EU initiatives to strengthen trade policy formulation and implementation in LDCs: Exploring the Need for an Institutional Approach

Martens, Patrick. (2007) EU initiatives to strengthen trade policy formulation and implementation in LDCs: Exploring the Need for an Institutional Approach. In: UNSPECIFIED, Montreal, Canada. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

[From the introduction]. This paper focuses on Trade-Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) provided by the European Union to the Africa Caribbean Pacific (ACP) countries and other Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The context is the centrality of the development dimension in the current Doha Development Round and negotiation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with regional groupings of ACP countries. These countries are challenged to elaborate their trade-related development agendas in the negotiations and the EU has to ensure that its support generates quantitative and qualitative results. Following an approach rooted in institutional theory, donor-driven TRTA is itself considered as an important part of the institutional framework with its own rules and constraints. The analysis of actual EU TRTA, building on the emergent literature, also takes into consideration country case studies and experience ‘in progress’ from a cluster of ‘all ACP’ TRTA programmes. From this some conclusions are drawn. The approach is less concerned with the debates around the key issues in the current Doha Development Round (DDR) and EPAs – market access, tariff and quota liberalization, adjustment and compensation – than how TRTA can best strengthen developing countries’ institutional capacity in trade so that they meet the challenges posed by the rule-based multilateral trading system and alleviate poverty. In the main, while there are emerging good practices and successes, it is concluded that enhanced institutional coherency will impact positively on the quality and results of TRTA.

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