RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/TF/COH/S/5
10 October 2001
(01-4881)
COHERENCE IN GLOBAL ECONOMIC POLICY-MAKING:
WTO COOPERATION WITH THE IMF AND THE WORLD BANK
Report (2001) by the Director-General
1. This report has been prepared pursuant to paragraph 2 of the General Council Decision on
"Agreements Between the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank"1, to inform Members about the
activities carried out by the WTO under its cooperation agreements with the IMF and the World
Bank2.
2. Over the past year, the WTO Secretariat has intensified its cooperation with the staff of the
IMF and the World Bank in assisting developing and least-developed countries to take greater
advantage from their involvement in international trade and their participation in the multilateral
trading system, in support of broader efforts ge ared towards economic growth and development and
the alleviation of poverty.
3. In their individual capacities, the WTO Director-General, the Managing Director of the IMF
and the President of the World Bank have each emphasized the important contribution that trade
makes to economic development and poverty reduction, and have continued to stress the need for
improved market access for developing-country exports, for on-going support for trade policy reform,
and for enhanced assistance in trade-related capacity building.  They have underlined the
complementary nature of efforts being pursued in these areas by the three institutions, and noted that
when taken together, these efforts represent the essence of adopting a more coherent approach to
global economic policy-making.
4. Trade was a main focus of the April 2001 meetin gs of the IMF's International Monetary and
Finance Committee (IMFC) and IMF/World Bank Development Committee. In its communiqué, the
IMFC urged WTO Members to find common ground to enable them to launch new multilateral trade
negotiations at the WTO's Doha Ministerial Conference in November. 3  The Development Committee
focused on the World Bank's role in assisting developing countries to "leverage trade fordevelopment" through enhanced trade-related capacity building,
4 by helping developing countries to
increase their ability to access global markets, to  assist in the implementation of existing trade
agreements, and to prepare for future WTO negotiations. The Development Committee endorsed an
expanded role for the Bank on trade, through lending at the country level through Bank Country
                                                     
1 WT/L/194 of 18 November 1996.
2 The last report is contained in WT/TF/COH/S/4 of 14 December 2000.
3Extract from the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the Board of Governors of the
International Monetary Fund - Communiqué, 29 April 2001 (WT/TF/COH/9, p.3).
4 "Leveraging Trade for Development: World Bank Role", the issues paper prepared by World Bank
staff for consideration at the 30 April 2001 meeti ng of the Development Committee, is contained in
WT/TF/COH/10 and JOB(01)/75.WT/TF/COH/S/5
Page 2
Assistance Strategies and the Poverty Reduction St rategies, and by working more closely with its
partners in the Integrated Framework.5
5. Trade issues also figured prominently in the IMF's World Economic Outlook (WEO) in
September, and the World Bank's 2002 Global Economic Prospects for Development (GEP) in
October.  The WEO included a survey of progress in the multilateral trading system since the WTO's3
rd Ministerial Conference in Seattle in 1999, and the prospects for the launch of a new work
programme at the 4th Ministerial Conference in Doha.  This year's GEP, entitled "Making Trade Work
for the World's Poor", was devoted to trade topics of relevance to developing and least-developed
countries, and included chapters on policy issues related to market access, trade in services, and
intellectual property.
6. The trade sub-committee of the IMF's Executive Board (CWTO) also met in September to
review what the IMF is doing to support an open multilateral trading system.  The IMF's objectivesinclude: highlighting the value of launching new trade negotiations in Doha; continuing to address
trade issues in the context of IMF surveillance and programme activities; laying the groundwork for
successful trade liberalization, especially with rega rd to balance-of-payments and revenue issues; and
continuing to cooperate closely with the WTO and the World Bank in providing technical assistance
to developing countries (in the Fund's areas of expertise),  mainstreaming trade into the PRSP process,and actively participating in the Integrated Framework.
Consultations between the Director-General a nd the Managing Director of the IMF and the
President of the World Bank
7. Over the past year, the   Director-General   has  held   several  bilateral  discussions  with
Mr.  Wolfensohn   and Mr. Köhler.  The discussions have covered the full range of trade-related and
coherence issues, including preparations for the Doha Ministerial Conference, the importance of an
open multilateral trading system during the current period of global economic uncertainty, and ways
in which the three institutions can cooperate more effectively in the provision of trade-related
technical assistance, capacity building and training.
