The fourth global review of Aid for Trade was held between 8 and 10 July 2013. The closing remarks by the Director General reminded the participants that the main targets of the program are to bring down trading costs while adding value to the trade of developing countries. The future agenda of the program must be set up so that the work is measurable and the participants are accountable.
Key issues highlighted by the discussions during the review include access to trade finance, trade facilitation, standard setting, skills, infrastructure and the business and investment climate. These issues all influence the costs of trading which can be very high, excluding firms from trade even if their product is priced competitively. The Aid for Trade program will aim to reduce trading costs especially for SMEs.
The exports of developing countries need to be upgraded by adding value to the goods and services they produce. This involves analysis of where their comparative advantage lies and how this can be leveraged to focus on improved exports. The correct analytical tools must be made available for this task and more focus could be brought to bear on technical assistance in this area.
