Industrial trade, technology and investment flows

INDUSTRIAL TRADE, TECHNOLOGY AND INVESTMENT FLOWS

The World Trade Organization is now disseminating trade profiles of economies combining trade flows with trade policy information sourced from within the World Trade Organization and other organizations and OECD has developed a prototype on trade indicators (trade plus production, employment, investment, etc.) linking standardized information from various OECD databases to trade data.

The steady lowering of barriers to trade and capital flows across geographical borders was essential to promote industrialization around the world.

Sub theme 2 Trade, investment and private flows

Financing South South trade, technology and investment flows

The capacity of trade to raise incomes, boost long term growth and increase financial flows for development has yet to be reflected in South South trade, even though from 1990 to 2001 merchandise trade among developing countries expanded twice as rapidly as world trade and trade in services grew even faster.

The new geography of South South trade and investment flows (SPC, para.

Trade, investment and technology flows play a crucial role in productivity catch up.

During the last 20 years, the world has witnessed dramatic proliferation of regional and bilateral preferential trade agreements. Indeed, bilateral trade flows covered by such agreements now amount to roughly half of the world s imports, and have contributed significantly to the dramatic growth of trade.

The database will be expanded to include trade flows and the development of indicators to assess the implications of RTAs BTAs on such flows.

10 World Trade Organization, World Trade Report 2003, pp. 22 32.

Trade among GSTP members is already close to 2 trillion, or about 55 per cent of the international trade of all developing countries.12 The UNCTAD annual World Investment Report tracks global investment flows, including those to, from and among developing countries.

(a) Is increased global integration a prerequisite for enhancing South South trade, technology and investment flows?

The Economic Commission for Africa, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the United Nations University released major studies on regional integration in 2004 and the World Bank has raised the visibility of South South cooperation in its 2005 reports on financial flows and trade.9 The World Trade Organization (WTO) included significant findings on South South cooperation in its first World Trade Report, in 2003.10

(f) What are the most promising sources of funding for South South trade, technology and investment flows?

Financial flows for development must be generated through a meaningful international trade regime with strong development dimensions.

However, trade flows are not static, and Governments in the region need to be alert to structural changes occurring in those flows to assist businesses in adapting to such changes.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported in its World Investment Report 2004 that the latest research indicated that South South FDI flows had grown faster than North South flows during the 1990s and that developing countries were more financially integrated with one another than previously believed.

(iv) World Trade Organization (WTO) WTO Trade Facilitation

World Trade Organization

I can report that the month of March did bring an improvement in trade flows between Israel and Gaza.

(b) Will South South industrial trade, technology and investment flows reshape the pattern of industrialization based on comparative advantages?

World Trade Centers Association

WTO World Trade Organization

We urge development partners to increase flows of development assistance to the developing world.

(e) Will the rise of a few developing countries as economic superpowers influence South South trade, technology and investment flows?

Is the creation of a special fund and financial services for South South trade, technology and investment flows a viable option?

The World Trade Organization secretariat has made technical assistance on trade facilitation one of the priorities of the World Trade Organization Technical Assistance Plan for 2005.

The intensifying globalization of the world economy, changing commercial and administrative practices associated with international flows of goods, and revision of related statistical frameworks, such as the System of National Accounts, the Balance of Payments Manual and the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services, have repercussions on international merchandise trade statistics.

In the absence of efficient sources of financing, the transaction costs of South South trade, technology and investment flows will be increased.

Ms. Nora Neufeld, World Trade Organization

and New Sectors of World Trade

Source World Trade Organization, May 2005.

MUNICH The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, currently the subject of intense negotiations between the European Union and the United States, is making big waves. Indeed, given the scale of the two economies, which together account for more than 50 of world GDP and one third of global trade flows, the stakes are high.

Developing countries and others are, however, not fully satisfied with the outcome in several areas, such as trade, investment flows and global governance.

Today some 50 per cent of world trade takes place within regional trade agreements.

(e) Cooperation with the World Trade Organization

E. Cooperation with the World Trade Organization

World Trade Organization, document WT L 579.

WTO, World Trade Report 2005 (Geneva 2005).

WTO, World Trade Report 2005, Geneva 2005.

World Trade Organization, document WT L 579.

Prepared by the World Trade Organization (convener).

(ii) World Customs Organization (WCO) The World Customs Organization and Trade Facilitation