TRADE & FINANCE
TRADE AS A
FORCE FOR
GOOD
ROBERTO AZEVÊDO
Director-General
of the WTO
14
Amidst the recent fl ood of rhetoric
about trade, I think it's crucial that
we remember one fact: trade has the
potential to change people's lives for
the better. Trade was a driving force
behind the rapid growth and prosperity
enjoyed by many developed countries
since the Second World War, and it
continues to support those economies
today. Meanwhile, the benefi ts of trade
have also begun to reach people in
less-developed economies. Over the
past quarter century, one billion people
have been lifted out of extreme poverty.
Around two-thirds of that poverty
reduction came from economic growth
in developing countries – with trade
acting as an important driver.
Nevertheless, it is important to
acknowledge that trade is not perceived
so positively in many constituencies.
There are a number of specifi c concerns
which are often raised. They must be
heard and responded to if we are to
ensure that trade keeps delivering the
economic gains of which history shows
it is capable.
For example, we must recognize that
while the benefi ts of trade are spread
across the economy, the eff ects of
increased competition can hit specifi c
communities hard. We need to put
more focus on how governments can
mitigate those impacts. We must also
rectify the perception that imports
make jobs disappear. Actually, the
vast majority of jobs are lost because
of new technologies and increased
productivity. In addition, we need to
address the perception that trade only
favours the big companies. This is not
true, but there's no doubt that trading
internationally is normally much more
costly and diffi cult for small enterprises.
We need to support micro, small and
medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to
trade – not least as they are huge job
creators, accounting for around 90%
of the workforce in many countries.
In responding to these concerns,
we need to promote a well-informed,
calm and balanced debate, and we