Making trade work for the poor

Citation

Francis, P.R. (2007), "Making trade work for the poor", Management Decision, Vol. 45 No. 8. https://doi.org/10.1108/md.2007.00145haa.001

Making trade work for the poor

The International Trade Centre (ITC) welcomes this new initiative with Emerald Publishing that showcases new trends and cases where trade is working for the poor.

The springboard for this publication was the Executive Forum on National Export Strategies, an event organised by ITC in September 2006, in cooperation with the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation. The event brought together business, government and NGO leaders to discuss the challenge of making trade work for the poor. Many of the views reflected in this publication spring from the research, debates and discussions at that event.

ITC enables small business export success in developing countries by providing – with partners – trade development solutions to the private sector, trade support institutions and policymakers. As the agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization for business aspects of trade development, ITC puts poverty reduction through trade at the top of its agenda.

It could be argued that the moral challenge of the nineteenth century was ending slavery. In the twentieth century it was to establish democracy. Today in the twenty-first century, our moral challenge is dealing with the disparity of wealth on this abundant planet.

Although trade between countries is skyrocketing as globalisation makes its mark on economies, the world’s 50 poorest countries have not shared in this growth. Even within countries – developing as well as advanced – the gap between rich and poor is growing.

The gap between the haves and have-nots has been with us since ancient times, but up till now poverty reduction has been seen as a social issue and not part of the trade policy agenda. This needs to change. The opportunity to address this problem and the challenge to close that gap have never been greater than today.

Tackling poverty will need to involve multiple players, including local government authorities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), communities, financial institutions, international organisations and the corporate world. Interventions should address the shaping and managing of community aspirations, improving access, and tailoring local solutions. A one-size-fits-all approach will not work.

Working together to reduce poverty through trade is ITC’s central challenge. ITC’s comparative advantage is based on “making trade happen” with a focus on private sector development and export competitiveness. Competitiveness and export development are not ends in themselves. They are means of reducing poverty.

ITC is striving for a demonstrated effect on poverty alleviation. This means taking into account the issues of youth empowerment, gender equality and environmental concerns. It means tapping into ethical trade markets and working more with corporate social responsibility programmes. It means encouraging regional integration. Our poverty reduction programme gives poor people the skills, information and access to profitable global markets.

The innovation, creativity, talent and resources to overcome poverty and meet the millennium development goals exist in developing countries. Building capacities to translate their assets into products and services that can take advantage of global trade opportunities will help developing countries to create more jobs and raise incomes. ITC working with local and international partners helps the businesses in developing countries to understand what is needed to compete and unlock their potential.

We will continue to champion innovative thinking on export strategies and best practices in export development during ITC’s flagship event, now called World Export Development Forum to be held in Montreux, Switzerland in October 2007.

Patricia R. FrancisExecutive Director, International Trade Centre