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Global Advocacy

The global advocacy category covers services that are designed to promote the use of trade as a development tool and to encourage sup­port for developing countries’ efforts to improve their trade capacity building. This includes analysis and dissemination of trade-related information, promoting understanding of the relationship between trade and development, and supporting policies. Some agencies pro­vide information on and support for the interactions between their more specialized interests and trade.

itc

International Trade Centre(itc)

Summary of activities included in this category
General Information
Understanding and addressing SME Competitiveness
Awareness of new issues in international trade
Strategies for export development
undp

United Nations Development Programme(undp)

Summary of activities included in this category
Trade and Sustainable Development
wbg

WORLD BANK GROUP (wbg)

Summary of activities included in this category
Global dialogue on trade and development

Legal and Regulatory Framework

Assistance under this category includes helping countries to bring their own regulations into conformity with international rules, more general help to improve their legal institutions, and training officials to deal with such rules. A number of the agencies specialise in par­ticular areas, rather than trying to provide expertise on the legal rules in all sectors. For several, the aim is to balance trade-related obli­gations with other national (or international) interests.

itc

International Trade Centre(itc)

Summary of activities included in this category
Legal aspects of foreign trade
Non-Tariff Measures
undp

United Nations Development Programme(undp)

Summary of activities included in this category
Extractive Industries for Sustainable Development
wbg

WORLD BANK GROUP (wbg)

Summary of activities included in this category
Advisory work on trade regulations and procedures

Supply Capacity

In line with the trade focus of this Guide, support activities to develop supply capacity are considered to be those that aim to increase the availability of goods and services for export. There is no easy distinction between this and building more general capacity to pro­duce, and this distinction is becoming less pertinent as borders open and competition in local markets from imports increases. Some agencies do not make this distinction in their projects.

itc

International Trade Centre(itc)

Summary of activities included in this category
Value Added to Trade Programme
Modular Learning System on Supply Chain Management
undp

United Nations Development Programme(undp)

Summary of activities included in this category
Productive capacity, inclusive business and value chains

Compliance support infrastructure and services

Assistance in this category is closely related to that under the Legal and Regulatory Framework, but places more emphasis on building the institutions in developing countries to implement such legal frameworks, and less on the details of compliance. It is an area where the specialised agencies again have the main role

itc

International Trade Centre(itc)

Summary of activities included in this category
Standards and quality management

Trade Policy Development

Agencies’ assistance to trade policy development is generally provided in four areas: design and implementation of trade policy; specific developing country issues in trade (such as commodity exports and preferences); support in trade negotiations; and assistance in man­aging the interactions between trade and other policies.

itc

International Trade Centre(itc)

Summary of activities included in this category
The private sector in trade policy
Increasing capacity for trade policy formulation
undp

United Nations Development Programme(undp)

Summary of activities included in this category
Mainstreaming trade
wbg

WORLD BANK GROUP (wbg)

Summary of activities included in this category
TRADE POLICY