Jointly with the Government of Kenya and the Commonwealth secretariat, UNCTAD held a Ministerial Roundtable on the margins of the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference on 16 December, to debate on the linkages between the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals and the future of the multilateral trading system (MTS).
About 80 participants discussed what is "good trade" and what is "bad trade", as this distinction is critical to achieving consensus on the developmental contribution of trade in the future.
Joachim Reiter, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD noted that the world economy and global trade faces important challenges in promoting the SDGs, including reinvigorating growth, promoting diversification, creating jobs, enabling competitiveness and mitigating climate change and its negative impact over oceans.
Addressing these challenges and fostering sustainable development through trade requires a trade policy architecture that embraces the four "Ps" namely pro-poor, people-centred, productivity enhancing and planet friendly.
Deodat Maharaj, Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth proposed that linking the SDGs to the MTS and WTO can be based on introducing a regular triennial review on SDGs implementation regardless in respect of related Doha Round outcomes, so that delivery over specific trade-related targets is measurable against specific development goals.
Bernard Hoekman, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute stressed that for trade to be people-centred, reforms in trade in services and investment policies in key sectors such as education, health, water treatment, clean energy and ITC is essential.
Amelia Kyambade, the Trade Minister of Uganda, said that humanitarian objectives such as sustainability and poverty reduction should guide trade. "We must teach SDGs in the schools to build a responsible generation over the next 15 years".
Rorden Wilkinson, University of Sussex, proposed a win-win paradigm wherein the 2030 Agenda must bring trade gains and these need to be distributed among all players globally. Market openings for their own sake are insufficient.
Debapriya Battacharya of the Centre for Policy Dialogue in Bangladesh stressed that the Istanbul Plan of Action of LDCs and the Samoa Pathway for SIDS constitute intermediate steps for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.
The latter is the overall umbrella for all previous mandates including on aspects of the Doha Round.
and the future of the Multilateral Trading System
