Elizabeth Morgan | Trade and implementing the UN SDGs

In my article of June 19, 2018, titled ‘Trade critical to achieving UN Goals’, I pointed to the importance attached to international trade in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

Goal 17, addressing partnerships, points to international trade as a critical means of implementation – this is international trade as contributing to national income, providing jobs, needed goods and services, and raising standards of living.

The 17 UN SDGs are nearly all trade-related. Specific trade-related SDGs include:

• End poverty (G1) – trade can raise standards of living by creating more jobs, and access to a wider range of, and less expensive, products;

• End hunger (G2) – agricultural production can be increased by allowing fairer production and trade in agricultural products by reducing subsidies. This also speaks to food security;

• Good health and well-being (G3) – referring to access to affordable medicines and equipment;

• Gender equality (G5) – creating opportunities for women in international trade;

• Decent work and economic growth (G8) – trade as the engine of growth through capacity-building and investments can create jobs and expand economic growth;

• Industry, innovation and infrastructure (G9) – trade can encourage competition, the transfer of technology, knowledge, and innovation, as well as improving infrastructure – ports, roads, factory space, digital network;

• Reduce inequalities (G10) – trade can reduce inequalities between countries and within countries;

• Sustainable production and consumption (G12) – looking at trade in green products and reducing waste;

• Life below water (G14) – negotiating global rules to curb harmful fisheries subsidies and to improve and maintain fish stocks.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has been providing reports to the UN high-level political forum on the UN SDGs and did provide a report this year. The WTO reviewed the status of world trade and its recovery since 2020 from the COVID-19 pandemic. The report points out that the WTO has been instrumental in creating conditions favouring the recovery of international trade and economies from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) was eventually held in June 2022.

MC12 had outcomes specifically related to the responsiveness of trade to pandemics, adopting the Ministerial Declaration on the WTO Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Preparedness for Future Pandemics; and on vaccine production, adopting the Ministerial Decision on the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). In line with Goal 14, MC12 also adopted the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.

I think we know that, generally, the outcomes from the WTO have not been as effective as many developing countries would have hoped in improving their trade before the pandemic and in its wake.

Now there is a question mark over globalisation, as countries become more protectionist and seek to return production to home territory; over further measures to liberalise trade; as well as the proper functioning of the multilateral trading system. We will have a better sense of what is happening at the WTO as preparations for MC13 in 2024 gather steam.

CARICOM AND FINANCING THE SDGS

I am not aware of any specific study which has been done by the CARICOM Secretariat to determine how partnerships in trade and development assistance have contributed to the implementation of the SDGs in national development plans.

Recent trade statistics issued by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) continue to show a wide gap between imports and exports. STATIN reports that Jamaica’s earnings from total exports were valued at US$879.5 million for January to May 2023, while imports were valued at US$3.1 billion. This, although exports increased by 37 per cent over the same period in 2022. Imports increased by about four per cent.

Jamaica’s total exports in 2022 were valued at US$1.9 billion. Imports were valued at US$7.7 billion, with the trade deficit at US$5.8 billion. In 2022, earnings from trade in services, specifically tourism, were valued at US$3.7 billion from record-breaking tourist arrivals. Continuing the trend, Jamaica’s total exports of goods and services (US$5.6 billion) in 2022 did not cover its import bill.

As said repeatedly, Jamaica needs to increase exports of goods and services. Although goods exports have increased in 2023, we are hearing that agriculture has been impacted by the drought, which could affect export figures at the end of this year.

These figures mean that Jamaica remains dependent on official development assistance and loans to implement its SDGs/national development plan. From figures seen on the website of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), official development assistance provided per annum has been quite erratic, ranging from US$196.1 million in 2004 to US$220.7 million in 2018.

PIOJ’s national development plan, Vision 2030 Jamaica, does address financing for implementation and recognises the complexity involved in financing development. PIOJ states that resources for implementation in the period 2018-2021 were expected to come from a range of sources, including the Government’s Budget, private-sector investments, civil society organisations, international development partners, and the diaspora. It was assumed that real economic growth could be achieved, which would have included improvements in trade. Of course, much of this would not have been achieved due to the pandemic and other crises.

With the exception of Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, in 2022, like Jamaica, other CARICOM countries had a trade deficit. This signals continuing debt and the calls for international donor financing which were referenced in my article of September 20.

It would be interesting to see a current study on financing the UN SDGs implementation gap within the CARICOM region, and the contribution which could be further made by international trade.

- Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.