Reality Check: Aid for Trade
"Aid-for-trade" (AfT) is the catch-all
term for trade-related official development assistance (ODA) provided to
developing countries. With the Doha Round in the doldrums, Aid-for-trade
is gaining even more prominence within offical aid and trade circles. Proponents
basically share three common premises that provide the rationale for Aid-for-trade:
(1) that trade is beneficial to developing countries; (2) that developing
countries may face costs and other constraints that prevent them from fully
benefitting from trade; and (3) that aid can offset these costs and constraints,
hence, enable these countries to benefit significantly from trade. Despite
this ostensibly laudable objective, the Aid-for-trade agenda merits a closer
and more critical examination from the perspective of people-centered development.












