UNCTAD Support to Negotiations at the WTO

Content rated: 4.00 out of 4 (1 vote)

Short description

UNCTAD manages a trust fund to assist developing countries in their negotiations on trade facilitation at the WTO. To date, the Governments of Sweden and of Spain have provided financing for a multi-donor Trust Fund on trade facilitation.

The WTO General Council decided on 1 August 2004 to commence negotiations, inter alia, on Trade Facilitation (see “July Package”, WT/L/579). Recognizing the need for effective, operational and coherent technical assistance and capacity building in the field of trade facilitation, the General Council invited relevant international organizations, including UNCTAD, to undertake a collaborative effort in this regard.

UNCTAD is contributing to this collaborative effort through the organization and co-sponsoring of workshops, the publication of Technical Notes, and cooperation with other organizations in specific trade facilitation activities.

Type

Capacity building

Topics

Bilateral and regional transit agreements , Building TTF Partnerships , Economic Development and Trade Facilitation , Free trade agreements , Market access , Multilateral trade negotiations , The problems of landlocked countries , Trade Facilitation and competitiveness , Trade Liberalization and Facilitation , Trade Policies and Non-Tariff Barriers , Transit , Transport Operations , TTF promotion , WTO Trade Facilitation Negotiations

Goals

This Trust Fund aims at assisting developing countries members of WTO in better understanding the issues at stake, in defining their positions regarding the treatment of trade facilitation within the context WTO negotiations on trade facilitation, and in formulating the modalities for an effective implementation of the negotiated commitments. The Trust Fund seeks to help Geneva- and capital-based negotiators from developing countries and from least developed countries to better understand the scope and implications of the negotiated trade facilitation measures.

Scope and activities

UNCTAD will cooperate with other international organizations, in particular through the Global Facilitation Partnership GFP. The volume of the activities foreseen under this Trust Fund will be adjusted in light of resource availability.

Status

On-going

Type of funding

Grant

Main contact

Jan Hoffmann

Partners

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development - UNCTAD

Lead Partners

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development - UNCTAD

Geographic coverage

Regions:
Countries:
Global: Yes

Events

WTO Regional Seminar on Trade Facilitation for French-Speaking African Countries , WTO / UNCTAD /World Bank/ WCO workshop for French speaking African countries , UN-ECLAC workshop on trade facilitation implementation , Regional workshop on Trade Facilitation for Asian countries , Subregional workshop on Trade Facilitation for South Asian countries , Angola National workshop on Trade Facilitation , UNCTAD Workshop on GATT Articles V, VIII and X , UNCTAD Workshop on WTO Negotiations on TF for Caribbean countries , WTO National Seminar on Trade Facilitation , UNCTAD Workshop on GATT Articles V, VIII and X , Regional Workshop on Trade Facilitation for English-speaking Arab and Middle East Countries , UNCTAD Workshop for Central and Land-locked Asian countries , Regional workshop on Trade Facilitation for Central America

Fully online

No

Selected Activity

No