1st November 2001

Technical Assistance Services in Trade-Policy: A Contribution to the discussion on capacity-building in the WTO

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Over the last six years, bilateral donors and multilateral agencies, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been mobilising increasingly more, though still limited, means for technical co-operation programmes in the field of trade policy. Considering the magnitude of needs in developing countries, particularly as we move towards new trade talks, and the limited amount of resources at disposal, the effectiveness of these programmes in delivering tangible results is becoming an issue of utmost importance.

The purpose of this study is to provide a short overview of policies and procedures used by major multilateral agencies when formulating, implementing and assessing capacity building programmes in the field of trade policy. The objective is not to advocate any specific model of technical co-operation, but rather to pave the way for a much-needed international debate on trade policy related technical assistance (TA) by bringing to bear the experience of other organisations. With this in mind, the paper looks at institutional mechanisms provided by these agencies and presents the opinions of leading experts on capacity-building on the current state of such programmes, as well as future options. The study focuses on the WTO and, to a lesser extent, on other leading multilateral institutions in traderelated TA, such as the International Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Bank as well as relevant non-governmental initiatives.

The study was commissioned to Mr. Michel Kostecki, currently Director of the “Institut de l’Entreprise” of the University of Neuchâtel, who has been involved in trade-related technical cooperation programmes for many years. It was carried out through an extensive review of existing material and a series of in-depth interviews with international civil servants as well as a balanced group of experts from both developed and developing countries, including providers and beneficiaries of TA. ICTSD would like to wholeheartedly thank all these contributors for their time and the inestimable input they provided to this paper.

Soon after the beginning of the study in May 2000, the WTO embarked on a thorough review of its TA services. This review resulted, among other things, in a reorganisation of WTO technical cooperation, including the creation of a new cross division Management Committee to oversee the strategy, priority setting and review of spending priorities; a Technical Cooperation Audit responsible for monitoring and evaluation; and a WTO Training Institute providing trade policy courses, training of trainers, distance learning services and cooperation with universities and other institutions. A board made up of international organisations (UNCTAD, ITC, World Bank) and academics advises the institute and monitors its training activities. More recently, WTO Members endorsed, as part of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, a “New Strategy for WTO Technical Cooperation for Capacity Building, Growth and Integration”, and instructed the Secretariat to develop a plan to ensure long-term funding.

In spite of these new developments, the substantial analysis provided in this paper remains accurate and the need for an international debate on the effectiveness of trade policy related technical cooperation, more pressing than ever. With the launch of a new round of trade negotiations in Doha, strengthening developing countries’ capacity to implement existing agreement, as well as to formulate trade policy and participate in negotiations is not only crucial, but might also become a “deal maker/breaker”. While these needs have been recognised explicitly in different paragraphs of the Doha Declaration (see Annex VI), views still diverge on the effectiveness of TA services in delivering tangible results and responding to specific needs expressed by developing countries.

In this context, knowledge of the various TA schemes provided by key multilateral agencies, their processes and their assessment by independent experts can help move the debate forward and contribute to the establishment of better practices and instruments in the interest of sustainable development as a superior public goal.