Trade Hot Topics Issue#75: Aid for Trade: Policy Issues for ACP States

This issue of Commonwealth Trade Hot Topics will examine some selected issues with policy implications relevant to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states in taking advantage of the aid for trade (AfT) initiative. These are, first, that AfT is a reality and the challenge is to exploit it fully; second, that effective implementation of AfT is lagging in most ACP regions for reasons on the supply side and on the demand side of AfT, hence ddressing these inhibitions is central to improved AfT provision and utilisation; third, while working to operationalise AfT more fully, traditional trade related capacity-building must be enhanced to meet the ever growing demand for assistance from ACP states; and, fourth, framing the AfT within the overarching vision among most ACP states on exiting from aid dependency, especially following the global financial and economic crisis.