WTO Observership in IMF and World Bank meetings
8. Pursuant to the WTO/IMF and the WTO/World Bank cooperation agreements, the WTO
Secretariat is invited, in an observer capacity,  to attend meetings of the Executive Boards of the IMF
and of the World Bank on general and regional trad e policy issues, including the formulation of Fund
or Bank policies on trade matters.
9. In the past twelve months, the WTO Secretariat has attended World Bank Executive Board
meetings to prepare for the Spring Developm ent Committee meeting, on "Leveraging Trade for
Development", on "Global Economic Prospects in Developing Countries" and on the World
Development Report, and the IMF Executive Board meeting on the "World Economic Outlook".
IMF and World Bank Participation in WTO meetings10. The IMF and the World Bank are regularly invited to attend, in an observer capacity, the
formal meetings of most WTO bodies (with the exception of the Dispute Settlement Body and the
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration). The IMF also participates regularly in
consultations of the Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions.  Following a decision of the
General Council on 16 February 1999 to authorize its Chairman to convene special informal meetingsfrom time to time, at the request of delegations or the Director-General, to discuss coherence issues,
                                                     
5 Extract from Development Committee - Communiqué, 30 April 2001 (WT/TF/COH/9, pp. 3-4).WT/TF/COH/S/5
Page 3
representatives of the IMF and the World Bank have been invited to participate in informal General
Council meetings on Coherence.
11. The  Managing  Director  of   the  IMF, Mr. Köhler, and  the  President   of  the  World   bank,
Mr. Wolfensohn. have both been invited personally by the Director-General to attend the 4th WTO
Ministerial Conference to be held in Doha, Qatar, from 9 to 13 November 2001.  Both have beeninvited to address the Conference.
Joint Research and Analysis
12. The WTO Secretariat continues to collaborate with IMF and World Bank staff in areas of
research and analysis where we feel there are opportunities to generate greater economic policy
coherence.  These areas include:  analysis of the timing and sequencing of trade reform and
liberalization; analysis of how better international financial standards and supervision cancomplement financial services liberalization and help create stronger and more stable financial
markets;  and methodologies for measuring the costs of restrictive trade policies.   Work in each of
these areas has been inspired by interest shown by  member governments in one or other of the three
organisations.
Informal General Council Meeting on Coherence.   An Informal General Council Meeting on
Coherence was held on 18 January 2001 where th e Director-General reported to Members on
the activities carried out under the Coherence mandate in 2000, and suggested future priorities
for the coming year. Senior representatives of the World Bank and the IMF also briefed
Members on joint efforts to mainstream trade in the Poverty Reduction Strategies, as well as
in the broader development work of the Bank and the Fund.
Joint Seminars.  The series of informal Coherence seminars, begun in 2000, continued in
2001, providing an opportunity for World Bank and IMF staff to brief WTO delegates and
Secretariat staff on work in progress in their organizations on issues related to trade.  Topics
covered include: (i) a presentation by the World Bank of its 2000 report on "Global EconomicProspects for Developing Countries" which had a strong trade focus, and (ii) a one-day
presentation by the World Bank of an updated version of its "Handbook on Negotiating
Issues".
Task Force on Small States.  Since 1998, the WTO Secretariat has participated on the
Advisory Board of the World Bank/Commonwealth Secretariat Task Force on Small States.
Data Exchanges.  Under the WTO/IMF and WTO/World Bank cooperation agreements, the
WTO Secretariat provides the IMF and World Bank staff with access, on a confidential basis,
to the Integrated Database of the WTO and to final schedules of commitments of WTO
Members.  Subject to the same confidentialit y requirement, the Fund makes available to the
WTO Secretariat the publications files of the International Financial Statistics (IFS), Balanceof Payments Statistics (BOPS), Government Financial Statistics (GFS), and Direction of
Trade Statistics (DOTS).  The Fund's staff also makes available to the WTO Secretariat
historical data and aggregate projections in the "World Economic Outlook" (WEO).
Consideration is given to specific additional re quests pertaining to the IFS, BOPS, GFS and
DOTS databases, as well as requests for projections of individual country data to be used inthe WEO and for other statistics.  The World Bank provides the WTO Secretariat access to
the Bank Economic and Social Database (BESD), as well as the Statistical Annex of the
Global Economic Prospects and the Developing Countries.
