
• Co-ordination among key domestic departments
• Establishing the mix of trade and companion
  policies
• Generating finance for TRTA and development
• Strengthening trade ministries
• Responding to national and multilateral
  development targets for poverty reduction
• Comprehensive governmental response to WTO
  implementation commitments

4
Approaches to Trade Mainstreaming

• Trade mainstreaming can take place at three
  levels
• Policy, institutional and government-donor
  relations

5
Policy level

• Integration of trade policy into national
  macro-economic policies and poverty reduction
  strategies
• Integration of trade strategies into sectoral
  policies
• Trade specialists, poverty experts and sector
  technicians should work together to develop a
  common understanding of trade policy impact

6
Institutional level

• All stakeholders (government, private sector,
  business community, civil society) should
  participate in the National Dialogue
• Adequate institutional structure to manage the
  mainstreaming process (eg. IF)
• Coordination (for instance between national IF
  Steering Committee and the PRSP national
  Committee)

7
Mainstreaming trade at the Government-Donor level

• Government and donor should make room for
  trade-related issues in their policy dialogue.
• Is trade on the agenda of the Consultative Group
  or the Round Table meeting?

8
A development vehicle

• National development plans
• PRSPs
• Core elements
• country-owned, participatory process
• basis for lending and/or resource allocation
• support by regional development
  banks/multilateral economic institutions
• crucial donor involvement (DAC/OECD)

9
Mechanism for trade mainstreaming

• Integrated Framework (IF) for LDCs
• WTO Trade Policy Reviews
• Trade mainstreaming - focused TA missions

10
Trade mainstreaming process

• Country/donor/agency in-country coordination
• Country coordination with explicit leadership of
  finance and trade departments (and any others)
• DTISs (IF)
• Matrices (an actionable programme of
  complementary policy and TA recommendations)
• A checklist of issues
• Ownership - trade integration workshops
• Linking results of the diagnostics to PRSPs, CGs,
  Country Round Tables.

11
The IF for LDCs

• WTO Members recognized need
• for more coordination and synergies among
  providers of trade-related assistance
  bilateral and multilateral donors/ partners.
• and to integrate trade into development
  strategies both in LDCs and in donor community

12
What are the IFs objectives?

• Policy Integration of trade priorities into
  national development strategies
• Coordination of the delivery of trade-related
  assistance to LDCs

13
Management structure

• IFSC (Agencies, WTO Members and Observers)
• IFWG (6 Agencies, 2 donors, 2 LDCs)
• IF Secretariat (WTO)

14
Who does what on behalf of IF?

• Technical Reviews World Bank
• Diagnostics World Bank, sometimes UNDP . With
  support all 6 Agencies
• IF Trust Fund manager UNDP
• IF Secretariat WTO
• Execution of projects ITC, UNCTAD, other
  Organizations, bilateral donors, other programmes
  such as JITAP, STDF

15
Stages in the IF Process

• A Technical Review
• Diagnostic study of trade needs
• Comprehensive list of trade priorities
• National workshop to confirm ownership
• Trade policy priorities incorporated into the
  countrys national development plan

16
Main areas identified in the diagnostic of trade
needs

• Need to
• increase macroeconomic stability
• develop trade policy and trade administration
  capacity
• enhance the efficient management of import/export
  procedures and operations
• improve investment and business climate...

17
Main areas identified in the diagnostic of trade
needs (ctd)

• ..develop export promotion capacity
• meet international standards
• develop targeted economic sectors
• develop infrastructure
• improve social safety net

18
What happens after identification list of trade
priorities ?

• Actions for future concrete projects being
  flagged to donors for bilateral funding .
• Some small priority projects submitted for
  funding from IFs own small Fund
• Integration of results into the national
  development strategies

19
Results so far

• In the LDCs more coordination and dialogue
  among government institutions
• In the donors the IF has begun to take away the
  disconnect between the trade and development
  communities
• IF has helped to raise profile of trade
  priorities in the LDCs and in the donor community
• IF has contributed to increasing recognition of
  the role of trade in poverty reduction

20
Challenges

• In most countries, the IF has entered the stage
  of implementation, thereby posing the following
  challenges
• Weak in-country capacity support needed for the
  national IF focal point
• Lack of systematic follow-up at the country
  level need for more support to national
  institutions and continued commitment donor
  field offices

21
Challenges (ctd)

• ... insufficient and uncertain funding need to
  assist in the mobilisation of additional,
  predictable resources, both in donor capitals and
  their field offices

22
What is an enhanced IF ?

• An enhanced IF to comprise of 3 elements
• Increased additional, predictable financial
  resources to implement Action Matrices
• Strengthened in-country capacity to manage,
  implement and monitor the IF process
• Enhanced IF governance structure
• Enhanced IF to enter into force by 31 December
  2006