TRTA: Establishing free, fair, and safe trade to reduce poverty
The European Union (EU) has recast its development efforts on trade as a vehicle to help developing countries reduce their poverty incidence and provide sustainable opportunities for growth. Since the establishment of the Doha Development Agenda, the EU has strongly advocated open rules-based trade negotiation to ensure free, fair, and safe trade. The EU Aid for Trade Strategy provides the framework to “help developing countries to better integrate into the rules-based world trading system and to more effectively use trade in eradicating poverty through sustainable development”. The strategy also concretely elaborates on the development assistance extended by the EU to the third world countries to meet their responsibilities in the evolving global trading system that is progressively shaped with rules and regulations aimed at ensuring public health and public safety. In the Philippines, TRTA has started in 2005 providing the sectors in trade, fishery, coconut, fruits and vegetables, poultry, electronics and semiconductors as well as services in medical and industrial laboratories with technical assistance in standards harmonisation, institution strengthening, and capacity-building of government regulators and sector-specific stakeholders. TRTA in the Philippines is also involved in assisting the government implement its customs reform agenda and in crafting the country’s international trade strategy and export development plan.
