§ Mr. ChallenTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department has taken to assist developing countries to carry out impact assessments on the effects of trade liberalisation agreements, broken down by country. [91354]
§ Clare ShortDFID supports a variety of trade related technical cooperation programmes which are designed to help developing countries participate more effectively in trade negotiations and to take advantage of trade opportunities. A number of these programmes include consultancy or study funds which can be used to undertake impact assessments or to secure advice on trade liberalisation issues. Particular examples include:
a study of the economic effects of EU bilateral trade agreements with developing countries, which includes case studies on South Africa, Egypt, Mexico, Chile, Turkey and the MERCOSUR Common Market;a study on the possible effects of changes in the EU Sugar Regime on African, Caribbean and Pacific sugar exporting countries;the Integrated Framework Trust Fund for least developed countries (LDC), which is also supported by multilateral and other bilateral donors, has helped LDCs to mainstream trade issues into national poverty reduction strategies. Support has so far been provided to Cambodia, Madagascar and Mauritania;Malawi Trade and Poverty Programme, which helps to build capacity in Malawian institutions to formulate, negotiate and implement trade reform strategies that are inclusive and pro-poor; andTrade Policy Development Project (with the World bank). This has included a broad range of trade related policy and impact studies, such as on the cashmere sector in Mongolia, trade and foreign exchange policies in Iran, the impact of WTO accession on the Russian telecommunications sector, trade facilitation and standards reform in the Asia Pacific region, and the linkages between regional trade policies and economic integration in south Asia and south eastern Europe.