Development and building trade capacity
Acknowledgements
This volume has been produced under the WTO Chairs Programme (WCP) a WTO capacity-building programme launched upon the initiative of Hakim Ben Hammouda and Patrick Low in 2010. The WCP is jointly managed by the WTO’s Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation and Economic Research and Statistics Division under the direction of Bridget Chilala and Robert Teh respectively. The editors thank Fatima Chaudhri and Gerardo Thielen for their contribution to the initial stages of this book project and Clémence Gros for editorial assistance. Anthony Martin and Helen Swain are thanked for managing the production process of the volume.
Gender Welfare Effects of Regional Trade Integration on Households in Ghana
Over the past two to three decades a number of developing countries have pursued regional economic integration to harmonize trade policies and increase their weight in global trade. Economic integration particularly in Africa has also been seen as a way to diversify the structure of African economies boost intra-African trade and investment build supply capacity and sustainably reduce poverty (Osakwe 2015). These integration efforts have resulted in the creation of regional blocs such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and Arab Maghreb Union (AMU). The trade-related objectives of these blocs include the establishment of custom unions with a common external tariff (CET) as a major trade policy instrument.
Introducción
La globalización está transformando el desarrollo. Como se examina en la presente sección por su alcance y rapidez la expansión reciente del mundo en desarrollo carece de precedentes deja en segundo plano el ascenso de los países que iniciaron su industrialización tras la segunda guerra mundial y hace parecer raquítico el anterior crecimiento de Europa y América del Norte a finales del siglo XIX. Son muchas las razones por las que el mundo en desarrollo ha logrado su despegue económico. Una de las más importantes es su integración en la economía mundial y como resultado el nuevo acceso a los mercados la tecnología y las inversiones. Este auge del mundo en desarrollo una de las cuatro tendencias recientes analizadas aquí ofrece nuevas oportunidades de desarrollo pero también plantea problemas nuevos como ocurre asimismo en el caso de las otras tres tendencias a saber la expansión de las cadenas de producción el aumento de los precios de los productos básicos y la creciente interdependencia económica.
Note sur le Programme de chaires de l’OMC
Lancé en 2010 le Programme de chaires de l’OMC (PCO) est un projet de renforcement des capacités qui vise à améliorer la connaissance et la compréhension du système commercial chez les universitaires et les décideurs des pays en développement en stimulant l’élaboration des programmes d’enseignement la recherche et les activités de liaison au niveau des universités et des établissements de recherche. Des renseignements sur le PCO sont disponibles à l’adresse suivante : www.wto.org/wcp.
Recent patterns of global production and GVC participation
Taking advantage of a new accounting method to decompose GDP production into pure domestic production traditional trade simple and complex GVC activities this chapter examines recent trends in global value chain (GVC) activities across the world. Our main findings show that the pace of GVC activities picked up in 2017 after a period of slow down since 2012; intra-North American and intra-European GVC activities declined relative to inter-regional transactions due to higher penetration via Factory Asia but value chains still remain largely regional; China is increasingly playing an important role as both a supply and demand hub in traditional trade and simple GVC networks although the US and Germany are still the most important hubs in complex GVC networks; bilateral trade balances are significantly affected by the supply and demand of third countries; and net imports are no longer a proper measure of the impact of international trade on the domestic economy in the age of GVCs.
Impact of informality on trade and growth
The effects of a large informal economy on a country’s capacity to engage in international trade have not yet been the subject of extensive empirical research. Several case studies of experiences in individual countries show diverging results or at the very least allow a contradictory reading of the evidence. Nevertheless the impact of informality on certain proximate causes for trade and growth has been analysed both theoretically and empirically.
Standards and Trade Development Facility
The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) is a global partnership that facilitates safe inclusive trade and development outcomes in support of the UN’s 2030 agenda. Established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) the World Bank Group (WBG) the World Health Organization (WHO) and the WTO the STDF promotes improved food safety and animal and plant health capacity in developing countries to help imports and exports to meet SPS requirements for trade based on international standards. By convening and connecting diverse stakeholders from across its projects and other work and by piloting and learning from innovative collaborative and cross-cutting approaches the STDF influences and acts as a catalyst for SPS capacity development work globally including in Africa (STDF 2019).
Options for graduating LDCs
The international community is aware of the challenges associated with LDC Graduation and has been engaged with the graduating LDCs to ensure smooth transitions. The UN General Assembly has invited the graduating LDCs to prepare smooth transition strategies and to outline the steps and support needed to help them remain on a sustained path of growth and development. Several graduating LDCs have prepared or are in the process of preparing their respective strategies to embrace graduation. Recognizing LDC Graduation as an important milestone of the development progress the UN General Assembly has also called on WTO members to consider extending to a graduated country the existing S&D provisions and exemptions available to LDCs for a period appropriate to the development situation.
Can developing countries use SPS standards to gain access to markets? The case of Mercosur
The role of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards in agri-business has changed over the past decade from being a technical instrument to avoid the use of food safety animal and plant health measures for protectionist purposes to being a competitive instrument in differentiated product markets (Reardon et al. 2001). The change from mass markets to differentiated and niche markets for consumers with higher purchasing power triggered this shift towards SPS measures as a strategic tool for developing and differentiating markets gaining market access coordinating the quality and safety of the food system and defining market niches for those products. On the demand side high-income consumers with varied and sophisticated tastes have buttressed this change and on the supply side so have production processing and distribution technologies that allow for product differentiation and market extension and segmentation (Reardon et al. 2001).
