Creating better trade opportunities

Fundamental changes are taking place in the technologies and rules that underpin global trade in goods and services. This presents Commonwealth countries with challenges, but also opens up opportunities to expand trade and investment between members and with the rest of the world.

Read Commonwealth Trade Review 2021

Trade competitiveness

Commonwealth experts help member countries improve their global trade competitiveness. Many Commonwealth countries only have a limited domestic market, so we focus on developing their export capabilities.

Projects

There are 18 on-going country projects in: Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, Grenada, the Gambia, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho, Seychelles and Sri Lanka. There are also 3 regional projects in The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and The East African Community (EAC).

The Small States Trade Finance Facility

This Commonwealth-led fund helps small countries import goods at competitive prices. The fund will guarantee loans made by loan providers like local banks, to encourage them to loan money to small and medium businesses.

International trade policy

The Commonwealth carries out research into trade policy to promote the trade and development interests of our members, especially small states and the least-developed countries.

We bring countries together to discuss and agree on new global trade issues. This helps Commonwealth countries be better prepared for bilateral and multilateral trade talks.

Hubs and Spokes

The Hub and Spokes programme is an innovative initiative that sends trade advisors to government ministries and economic organisations to help boost trade in the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries.

Local trade advisers (the ‘spokes’) are sent to help national government trade ministries. Regional trade advisers (the ‘hubs’) are sent to help to major regional organisations.

Briefings and publications

Our trade policy publications promote a development-friendly global trading system that creates greater trading opportunities for developing countries, while also strengthening national and regional capacities for export response from the poorest and most vulnerable countries. Explore them below.

The International Trade Working Paper series documents and disseminates reviews, analytical work and think-pieces to facilitate the exchange of ideas and to stimulate debates and discussions on issues that are of interest to developing countries in general and Commonwealth members in particular.

The Commonwealth Trade Hot Topics series provides concise and informative analyses of various trade and trade-related issues which are prepared both by Commonwealth Secretariat and international experts.