TRADE AND INVESTMENT
PROMOTION
Trade strategies often place greater stress on trade
promotion than on negotiations, focusing on the ways
that a country can take advantage of the opportunities
created by the agreements that have already been
reached. This practice is especially prevalent for poorer
countries in which supply-side constraints are often
greater than barriers on the demand side, and for units
of government that do not have responsibility for trade
negotiations. A TPF should examine and assess the
promotion programmes that a country currently has in
place, including any evidence that quantifies the actual
trade and investment that these programmes may
have stimulated, and consider whether any changes
might be appropriate.
Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for
least developed countries.
One of the 19 targets under Sustainable Development
Goal 17:
Revitalize the Global Partnership for
Sustainable Development
PARTNERSHIPS
FOR THE GOALS
The TPF should investigate whether the country’s
embassies and other missions abroad provide
adequate assistance. Some governments take a very
active role in the promotion of trade and investment,
and have the resources to deploy diplomats and
other staff that deal separately with economic and
commercial matters. They may divide their staff into
48 TRADE POLICY FRAMEWORKS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A MANUAL OF BEST PRACTICES
A strong investment promotion agency … should be
empowered to drive the process in government. Not
only would it require technical capacity to understand the
[global value chains] and [multinational corporations] being
targeted, but it would also require strong political support
within government to overcome the inevitable political
and bureaucratic hurdles that will arise in the process of
negotiating with lead [multinational corporations].
Trade Policy Framework: Namibia (2016)
sectoral topics (e.g. agricultural attaches) so as to
assist specific constituencies. Others require that one
or two officials take on a variety of duties. The trade
and investment promotional offices will sometimes be
housed in an embassy, or may be both physically and
legally separate from it. Whatever the structure may
be, these offices act to promote the country’s exports
and to attract foreign investment through a variety
of activities, including participation in trade fairs and
other promotional events, developing market leads
that are publicized at home, providing briefings and
other advisory services to domestic and international
businesses, and liaison with the host government on
economic and commercial matters.
The TPF for Panama called for a comprehensive,
innovative, and coherent marketing strategy to support
the exports that contribute more to development
goals. That may entail participation in such exportpromotion initiatives as fairs, business roundtables,
road shows, and direct business contacts between
exporters and potential clients. Market intelligence is
also critical to provide the necessary guidance to the
private sector about opportunities in foreign markets.
Consideration should be given to the roles of both the
public and the private sector. In some countries the
private sector takes charge of these programmes,
either solely or in collaboration with the government, of
the trade and investment promotion agency. In Costa
Rica, for example, the Foreign Trade Promotion Agency
(PROCOMER) is a non-state public entity responsible
for promoting exports, administering the free zone
regime, and promoting supply linkages between local
and multinational businesses. Similarly, the Costa
Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (CINDE)
is a private organization that promotes domestic and
foreign investment, monitors businesses and markets,
and provides direct services to investors.
