- By deepening South-South cooperation, developing economies are building resilience and creating new opportunities amid global uncertainty.
GENEVA, Switzerland – As major markets escalate unilateral tariffs and trade policy uncertainty reaches record highs, developing countries are showing that they are ready to address it – a resounding message from the 33rd session of the Committee of Participants (COP) of the Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries (GSTP) held in Geneva on 25 September.
Delegates reviewed progress towards the long-awaited entry into force of the São Paulo Round Protocol, which is currently pending one more ratification.
GSTP member countries account for 20.5 percent of global goods imports – about $5 trillion in demand within a combined $18 trillion market.
By tackling tariffs and non-tariff measures, the GSTP enables its members to diversify, build resilience, enhance predictability and forge inclusive trade partnerships at a time when external shocks and policy uncertainty disproportionately hurt economies with limited market power.
The meeting was led by ambassador Zniber of Morocco, who chairs the committee of participants of the Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries for the 2025-2026 term.
Renewed significance of GSTP
The GSTP, created by the G77 bloc of developing nations within UNCTAD frameworks, aims at increasing South-South trade through preferential tariff reductions, addressing non-tariff measures and sectoral agreements negotiations.
The agreement has been in force since 1989, covering 42 developing countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America.
“In response to the growing threat of trade policy unpredictability, it is our collective responsibility to use every tool available to build predictability, inclusivity, resilience and trust in trade,” says Luz Maria de la Mora, UNCTAD director of international trade and commodities.
“The GSTP is one of those tools readily available, and only by using it effectively can trade fulfill its transformative potential as a pillar of equitable and sustainable development.”
What to expect at UNCTAD16
The committee meeting paves the way for the GSTP Ministerial Meeting slated for 22 October during the 16th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16), where 195 member states will come together to reimagine a broader path to development through key enablers, including trade.
Government ministers from the GSTP membership will convene to reaffirm their solidarity and commitment to trade-led sustainable development – 13 years after the last GSTP Ministerial Meeting took place in Doha in 2012.
The GSTP will also be in the spotlight at the South-South Cooperation Forum on 23 October.
This will offer an opportunity to take stock of the evolution of South-South cooperation and explore future priorities in the context of rapid technological change, environmental concerns and mounting uncertainties that risk development prospects.
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