Global Policy Forum

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick took a swipe at the World Bank on Thursday for not doing more to help poor countries boost their exports. "To be frank, in the case of the World Bank, we get some very good studies; we get some very good sounds, but ... they're not doing as much as they need to do," Zoellick said. He made his remarks to business officials at a State Department conference aimed at encouraging U.S. companies to invest more in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Zoellick said the World Bank, despite voluminous studies about the benefits of increased trade, devoted few resources to helping poor countries expand their exports. In contrast, "we've had great help in the Western Hemisphere from the InterAmerican Development Bank" in providing funds for trade capacity building projects, Zoellick said.

The ability of developing countries to benefit from trade liberalization is a key issue in current world trade talks, which are officially known as the Doha Development Agenda. Many poor countries lack the resources and the expertise to participate fully in trade talks or to take advantage of export opportunities created by trade pacts.

Over the past year, the World Bank has cast itself as an advocate for the developing world in the trade talks. It has issued a number of studies criticizing the United States and other rich countries for maintaining trade barriers to many poor country goods, such as textiles and farm products.

World Bank spokesman Damian Milverton defended the bank's record, but said it agreed with Zoellick that "more needs to be done to put developing countries on an equal footing with rich country exporters to get the most out of the global market." Along those lines, it joined with the WTO in late September to launch a new fund to help poor countries participate in trade talks and meet international standards for their goods, he said.

The World Bank provided $300,000 to kick start that fund and would welcome contributions from the United States and other industrialized nations, Milverton said. The bank also is stepping up its efforts to help poor countries build the ports, airports and other infrastructure they need to participate in world trade, he said.

A recent World Bank study estimated Africa could gain over $1 billion per year from higher export of nuts, dried fruits and other farm goods if it had the resources to help develop and implement international standards for those products.

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