Commonwealth calls for holistic approach to addressing trade barriers
23 Jun 2009
Aid for Trade should not be viewed as a panacea in itself, says Ransford Smith For low income countries to reap maximum returns from the benefits of trade, there is need to address bottlenecks in a comprehensive and holistic manner, Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith has said.
Mr Smith was speaking on 23 June 2009 in
“The need to strengthen the capacity of low income countries to produce goods to put on the markets in the face of the recent crises and the global economic downturn is more pressing now than ever before,” Mr Smith said.
“Aid for Trade should not be viewed as a panacea in itself, but as a complement to effective trade measures to improve market access and address other trade concerns of developing countries.”
The Deputy Secretary-General added: “It is evident that realising the full benefits of trade will require an approach that simultaneously focuses on national development strategies, improvements in the international trade regime, and increased and effective international assistance to develop production and trade capacities.”
Aid for Trade aims to address challenges of high transport costs, red tape, lack of skills and poor product standards, among many others, within poor and low income countries to enable them to compete in the global marketplace.
Mr Smith said that the Commonwealth recognises the critical role aid for trade can play in addressing the above challenges, saying that the funds are particularly critical for countries historically dependent on trade preferences which have now been removed.
Speaking at the same meeting, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Pascal Lamy, welcomed the initiative by ACP countries to prepare them for the forthcoming review of Aid for Trade which will take place on 6 and 7 July 2009, noting that the outcomes of the ACP meeting will be incorporated into the Review.
Source:The Commonwelath Secretariate
