Brussels, 09/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Every dollar invested in aid for the trade of developing countries generates between US$8 and US$20 by allowing those countries to export more, and the EU remained the leading provider of trade facilitation worldwide in 2011, according to the WTO/OECD joint report published in Geneva on Monday 8 July. Entitled “Aid for Trade at a Glance: Connecting to Value Chains”, the report is at the heart of the high-level meeting devoted to the fourth global review of aid for trade, currently underway at WTO headquarters in Geneva (8-10 July). It is being attended by Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, representing the European Commission. In addition to confirming the importance of aid for trade in order to heighten developing countries' trade, the 2013 report, which is based on 2011 data, shows that, despite the global economic crisis, the EU and its member states provided, in 2011, 59% of the global trade facilitation initiative's funding, and therefore maintain their position, since 2008, as top donor worldwide for this kind of aid.
In 2011, the EU and its member states contributed, together, 32% of the global aid for trade, out of the total €9.5 billion.
Trade-related assistance commitments (TRA) (helping to facilitate trade by, for example, improving customs or port facilities, or helping countries to meet EU safety and health standards) meant that the EU and its member states were also major providers in TRA in the world, with 71% of total commitments in 2011 (60% in 2010). Their collective contribution reached €2.8 billion (i.e. an increase of 7.9% compared to the previous year), exceeding the €2 billion target to which they committed in the 2007 joint EU aid for trade strategy.
Africa remains the biggest recipient of aid for trade, with almost 36% of all EU collective aid for trade allocated to the region. In 2011, the sub-Saharan countries increased their share of the total amounts committed to Africa both by the member states (68%) and the EU (82%). Asia receives the second largest share of aid for trade (17% of total in 2011), followed by America (11%), Europe (11%) and Oceania (less than 1%). Twenty-four percent of the EU's aid for trade was allocated to global initiatives covering various regions.
Created in 2007, the global review of aid for trade has become the multilateral forum for the study of development and trade-related issues. (AN/transl.jl)