One of the major aims laid out by OECD at its creation in 1960 was the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non-discriminatory basis in accordance with international obligations. The Trade Committee and its general Working Party were initiated at that time to fulfil this mandate, in particular by attempting to maintain the momentum for further trade liberalisation and to foster the efficient functioning of the multilateral trading system centred on the WTO.

Often working in collaboration with other OECD bodies and through dialogue with non-Member economies, their approach has been to foster informed debate, build consensus and promote policy co-ordination, while generally leaving formal trade negotiations to other bodies such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

OECD Ministers of Agriculture have agreed to the long-term objective of substantial reductions in support, and have adopted shared goals for the sector. OECD Ministers recognise "OECD's analysis...is an essential contribution to the understanding of agricultural policies and their international impacts". They also called for further efforts to ensure sustainable management of fisheries resources.

Analytical and advisory activities of the OECD encompass policy monitoring and evaluation, medium term outlook scenarios, issues at the interface of domestic and trade policy, and issues in achieving sustainable agriculture and fisheries. The perspectives of non-member economies are considered via the Global Forum on Agriculture, and are integrated across relevant work activities.