Addis Ababa, 27 May 2022 (TDI): African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC), based within the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is holding an opening event for the launch of the GVC Development Report on Thursday.

The GVC Development Report has the title “Beyond Production”. Representatives from the Asian Development Bank, ECA, the World Trade Organization (WTO), China Development Research Foundation (CDRF), the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), and a Japanese institution named IDE-JETRO also attended the meeting.

Global Value Chain Development Report 2021: “Beyond Production”

The Global Value Chain (GCV) Development Report 2021 is the star of the opening event. With the title “Beyond Production”, GCV report for last year combines six main chapters. Initially, the report introduced the recent trends in the global value chain. Secondly, trades in intangible assets along global value chains and intellectual property protection become the report’s focus. Thirdly, productivity growth, innovation, and upgrading along global value chains mark one of the most significant chapters of the report.

After background analysis, the report pays special attention to the role of global services value chains for services-led development. Although the service industry was battered by the outbreak and spread of COVID-19, it remains to be a crucial part of economic recovery in the post-COVID era. In the fifth part, the report presents rising risks to the global value chain. In the context of epidemic and the unstable geopolitical situations around the world, with the rollback of globalization, the global value chain is facing serious risks currently.

Last but not least, the report offers readers a chapter on digital platforms and their linkages with GVC. The digital sector is a direction of development across the world, and so it is in the African continent. Furthermore, digital sectors have shown great potential, flexibility, and resilience during the pandemic.

ATPC
Logo of the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC).
An Introduction to the African Trade Policy Centre

The African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) starts its work in June 2003 under the umbrella of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). ATPC is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The establishment of ATPC received financial support at the beginning from the Canada Fund for Africa. Meanwhile, ATPC also got support from UNDP and the Government of Denmark. Also, ATPC works with various kinds of partners including NGOs, private sectors, academia, social organizations, and so on.

ATPC has the main objective which is to strengthen the human and institutional capacities of African Governments. With such capacities, governments can formulate and implement sound trade policies both domestically and internationally. Moreover, ATPC aims to support African governments to participate more effectively in trade negotiations at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels.