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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.

unctad

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(unctad)

Summary of activities included in this category
Global Advocacy

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.

icao

INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION(icao)

Summary of activities included in this category
Air Transport Policy and Regulation Programme
unctad

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(unctad)

Summary of activities included in this category
Assistance to WTO accession

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.

ceb

CEB Inter-Agency Cluster on Trade and Productive Capacity(ceb)

Summary of activities included in this category
Export
Loans and grants
Equity operations
Project financing
unctad

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(unctad)

Summary of activities included in this category
The BioTrade initiative

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.

icao

INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION(icao)

Summary of activities included in this category
Economic development of air transport
unctad

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(unctad)

Summary of activities included in this category
Policy advice on commodities

Trade promotion capacity building

This category includes both direct support to exporters and the building of institutions in-country which will provide such support. It is different from many of the other categories in its direct relationship to the private sector.

unctad

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(unctad)

Summary of activities included in this category
Statistical Capacity Building

Market and Trade Information

Market information and trade information services are different in their focus and methods. Market information is about sub-sectors and products, while trade information focuses on the aggregate level, including data on trade flows, policies affecting trade, and trends in these. Market information is usually targeted at traders. Trade information is, broadly speaking, intended to be used by policy-makers.

unctad

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(unctad)

Summary of activities included in this category
Trade analysis and research

Trade Facilitation

This category covers the development, harmonization, and implementation of the rules and procedures which govern how goods cross borders.

unctad

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(unctad)

Summary of activities included in this category
TRADE LOGISTICS: TRANSPORT AND FACILITATION

E-commerce Services & Digital Economy

This category includes capacity building activities directed to development of e-commerce from the perspective of the physical and regulatory factors, for example reducing barriers to trade across distance via electronic marketplaces, development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks. 

icao

INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION(icao)

Summary of activities included in this category
eTrade for All
unctad

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(unctad)

Summary of activities included in this category
UNCTAD's work on ICT policies for development