Trade Policy Note Final-rev08 - Development

supported by measures that ensure that the benefits of export growth are shared
equitably, and (c) the protection of food security and rural livelihoods, should set in
play a virtuous spiral of growth, poverty reduction and human development. The
objective of trade negotiations should be the preservation of national policy space
needed for development and achievement of the MDGs, while obtaining
commitments from trading partners supportive of these development objectives.
Preparing a Strategy
A first step would be to review trade policies (i.e. trade in the broad sense of covering
all matters subject to “trade” concessions) to target those most conducive to pro-poor
and pro-development outcomes and the achievement of the MDGs. These can be
divided into those where the maintenance of domestic policy space would seem
crucial, and those where the objective would be to obtain action on the part of other
countries, with the support of policy measures at the national level. Policy measures
at the national and international levels would focus on (a) preventing the poor from
bearing the burden of trade disciplines and liberalization and (b) equipping poorer
people to derive maximum benefit from trade and globalization. In both cases, the
achievement of the MDGs would be a central objective.
Governments which have not clearly defined their interests and goals inevitably find
themselves on the defensive in trade negotiations. A pro-development trade policy not
solidly based on a broad national consensus will not be defensible for long in
negotiations, as it will come under pressure from foreign trade negotiators,
multilateral financial institutions and special interest groups within the country. A
solid consensus building exercise should, therefore, be seen as a prerequisite for
effective participation in trade negotiations. This is to preempt the risk of “elite
capture”, where special interests are successful in distorting priorities to serve their
own interests at the expense of other segments of society. This can result in
undermining development strategies and give rise to political conflict. An intensive
consensus building process involving all stakeholders can greatly strengthen the
ability of governments to achieve a pro development, pro-poor outcome in trade
negotiations. A consensus should be reached on a list of priorities to be pursued in
trade negotiations, whether at the multilateral, regional or bilateral level.
This strategy would incorporate pro-poor and pro-development objectives into
national trade legislation and regulation, and anticipate the requests of trading
partners so as to prepare to protect existing pro-MDG programmes and preserve
policy space for future initiatives. A bottom-up pro-poor and pro-development trade
strategy could be devised so as to attain the following goals in domestic policy and
trade negotiations:
Goal A: to protect the most vulnerable segments of the population and to ensure
greater equality within national societies, notably by providing universal access to
basic services , health, education, water and sanitation and energy, and to protect poor
farmers from disruptive surges of imports that could threaten their livelihoods.
Negotiating strategy: to defend national policies and regulations in negotiations
on trade in services and investment, (Sections 6 and 7) and flexibilities in
agricultural trade regimes, (Section 5), and of ensuring access to medicines
(Section 9).
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