International Conference on Linkages between Trade, Development &
Poverty
Civil Society Organisations & Aid for Trade – Roles & Realities
Nairobi, Kenya, 15-16 March 2007
AfT Progress and Challenges
Presented by Margaret K. Chemengich
16th March 2007
AfT Progress and Challenges
What is the current state of progress in the AfT
process?
• Guidelines have agreed upon at the WTO level,
indicators are yet to be agreed upon
• Sensitisation of many stakeholders at the international
level, but limited stakeholder sensitisation locally
• Pledges by a number of countries continue to
increase, Japan $10 billion over three years; USA $2.7
b by 2010; EU euro2b per year by 2010; UK $740 m.
Access to the resources is yet to be operationalised
• Main issue is that the proposals are are of best
endeavour
AfT Progress and Challenges (2)
The current state of progress in the AfT process
• Enforcement problems in light of suspended WTO
talks in spite of the position that AfT can continue
while WTO is in suspension
• Donors are implementing AfT with optional rules, with
the majority still insisting on priority areas which are
conflicting with recent country priorities
• Demand driven support might deny a number of
recipient countries the opportunity to use such
resources. Most LDCs and developing countries have
limited capacities to identify their priority issues
• Building AfT on existing initiatives, eg IF
AfT Progress and Challenges (3)
The current state of progress in the AfT process
• A number of donors eg EC supports regional
integration and trade related support. However,
they influence the priorities of the region
• Wider involvement of stakeholders from the public,
private and civil at national to regional level, but
limited participation at international level
• Enforcement of the Paris Declaration on Aid
effectivieness is still wantinga
What needs to be done at to take
forward AfT?
• The critical issue that should be addressed by
AfT is the paradym shift in which the LDC and
developing countries trading performance is
declining
with
the
the
advent
of
globalisation/regionalism
providing
wider
market access/opportunities; and yet all other
countries
are
experiencing
growth,
development and trade expansion.
• In nearly all the LDCs and developing countries
poverty has deepened with liberalisation,
privatisation and globalisation.
There is
therefore need to evaluate every critical issue
with a view to turning around both structural
and economic issues.
What needs to be done at to take
forward AfT? (2)
These will call for some initiatives to be undertaken
at the national and international level.
•
•
•
•
At the National level:
Improve analytical capacity with a view to
understanding the underlying issues to the trade
performance and economic undergedelopmes
Lack of productive capacities to respond and take
advantage of market opportunities at global,
preferntial opoortunities
Inability to take advantage of niche markets,
making use of inernate trade which provides equal
access opportunities for the developed and
developing countries
Skills development
What needs to be done at to take
forward AfT? (3)
Initiatives at the International level (Cont’d):
• Enforcement of pledges and make resources
available to LDC and developing countries
• Enforce fair trade rules
• Avoid disinformation, eg carbon/miles for
developing country exports when they already
meet stringent standards
• Maintain coherence across key support
institutions
What needs to be done at to take
forward AfT?
Initiatives at the National level (Cont’d):
• Investing on technology, expanding FDI,
pattnerships,
• Information dissemination using different modes
of media to improve outreach
• Increase stakeholder participation in both policy
making process and negotiations, prioritisation of
the trade activities,
• Identify issues affecting competitiveness,
• Analyse linkages between trade policies and
poverty reduction,
• Identify supply capacity constraints, address trade
related infrastructure, adjustment costs
associated with liberalisation
How AfT is linked to DDA and to
development and poverty reduction?
• AfT will address supply capacity constrints which
have been a major hindrance to increased trade
flows in light of the increased trade opennings for
LDCs and developing countries under
globalisation
• In addition adjustment costs have also been
incorporated in principle though in reality
resource flow still remains a problem
• Addressing of supply responses and reforms in
the policy and legal frameworks
Linking AfT to DDA and to
development and poverty reduction?
• WTO advocacy role in committing developed
countries to raise additional resources
• WTO monitoring roles and impact assessments to
see if DDA rounds initiatives have been adhered to
• WTO to monitor aid effectiveness
• WTO advocacy with Ministers of finanace to put
more resourses for trade and trade related issues
• Make enterprises competitive and mainstreaming
of MSMEs
Incorporating Stakeholder views into
providing AfT?
• Provide information to stakeholders
• Undertake capacity building activities at all levels
of private, public and civil society
• Operate with same rules irresptive of who the
donor is. This will ensure that resources are
disbursed timely and less time is spent on
beuracracy
• Employ basket funding and cut out on
bureacracies in both directions
• Under take sector wide approaches to support
trade sector
Incorporating Stakeholder views into
providing AfT
• Improve on market signals so that resources are
utilised effectively
• Improve analytical capacities of recipient
countries, this would ensure demand driven
approach
• Direct beneficieries to start paying for information
and training
• Turning recipients to be consumers by way of
ownership of programmes
Incorporating Stakeholder views into
providing AfT
• Stronger voice of the civil society; institutionalise
stakeholder participation
• Strong support institutions
• Tap into local knowledge of the economies
• Mainstreaming trade into development for policy
coherence and improve on coordination
• Build on South-South corporation
Challenges
• Overall the challenges of involving the
the south CSOs in AfT initiatives relate to
limited capacities to analyse implications
of situations on the ground, lack of
resources to participate, limited
partnerships with government, private
sector, research institutions and
academia, etc
• The preparatory process has taken quite
long. There may be too shot a time for
implementation