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Aid for trade Brussels, 17 July 2008
Making trade work for development: Commission publishes brochure on trade and development
The Commission published a brochure on trade and development. The publication outlines 18 case studies, where trade-related assistance has been instrumental in making trade boost the development potential of less developed countries (LDCs), Landlocked states, Small Island and Developing States and other low income countries. Trade-related assistance projects address issues such as Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS), quality testing and standards, compliance and regulation, private sector support, trade facilitation, and fair trade.
Case studies include: a horticulture project in Kenya, a textile project in Bangladesh, support for Dominican bakers, lychee trade in Madagascar, Ukrainian foodstuffs production, Egyptian export capability, Ugandan development of its private sector, Thai exports' health, safety and environmental standards, organic cotton production in Paraguay, border management and trade in former Soviet republics in Central Asia, Fijian women's entrepreneurship in the natural body products' sector, Filipino fish exports, Southern African Development Community (SADC) programme to increase trade in the region and with Europe, quality management standards in West Africa, small businesses in Algeria, the AL-Invest project between the EU and Latin America, Vietnam's WTO accession, and the Mauritian fishing industry.
BACKGROUND
On 15 October 2007 the EU adopted the EU Aid for Trade Strategy to help developing countries adapt to the rules of the world trading system and use trade to help fight poverty and achieve sustainable development. Already the largest global provider of development assistance, the EU is also the leader in funding initiatives to increase the capacity of developing countries to trade. The poorest countries in the world receive unilateral tariff- and quota-free access to European markets. But they keep losing market shares and are strongly dependent from a limited number of commodities. Aid for Trade aims at boosting local governments' capacity to diversify their country's economy, promoting entrepreneurship and helping improve technical and logistical facilities in ports and laboratories, or directly assisting exporters in meeting EU health and safety standards. Even before launching the Aid for Trade strategy in 2007, between 2001 and 2006 the EU allocated €3.5 billion to trade-related assistance for poorest countries.
Brochure available in English, French and Spanish
More information, including on the "Export Helpdesk" service which is instrumental in providing advice on Aid for Trade
Export Helpdesk general information
European Commission Delegations & Offices