Southern and Eastern Africa, the Doha Agenda and Aid for Trade

The report examines the 'aid for trade' concept, which aims to help developing countries, particularly least-developed countries (LDCs), build supply-side capacity and infrastructure to benefit from the multilateral trading system. It analyzes the recommendations of the WTO Task Force on Aid for Trade, the role of the African Group, and the impact of other initiatives like the Enhanced Integrated Framework (IF) and Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU. The author argues that for aid for trade to be effective in southern and eastern Africa, it must be driven by the recipient countries, integrated into national development strategies, and delinked from market access concessions in the Doha Round.

• The WTO Task Force on Aid for Trade identified six core categories of activities: trade policy and regulations, trade development, trade-related infrastructure, building productive capacity, trade-related adjustment, and other trade-related needs.
• The African Group's position on aid for trade emphasizes that the initiative must be owned by Africa, provide additional funds in grant form without conditional ties, and not be used as a substitute for the development promises of the Doha Development Agenda.
• The WTO Task Force recommended that aid for trade be guided by the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, which focuses on ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results, and mutual accountability.
• The Enhanced Integrated Framework (IF) for LDCs includes an increase in funding to $400 million over five years and the creation of an Executive Secretariat housed within the WTO, though the latter was viewed critically by the World Bank and IMF.
• Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and ACP countries serve as a 'pilot project' for aid for trade, but the EU has shown reluctance to commit additional resources beyond the 10th European Development Fund (EDF), which is budgeted at approximately €24.6 billion over six years.
• The World Bank has been involved in over 500 lending operations to support trade in developing countries over the last 25 years, representing more than 8% of its total commitments.
• The IMF established the Trade Integration Mechanism (TIM) in 2004 to assist countries with the adjustment costs of multilateral trade liberalisation, though only three countries have used it to date.
• The report recommends that South Africa develop a coordinated national position on aid for trade, engage with OECD work on aid effectiveness, and support the development of national aid for trade programs in the SADC region.

APA

Grant, C. (2007). Southern and Eastern Africa, the Doha Agenda and Aid for Trade. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/17-trade_report_no17.pdf

Chicago

Grant, Catherine. Southern and Eastern Africa, the Doha Agenda and Aid for Trade. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2007. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/17-trade_report_no17.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Grant |first1=Catherine |title=Southern and Eastern Africa, the Doha Agenda and Aid for Trade |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=June 2007 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/17-trade_report_no17.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{grant2007southern, author = {Grant, Catherine}, title = {{Southern and Eastern Africa, the Doha Agenda and Aid for Trade}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2007}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/17-trade_report_no17.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }