UK Global Trade Programme

Start & End Date: 2017-2021

Country/Countries: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam

Multilateral Institution(s) Involved: World Bank, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (UK), Department for International Development (UK), Department for International Trade (UK), Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (UK)

Despite positive trends, Middle Income Countries (MICs) still have significant development challenges that increasing free trade can help to tackle. MICs are home to 60% of the world’s poor. MICs need to not only generate new investment, growth and jobs, but also need to ensure that economic growth resulting from trade is inclusive and genuinely helps to reduce poverty, support gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. It is in the UK’s interest to support MICs to tackle these challenges.

The programme will provide technical assistance and support to facilitate free trade and open markets for key Middle Income Countries (MICs), enabling greater investment and interaction with global value chains to create jobs and prosperity, and help reduce poverty. The GTP will also deliver secondary benefits through increasing market access for international business, including from the UK, as well as building bilateral partnerships on trade related issues with key emerging markets, and increase our understanding of our future trading partners, in support of the UK trade strategy.

This programme will help to meet one of the four strategic objectives of the UK Aid strategy 2015: to use ODA to promote economic development and prosperity in the developing world. This will contribute to the reduction of poverty and strengthen trade and investment opportunities globally – including, as a secondary benefit, for the UK. It will also deliver on the objective of promoting the UK’s prosperity by championing global economic reform and strengthening the UK’s relationships with emerging economies.