A key to transform economies and meet the Millennium Development Goal to end poverty by 2015 is ensuring that trade becomes part of development policy, with a central role for women and small business.

Innovative approaches to reduce poverty through trade are bringing business, NGOs, government and aid agencies together in new ways.

Branding

Investing in trademarks, geographic indicators of origin and other intellectual property initiatives can help countries add value to a variety of commodities, manufactured goods and services. Brazil is seeking to protect its national drink cachaça by negotiating agreements with the WTO and the European Union on intellectual property rights and national indicators of origin. While only 500,000 litres of cachaça were exported in 1995, 20 million litres were exported to more than 60 countries in 2003 and sales are expected to rise to 38 million litres by 2010. (Source: Brazilian Cachaça Development Program)

Competing and selling: Dance with the Dragon

“Our industrial investors, we tell them, learn to dance with the Chinese, the Chinese Dragon, because they export so much. You have to face reality.”
Enrique Mantilla, President of the Argentinean Chamber of Exporters (CERA)

Reducing intra-regional barriers

Recent research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows that the potential benefit from freer South–South trade may indeed be at least as large as the gains that developing countries can obtain from better access to rich countries’ markets (North–South trade). Intra-regional trade agreements in Latin America and the Caribbean, such as MERCOSUR or CARICOM, are fostering trade between neighbouring countries. For example, over the last 30 years, internal trade in the Andean common market grew five times faster than trade with outside partners. (Source: Oxfam)

Targeting entrepreneurs

“Our slogan in the Egyptian Business Women’s Association is: financial independence gives you the power of choice and voice. We have a marketing committee that goes to women entrepreneurs to see what products they have and what they need, such as product development, finishing and quality control. We bring them together into sectors — we have a very good sector for garments, textiles and jewellery. And we try to create marketing tools — brochures and CDs — and organize fairs locally, regionally and internationally. If they cannot be present, we make the contacts for them.”
Amany Asfour, President, Egyptian Business Women’s Association

Changing needs, changing role

“Despite favourable trade trends, competition continues to rise, and national trade bodies find themselves at the centre of national effort to ensure that their client enterprises, particularly small firms, become or remain globally competitive. This requires trade promotion organizations (TPOs) to be more proactive, to constantly seek ways of improving their customer relations management, establishing closer and longer-term relationships.

Joint solutions

“Some countries that participated in the Integrated Framework have told us, we have already been studied enough: now we need solutions. Part of the homework we need to do with ITC immediately is taking those diagnoses and seeing how we build programmes now to deliver services to countries.”
Kandeh K. Yumkella, Director-General, UNIDO

A Peruvian entrepreneur, far from the capital, turns plantain bananas, a low-return commodity, into chips, a high-value export. Finding a training partner in management skills proved the key to moving this Peruvian exporter up the value chain.

Romania’s national strategy connects regions, towns and villages. The aim is to build a broader base of exporters and a new range of exports that meet demands in new markets, especially in the European Union.

A Botswana entrepreneur, inspired to make his continent a safer and cleaner place, is using his South–South connections to expand his waste sanitation business.

Targeted programmes help women exporters get the assistance they need.

Oman used ITC’s tools for an integrated solution to diversify exports in its oil-fuelled economy.

ITC’s roadmap for the future emerged during the most recent meeting of its Joint Advisory Group, held in April this year. The aim is to move ITC from having strong products to delivering strategic solutions for its clients. Products and programmes are being reorganized to provide comprehensive solutions to clients. ITC aims to work in partnership with a range of agencies, addressing issues of poverty, ethical markets and social responsibility. Coherence among development providers at country level is critical. ITC will take a more integrated approach to designing and delivering assistance, through strategic partnerships.

In 2009, a major international colloquium on women’s leadership will take place in Liberia, convened by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and President Tarja Halonen of Finland.

ITC is upgrading its flagship event, the Executive Forum on National Export Strategies, to reflect the leadership position that ITC has achieved in export development and export competitiveness — an area that ITC intends to reinforce and expand.

Business matchmaking and development advocacy go hand-in-hand for ITC at the latest gathering in Cape Town.

From trade policy to project design, listening to the voice of business is the key to making sure that Aid for Trade really boosts exports.

The latest annual meeting of UN buyers allowed South African firms to make new business contacts, building on an ITC partnership with South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry.

European importers of organic products meet Ugandan exporters and farmers face to face on ITC’s Buyers’ Tour.

Officials, tourist industry leaders and community organizations from South Africa’s Eastern Cape province met in Port Elizabeth in June to ensure the region uses the 2010 FIFA World Cup to create a solid basis for reducing poverty, through a lasting boom in tourism.

For successful trade defence, business and government need a shared system and understanding. ITC worked with the newest WTO member to set up the foundations.

Interview — Sambuu Demberel

Meet a long-standing partner at the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

New guides on tariffs, food safety and quality management to help exporting small firms boost their international competitiveness.

ITC produces a variety of international trade bulletins which complement its books and technical papers. To subscribe, contact the relevant sections of ITC.

Business Guide to Trade Remedies in the United States: Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguards legislation, practices and procedures

226 pages, revised edition. Guide to trade remedy procedures (anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard) aimed at exporters from developing countries and transition economies, with particular reference to trade remedy legislation and practices of the United States. Examines origins of trade remedies and their administration in the country under review; considers role of institutions responsible for trade remedy administration and the WTO rules governing trade remedies (WTO Agreements on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and WTO Agreement on Safeguards). Presents procedural framework for the United States’ unfair trade remedies; discusses trade remedy investigations and actions; includes Internet guide to the United States trade remedy law.

To order online, visit ITC's e-shop at http://www.intracen.org/eshop