United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Policy Briefs

The global use of cryptocurrencies increased exponentially during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Such private digital currencies have become particularly prevalent in developing countries, entailing considerable risks and costs regarding national monetary sovereignty, policy space and macroeconomic stability. In this policy brief, UNCTAD examines such risks and costs, reasons for the uptake of cryptocurrencies in developing countries and the current regulatory landscape. Three policy recommendations that developing countries may consider in this regard are ensuring financial regulation; restricting advertisements related to cryptocurrencies; and providing a safe, reliable and affordable public payment system adapted to the digital era, such as a central bank digital currency or fast retail payment system.

Women cross-border traders face significant challenges, including time constraints, costs of burdensome procedures, discrimination and harassment at borders. Despite multilateral calls to address those issues and to make trade policies gender-responsive, notably the Revised Buenos Aires Declaration, limited progress has been made on gender equality in trade. This policy brief outlines key gender-based barriers for women traders and provides 10+1 policy recommendations to address them.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated the shift toward a more digital world in a way that will have long-lasting effects. Lockdown measures have led to a surge in electronic commerce (e-commerce), as consumers look for alternatives to in-person shopping. Such shifts in global consumer behaviour mean that a robust e-commerce framework is rapidly becoming an essential component of a regionally integrated economy. Moreover, e-commerce and other economic activities enabled by information and communications technology have the potential to accelerate progress towards all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. However, many developing countries face challenges when it comes to the promotion and implementation of e-commerce. Leading these challenges are consumer concerns over the cybersecurity infrastructure that underpins electronic transactions, especially the lack of strong methods of authentication to tackle fraud-related issues. To address such challenges, countries should establish policies that lead to the implementation of a robust national digital identity framework.

Free trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area commenced in January 2021. Countries agreed to remove tariffs on 90 per cent of goods, progressively liberalize trade in services and eliminate non-tariff barriers, to improve regional cohesion, create a single large African market and promote gross domestic product (GDP) growth through trade. With the objective of guiding feasible policies and sectoral strategies at the national and regional levels, this policy brief highlights how countries in Africa, in particular the least developed countries, benefit differently from tariff liberalization and the removal of non-tariff barriers.

Digital trade is increasingly important and comprises both digitally ordered trade in goods and services (cross-border electronic commerce (e-commerce)) and digitally delivered trade (services delivered internationally through the Internet or other networks). However, countries vary greatly in their readiness for digital trade. If the share of developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, in world trade is to increase, as envisaged in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, actions are needed to strengthen their capacity to benefit from digital trade. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has made this need even more urgent.

Ensuring easy and affordable access by developing countries to appropriate technologies is critical in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Open-source technologies can provide a means of effective technology transfer. Countless open-source designs and technologies are shared by innovators worldwide, yet there is currently no central repository of such technologies and this makes it difficult for producers or consumers in developing countries to locate and access them. The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations recently adopted resolution 2021/30 on open-source technologies for sustainable development. In this policy brief, an explanation of why developing countries need access to such technologies and proposals of ways to move forward in implementing the resolution are provided.

In this policy brief, UNCTAD intends to shed light on the role of institutions in fostering productive capacities, and examines Institutions as one of the eight categories of the UNCTAD Productive Capacities Index. In the context of the formulation and implementation of policies and strategies in support of LDCs, recommendations are provided to support the building of stronger and more effective institutions, a prerequisite for fostering productive capacities.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has brought to light not only the systemic interdependence of countries, but also the socioeconomic fragility of the global economy. From a trade and development perspective, this has been felt most acutely in the most vulnerable developing countries – the least developed countries (LDCs). Even prior to the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, LDCs faced complex development challenges, compounded with economic growth patterns that have failed to translate into accelerated poverty reduction and job creation. As the international community prepares for the upcoming fifteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XV) and the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (UNLDC V), innovative strategies and approaches to enhance economic growth and address underlying vulnerabilities are urgently needed. This policy brief is a call to action for LDC Governments and the broader international community of development partners to take concerted action in the fostering of productive capacities for sustainable development.

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have had less noticeable impacts on small island developing States (SIDS). However, the impacts may be longer lasting and more critical. The pandemic has exacerbated the unique and overwhelming challenges in these States related to connectivity; a high level of dependence on external trade; remoteness and prohibitive transport costs; food security; infrastructure gaps; resilience; sustainability; and access to finance. This policy brief builds on the findings in Review of Maritime Transport 2020 and of the ongoing United Nations-wide project “Transport and trade connectivity in the age of pandemics: Contactless, seamless and collaborative solutions”, launched in 2020 amid the pandemic. It highlights key priority actions and policy recommendations to support SIDS in strengthening their ability to respond to shocks and disruptions that undermine their maritime transportation systems and to future proof their maritime supply chains through sustainability and resilience-building efforts.