| Project Detail |
Project Name Aid for Trade for Inclusive Growth, 2023–2025 (Subproject 3)
Project Number 52189-004
Country / Economy Regional
Project Status Active
Project Type / Modality of Assistance Technical Assistance
The knowledge and support technical assistance (TA) cluster on Aid for Trade for Inclusive Growth was approved on 22 January 2019. The TA cluster supports the knowledge contribution of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to the Aid for Trade initiative led by the World Trade Organization (WTO), including participation in the biennial Aid for Trade Global Review, and brings together stakeholders to advance the Aid for Trade agenda in a coordinated and effective manner. ADBs main contribution consists of a research report, Aid for Trade in Asia and the Pacific, launched at the Global Review. The TA cluster comprises three subprojects included in the management-approved annual work program for the Economic Research and Development Impact Department (ERDI) as a policy research agenda for the benefit of developing member countries (DMCs) for 2019-2025. The Cluster TA subproject 3 will cover the publication of the Aid for Trade in Asia and the Pacific 2024 report, guided by the 9th Global Review theme in 2024 that focuses on "Partnerships for Food Security, Digital Connectivity, and Mainstreaming Trade. To provide a solid empirical and analytical foundation for its content, the TA subproject will commission background research papers to supplement research of the Regional Cooperation and Integration Division of ERDI. Outputs include: (i) Aid for Trade in Asia and the Pacific 2024 report published and disseminated; (ii) knowledge sharing events organized; and (iii) background papers published.
Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy
As emerged in the 2022 Monitoring and Evaluation Exercise, efforts by developing countries to mainstream trade, including sustainability objectives and poverty reduction strategies in their national development plans are on-going. However, developing countries and least developed countries face various constraints including lack of access to finance, in particular grants and soft loans, a deficit of data measurement capabilities, shortfalls in institutional capacity, gaps in the availing of technical assistance, lack of access to environmentally sound technology and technology transfer options, and information deficits. As part of its trade mainstreaming component, a thematic focus of the biennium work program and of the 2024 Global Review on Aid for Trade will be placed on the opportunities identified by developing countries for sustainable economic and export diversification, as well as supply chain resilience, emphasizing how Aid for Trade can be mobilized by Aid for Trade stakeholders for such opportunities.
More frequent and severe climate events also highlight the need for the region to work together to address the threat that climate change poses to livelihoods, economic growth, safety, and well-being. Along with these, social safety nets need to be strengthened to protect the most vulnerable, and measures taken to improve agricultural productivity and food security. Thus, ADBs Aid for Trade 2024 report will focus on navigating global climate policy dynamics to catalyze sustainable trade competitiveness. There is scope for aid for trade to support developing Asia to explore ways to transform the challenges of the changing trade environment into opportunities through the development of a green trade policy and intensified regional and multilateral cooperation pursuing lower tariffs on environmental goods, reduced trade restrictions on environmental services, adoption of environmental standards and promotion of green technology transfers. Given the complex trade and climate change nexus, Aid for Trade can complement concessional climate finance programs by focusing on building productive capacities and infrastructure, and improving regulatory frameworks for sustainable trade. Aid for Trade can also be provided to increase productive capacity and strengthen efforts to diversify export sectors and destinations, while taking into account the growing emergence of carbon pricing and border carbon adjustments in other large trading partners.
Impact
Opportunities for further trade growth in Asia and the Pacific maximized.
DMCs integration into the global economy heightened through increased trade openness. |
