The Aid for Trade initiative calls for additional resources to address trade-related obstacles, strengthen developing countries’ capacity, and build the infrastructure they need to harness the benefits of global value chains and the international trading system.
The Task Force created in 2006 to operationalise the initiative defined the scope of Aid for Trade as covering the following categories:
technical assistance for trade policy and regulations (e.g. helping countries to develop trade strategies, negotiate trade agreements, and implement their outcomes)
trade-related infrastructure (e.g. building roads, ports, and telecommunications networks to connect domestic markets to the global economy)
productive capacity building, including trade development (e.g. supporting the private sector to exploit their comparative advantages and diversify their exports)
trade-related adjustment (e.g. helping developing countries with the costs associated with trade liberalisation, such as tariff reductions, preference erosion, or declining terms of trade)
other needs, if identified as trade-related development priorities in partner countries' national development strategies