Remerciements
Ce troisième ouvrage «S’adapter à l’ère du commerce numérique : défis et possibilités» préparé sous les auspices du Programme de chaires de l’OMC (PCO) contient des contributions de titulaires de chaires de l’OMC pendant les phases I et II du programme de membres du Conseil consultatif de l’équipe du Secrétariat de l’OMC chargée du PCO et de fonctionnaires de l’Organisation qui ont assuré la relecture de certains chapitres et fait part de leurs points du vue sur les analyses et conclusions des titulaires de chaires. Il comporte un total de 16 chapitres et 13 commentaires qui fournissent divers éclairages sur le commerce numérique. Plusieurs chapitres ont été présentés en tant que documents de travail lors de l’activité parallèle de l’Aide pour le commerce qui s’est tenue à l’OMC du 3 au 5 juillet 2019 et lors d’une séance de travail relative au PCO qui s’est tenue le 9 octobre 2019 dans le cadre du Forum public. Durant ces activités les membres du Conseil consultatif les universitaires les délégués les décideurs et les représentants de la société civile ont eu la possibilité de formuler des observations au sujet des documents et d’examiner les options politiques émanant des analyses.
Integration into Global and Regional Value Chains – How Is It Done? The Experience of Lesotho in the Textiles and Apparel Sector
Lesotho is a landlocked least-developed economy and a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) the oldest customs union (CU) in the global economy. Forty per cent of the population lives under the poverty line. The economic base is narrow reliant on the textiles and apparel industry (for 59 per cent of total exports) subsistence agriculture remittances regional customs revenue and a degree of manufacturing. The apparel industry and agriculture constitute the backbone of the economy and the main employer. Faced with Lesotho’s geo-economic circumstances and development challenges the trade and economic response of government has been strategic. Domestic economic policy and structural reforms accompanied by a policy of economic diversification trade openness and integration have been pursued. A trade development plan was carefully designed for active integration into regional and global value chains. These measures have yielded significant welfare gains and economic livelihood dividends. Trade and economic policies are reviewing the next generation of reforms inter alia in the sectors of mining electricity and tourism which face challenges but have potential for growth. This chapter identifies and discusses the specific steps in the trade policy plan for Lesotho’s successful integration into the textile and apparel value chain specifically and more broadly into a global value chain.
Converging thoughts on digital trade in preparing for the future
There is a growing convergence on the view that the factor having had the most significant impact on trade in recent years is the introduction of new and innovative technologies. The speed and intensity of the IT evolution are affecting trade and more generally our day-to-day lives in unprecedented ways. It has rendered interactions possible between humans between humans and machines and between machines in ways that could not be imagined even a few years ago. The digital era is a new reality and it is driving economic growth and development. It poses both challenges and opportunities on all levels. It offers an opportunity for developing countries to better participate in international trade e.g. through global value chains (GVCs) but there is no prescription how to do that.
Avant-propos du Directeur général
Cette année le Rapport sur le commerce mondial examine comment le commerce et les autres facteurs de changement façonnent notre monde. Il associe l’analyse des faits contemporains à une réflexion sur l’avenir. L’approche adoptée est éclectique reflétant la multiplicité des forces en jeu. L’interaction de ces forces est multidirectionnelle et complexe et le changement est rapide
La fiscalité du commerce électronique international : les particularités russes
Les taux d’imposition applicables au commerce électronique en Russie doivent rester modérés étant donné le faible volume des opérations du pays dans ce domaine (des taux plus élevés n’entraîneraient donc qu’une faible augmentation des recettes fiscales) et l’importance de ses perspectives de croissance (les recettes fiscales d’un secteur développé pourraient ainsi être élevées à l’avenir). La fiscalité des activités de commerce électronique de la Fédération de Russie (Russie) présente deux défis importants. Tout d’abord les produits de consommation achetés directement à des vendeurs en ligne étrangers bénéficient de nombreux avantages fiscaux par rapport aux importations achetées dans des points de vente russes ce qui compromet la rentabilité des importateurs russes et réduit les recettes fiscales. Deuxièmement la taxe sur la valeur ajoutée (TVA) imposée aux exportateurs étrangers de services électroniques est source d’incertitude car la définition juridique des services électroniques est floue et entrave les opérations des entreprises multinationales en Russie dans la mesure où la TVA s’applique aux importations de services entre entreprises. Les autorités russes sont en train de mettre en place des systèmes automatisés de perception des taxes et des droits de douane sur le commerce électronique transfrontières calculant la compensation de la TVA versée aux exportateurs et comptabilisant les recettes des magasins en ligne. Ces systèmes aideront à éviter les abus du système fiscal et à réduire les coûts de conformité pour les entreprises.
The role of trade and trade policy in the development process
Different aspects of the development process have been emphasized by the many scholars and observers who have ventured into this field. The seminal work of Sen (1999) identifies freedom as both the primary end and principal means of development. The Brundtland Commission stressed that development must involve the care and nurturing of the environment for future generations. Others have focused particularly on poverty reduction and the empowerment of poor people. All these approaches consider economic growth a vital component of the development process while emphasizing that development is about more than growth.
The rise of global value chains
Fragmentation of global production is not a new phenomenon but its importance has been growing over time. This trend has resulted from technological innovations in communication and transportation which have lowered coordination costs allowing countries to specialize in production of specific tasks or components rather than entire final products. This section looks at how the nature scale and scope of global value chains (GVCs) have changed dramatically during the last two decades. It examines how GVCs can offer developing countries opportunities to integrate into the world economy at lower costs but highlights that gains from GVC integration are not automatic. It considers the risks posed by GVC participation and how various policies are correlated with countries’ participation in GVCs.