International Trade Forum

Letter From the International Trade Centre

As the developed world has descended into financial crisis, there has been a tidal wave of despair and panic in governments and financial institutions around the world. It remains the International Trade Centre's mandate to help enterprises in developing countries, and those who support them through national and regional trade support institutions, to not only survive the current crisis, but to build for a better future. There have been encouraging signs recently, with the G20 meeting providi...

Global Exit Strategy From Crisis Needed

African Leaders Urge Greater Commitment to Economic Development

New Development Paradigm for Asia and the Pacific

Caribbean Leaders Call for Emphasis On Aid for Trade

The Government Perspective: Boosting Trade and Investment

The G20 London Summit took place at a time of unprecedented economic challenge for world leaders and, fittingly, world leaders agreed on unprecedented action to face these challenges. They know that keeping global markets open and fair is essential in a climate where international trade flows are falling sharply. Leaders' personal commitment to prioritize the Doha Round demonstrated a desire to boost international trade and guard against protectionism. The UK has been a pioneer in linking tra...

The G20: How Much Aid for Trade?

Before the G20 London Summit world leaders had been wrangling over the size of domestic stimulus programs. But as the event unfolded, the G20 leaders shifted their focus towards stimulating the global economy. There was ambiguity about how much of the agreed US$1.1 trillion was genuine new funding, but the Summit at least focused on boosting global liquidity. But if these stimulus measures take a long time to work through, developing countries will grow increasingly frustrated in a crisis not...

The Gender Perspective: Women's Clout - a Way Out

As quoted by OECD, women reinvest 90% of their income in their families and communities, compared with 30%-40% invested by men. Investing in women is an investment in current and future generations. This is why countries need a carefully crafted response to the global financial crisis, which threatens to plunge a further 22 million women into unemployment, according to a recent report by the International Labour Organization. Clearly they need to move beyond the notion of 'gender neutral' res...

Restart Trade Finance: Rebooting the Engine

One of the reasons for the collapse of world trade is insufficient trade credit financing. The World Bank estimates that a fall in the supply of trade finance has contributed some 10% to 15% of the decrease in world trade since the second half of 2008. One clear lesson from the Asian financial crisis is that in periods prone to a lack of trust and transparency, and herd behavior, all actors -- including private banks, export credit agencies and regional development banks -- should pool their ...

Lighting Ladakh: Using Tourism to Overcome Crisis

Farmers livelihood was threatened further by the growing amount of livestock being eaten by snow leopards; predators were reportedly taking 12.4% of livestock, resulting in an annual loss of US$23,250. Retributive killing of snow leopards was rife. A need to curtail this killing sparked the inception of the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust, which led a series of brainstorming sessions with villagers, resulting in the idea that tourism could be a viable option to help supplement livelihood...

The Developing Crisis

Although not at the center of the world's economy, developing countries are at its mercy dependent on trade investment and aid; never is this felt more than in times of crisis. A further concern, common among developing countries, is a lack of diversification in export markets. But the impact of the financial crisis isn't limited to export markets; national incomes are threatened on several fronts. Developing countries are being told to prepare for steep declines in aid donations and remittan...

Sustainable Tourism

Tourism, one of the rarest and most influential industries in the world, is already set up to lead the way in promoting triple bottom line business principles that have immeasurable positive benefits for the environment, societies and cultures. More than ever before, travelers are demanding lower environmental and cultural impacts, and more meaningful interaction with local people in their travel experiences. A company built on the principles of responsible tourism is not only setting itself ...

'Girl Effect'

Women are particularly vulnerable during times of economic downturn -- they're at greatest risk of losing their jobs and, in many developing countries, girls are taken out of school to help support their families. Yet, paradoxically females hold the best hope for improving local economies, according to leading voices that emerged at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. Key areas proposed to maximize this effect would be for governments to implement firm legal protection and the right...

Committed to Conscience

Einstein's message is simple: at moments of distress in business life or in society, it's important that organizations strengthen their commitment to finding groundbreaking solutions. The reality of these words is as meaningful today as ever. They must maintain their commitment to corporate social responsibility. Grupo Santander Brasil is a successful example of a financial institution implementing a strategic model in order to fit a new and changing society. Chosen from 129 financial institu...

Banking On Credit

In 2009, they are not in normal times. The credit blackouts have meant that even those firms with ample access to credit in the past are seeing lines cut, when in fact they need them most. Lack of credit can quickly become more of an insolvency issue, when companies who otherwise are healthy and have good demand are faced with cash flow challenges as their customers delay payment to them. The role of the National Development Banks to ensure that companies have access to affordable credit has ...

Commerce Crossroads

In today's globalized world, trade is a powerful engine for economic growth. International trade activity in goods and services remains the cornerstone support of their financial system, facilitating economic expansion as well as international cooperation and development. For the first time since 1982, international trade is contracting worldwide. Recent World Bank statistics predict the volume of trade in goods and services to drop by 6.1% in 2009, with a significantly sharper contraction in...

The Perils of Protectionism

In attempting to secure their own economies, it's imperative that world leaders resist the temptation of protectionism. Fighting protectionism does not address the causes of the crisis -- for that they need to change the culture of lax risk-management in a booming financial sector. But rejecting protectionism will help to limit transmission of the crisis to other parts of the globe, notably the developing and emerging economies. For trade to remain the engine of growth, it has to be managed n...

Responsibility Lies with the G20

Emerging economies are now directly implicated; their economies are being damaged by a decade of G7 governance failures in financial markets. This changes the type of political guidance that is needed now from the G20. A perverse feedback between recession and protectionism is no longer an historical reminiscence of the 1930s, but a possible scenario today. What G20 leaders did at the London Summit was useful, but they should do more. They should try to get out to front of the crisis and take...

Employment Meltdown

Nations are facing a global jobs crisis. Unemployment is rising rapidly, and is expected to reach 230 million people worldwide this year. They may be headed for a vast prolonged and severe jobs crisis. Just as policy-markets have taken and swift action to respond to the financial and economic downturn, similar bold action is required to address the jobs crisis. First, jobs and social protection must become the bedrock of crisis responses. Second, the response must be coordinated and global. A...

Jobs Crisis has a Woman's Face

In the Asia-Pacific as many as 27 million more people could become unemployed this year, according to the International Labor Organization. Some 140 million others in the region's developing economies could be forced into extreme poverty. Asia's experience during the 1997 economic crisis provides evidence to back this projection. In Thailand, 95% of those laid off from the garment sector were women; in the toys sector, it was 88%. In South Korea, 86% of those who lost their financial services...

Directory