July 6, 2009 - Aid for Trade is a means to help developing countries, especially low-income countries, integrate into the world economy as a way to spur growth. The recent financial crisis and global recession have, if anything, made aid for trade more urgent. Trade worldwide is likely to contract in 2009. It has become a main channel through which recessionary impulses from the United States and Europe are transmitted to developing countries. But these forces will sooner or later reverse: when growth does resume, trade is likely to be a leading source of demand. Helping countries to take full advantage of the global recovery, whenever it comes, has become a priority for rekindling growth, as well as sustaining rising incomes into the future.
Some highlights of the World Bank Group's aid-for-trade program are: · Between October, 2008 and April, 2009, Central and Eastern European exports were down 35%. East Asian exports down 25%. Latin American exports down 20%. The large fall in trade reflects a more integrated world where a significant amount of trade is occurring within global supply chains. Each dollar of exports contains more imports than previously – so contracting consumption in high-income countries has a magnified effect on exports from developing economies.
· The World Bank Group’s total lending and investments for trade have doubled from about $10 billion a year during 2002 to 2005 to an average of $20 billion a year in 2007 and 2008. · IDA’s aid for trade financing has risen from $2.4 billion a year from 2002 to 2005 to an average of $3.9 billion for each of 2007 and 2008. And we’ve increased the number of projects dramatically – to 123 a year. More than one-third of this lending is for sub-Saharan Africa.
· The World Bank Group as a whole increased trade-related lending to middle income countries from an average of $6.6 billion a year from 2002 to 2005, to an average of $12.6 billion in 2007 and 2008.
· IFC, our private sector arm, has added another $3.4 billion a year in 2007 and 2008 in investments related to trade. IFC is particularly focused on building new productive capacity in low-income countries, especially in Africa. “Crowding in” the private sector is going to be essential to keep trade flowing. · We have boosted trade credit guarantee coverage to $3 billion for developing country banks, many of them in Africa. Then we launched a $50 billion Global Trade Liquidity Program in support of trade finance over three years. | 
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