Multimedia

External event

Panel Discussion

Can the EU better support job creation in developing countries?

The EU trade strategy (2015) includes important commitments towards partner countries in the global South, in particular to better assess the impact of trade policy on human rights and the recognition that global supply chains should be managed responsibly. Could the EU trade policy contribute to the creation of decent work in developing countries with this strategy?

A number of challenges remain unaddressed: Developing country governments’ ability to design and implement transformative industrial policies – key for the creation of more, better and green jobs – is constrained by global rules, and trade and investment agreements. How can the EU help free up policy space? How can industrial policy measures, like local content requirements and protection of infant industry, help shape and develop a robust manufacturing sector in developing countries? What are the usual obstacles faced by small firms in developing countries, and how to remove them?

At the event we will delve into these questions with the Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström, government representatives, EU policy makers, CSOs, trade union representatives and academia. Panel discussions will focus on:

• Tensions between the EU trade and investment policy and industrial policies of partner countries, based on the cases of Vietnam, Bangladesh and Nigeria
• How Aid for Trade can play a greater role to support industrialisation and job creation
• What the EU could do to support gendered industrial policies in partner countries

ECDPM’s San Bilal will moderate the session on ‘Aid for Trade and opportunities around its forthcoming review’.

Please find the full programme here.

Photo: Swapping aid for trade in northern Uganda. Credits: DFID, via Flickr.