Aid for Trade

Aid for Trade

in conjunction with

In the last two to three years, there has been a growing discussion of the relationships between trading rules and development and of the best ways to help developing countries use trade to promote development. There has also been a recognition that some changes in the international trading system have significant costs for some developing countries, and that normal aid programmes have not been able to deal with these. In December 2005, the WTO included in its Ministerial Declaration at Hong Kong a commitment to take actions to encourage a new initiative on Aid for Trade. This explicit recognition of a WTO interest in and responsibility for aid has raised high expectations, but there is still little agreement on what Aid for Trade is: what resources it could offer and for what purposes. The WTO has established a Task Force on Aid For Trade which must make recommendations by July 2006.

ODI research
ODI conferences/workshops
Aid for Trade references database
Useful links

ODI research

Keep your promises on Aid for Trade: presentation at the European Parliament - December 2007 (40 KB) Dirk Willem te Velde
Aid for Trade in Africa: report for DATA (193 KB) Massimiliano Cali , Sheila Page , Liz Turner , Dirk Willem te Velde
Aid for Trade: One Year On - ODI Background Briefing (36KB)
Growth and Trade in Africa's Second Generation Poverty Reduction Strategies - Final Report (425KB) Ruth Driscoll, Zainab Kizilbash Agha, Massimiliano Cali, Dirk Willem te Velde
Growth and Trade in Africa's Second Generation PRSs - Annex A: Literature Review (243KB) Zainab Kizilbash Agha with Ruth Driscoll
Growth and Trade in Africa's Second Generation PRSs - Annex B: Analysis of Six Second Generation PRSs (431KB) Massimiliano Cali and Dirk Willem te Velde
Aid for Trade: a New Issue in the WTO, ILEAP Negotiation Advisory Brief No. 16 (804KB) Sheila Page
Scale and Types of Funds for Aid for Trade, ILEAP Negotiation Advisory Brief No. 15 (791KB) Massimiliano Calì

Financing International Public Goods A Framework to Address Aid for Trade, ILEAP Negotiation Advisory Brief No. 14 (964KB) Dirk Willem te Velde

Regional Aid for Trade, ILEAP Negotiation Advisory Brief No. 12 (806KB) Dirk Willem te Velde

The Financial Architecture of Aid for Trade 467KB
For more information on this ongoing project click here
Trade and Aid: Partners or Rivals in Development Policy?
For more information on this book edited by Sheila Page and the launch meeting click here
Special and Differential Treatment of Developing Countries in the WTO
For more information on this projects click here
A critical assessment of the EU's trade-related assistance (TRA) to third countries
– lessons from the past, policy options for the future 666KB
For more information on this project, please click here
Revitalising Services Negotiations at the WTO - can technical assistance help? 182KB

Draft recommendations of the WTO Task Force on Aid for Trade52KB

ODI conferences/workshops

Aid for Trade: One year on. How much, for whom, and the institutional challenges?
24 May 2007
In June 2006, ODI brought together the people who shaped the Aid for Trade proposals. This conference with the leading players on Aid for Trade examines what has been achieved and analyses whether the high expectations for Aid for Trade are being met.
Agenda/summary/audio

Aid for Trade: its role in WTO negotiations and in long-term development
9 June 2006
A policy-focused workshop held at the Overseas Development Institute.
Summary/audio
Part of the ESRC Research Seminar Series on International Trade and Labour Markets

Aid for Trade references database (last updated July 2007)

As part of this research, we have identified reports and policy documents that are relevant to the current discussions on Aid for Trade, and created an indexed database to inform the current policy debate. Funding for the compilation of this database has come from ILEAP.

How to use:

The database is a simple read-only excel spreadsheet. References, as well as giving details on title, author, publisher and date, have been designated up to two thematic areas.
To sort the references, click on the arrow that appears in the title of the column you wish to sort by and select the requisite sort criteria from the drop-down menu. You can refine your search by repeating this action on following columns. To show all references, make sure 'all' is selected on the drop-down menu in all the columns.
To view a reference summary, where provided, select the cell it appears in and read from the formula bar.
Links, where available, have been provided in the final column and lead either directly to the document itself (in pdf format, NB: some are large) or to the website of the requisite publisher/organisation.

Click here for the Aid for Trade References Database