IMF country reports.  Under the WTO/IMF cooperation agreement, the IMF makes available
to the WTO, for the confidential use of the WTO Secretariat, copies of IMF staff reports andWT/TF/COH/S/5
Page 4
related background staff papers on Article IV consultations and on use of Fund resources for
common members and on Fund members seeking accession to the WTO, subject to the
consent of the member concerned.  These documents contain details of the IMF's trade policy
advice and conditionality, which is reviewed routinely by the WTO Secretariat.  They are also
used by the WTO Secretariat for reference purposes, notably in the course of the preparationof Secretariat reports for the Trade Policy Review Mechanism.
Trade and Development Centre.  Since 1997, the WTO and the World Bank Development
Institute have maintained a shared website providing development-related trade information.
The site also provides a point of contact for trade officials in developing and transition
economies, including officials who have participated in WTO and World Bank training
courses.
Development Gateway.  The WTO continues to contribute to the World Bank's Development
Gateway, which was conceived as an Internet-based vehicle to facilitate the provision and
exchange of information relating to development.
Technical Cooperation
13. In 2001, the WTO Secretariat successfully reviewed and redesigned its technical cooperation
and trading activities to meet the following objectives:
• inject greater urgency into this important area of WTO work to reflect the importance
attached to these activities by Members;
• ensure value for money and proper return to Members and donors on their development
assistance dollar;
• promote greater accountability, transparency and prioritization in WTO technical
cooperation and training activities; and
• ensure the quality and relevance of WTO technical cooperation and training activities and
effective delivery of such assistance to developing countries and least-developedcountries.
The significant changes announced by the Director-General to the WTO membership on 18 July
included reorganization of the Technical Cooperation Division, establishment of a new Management
Committee on Trade-Related Technical Assistance, establishment of a Technical Cooperation Audit
Unit, reconstituting of the former Training Division into the WTO Training Institute, and the
establishment of a Trade Information Centre.  A key element of the changes has been to develop a
more structured approach to cooperation between the WTO and other agencies such as the IMF and
the World Bank.  This work is continuing.  Important areas of cooperation with the IMF and the
World Bank over the past year have included:
The Integrated Framework for Least-Developed countries.  The IMF and the World Bank
both participate in the Integrated Framework (IF), along with UNCTAD, UNDP, and the ITC.
The IF is a unique project-driven example of cooperation between agencies as directed byMinisters at the 1996 Singapore Ministerial Conference.   The focus of the IF is to assist
LDCs to mainstream trade into their national development strategies for poverty reduction,
and it has been operating on the basis of a pilot scheme since May 2001 in three LDCs
(Cambodia, Madagascar and Mauritania).  The agencies are involved in the day-to-dayWT/TF/COH/S/5
Page 5
operations and the management and of the IF, through the Inter-Agency Working Group and
the Integrated Framework Steering Committee, respectively.6
Integrating trade into development plans for least-developed countries was the focus of an IF
seminar organized jointly by the WTO, IMF, ITC, UNCTAD, UNDP and World Bank inGeneva on 29-30 January, 2001. The seminar also looked at how these countries can better
exercise their WTO rights and make better use of WTO opportunities. Participants included
experts in trade, finance and development.
7
WTO Training Institute.  As of 5 June 2001, the Training Division was reconstituted as the
WTO Training Institute.  This is a step in the direction of broadening the training activities ofour organization, and improving their quality and effectiveness.  The Institute has been givena mandate to work on a variety of trade policy courses, to develop distance-learning
activities,
8 to begin training of trainers programmes, as well as to strengthen links with the
academic community.  The Institute will have a joint Consultative Board which will include
representatives from the World Bank, as well as UNCTAD, the ITC, and the academic
community.  The Board, acting in an advisory  capacity, will jointly oversee the training
activities of the WTO to bring fresh perspectives to the curriculum, to ensure coherence with
other agencies, and to enhance transparency and accountability.
World Bank experts continue to present two-day "modules" at the beginning of each Trade
Policy Course (TPC).  For the first time this year, an IMF representative also participated.  Inaddition, the Training Institute will seek greater cooperation with the World Bank and the
IMF as it develops new programmes.  As the mandate of the Trade Policy Courses continues
to expand, WTO staff increasingly interact with their counterparts at the World Bank and IMF
to improve and expand the TPCs curriculum.
Geneva Week for non-resident missions.  The WTO has taken a number of initiatives to
support members and observers which do not have missions in Geneva.  This includes regular
briefing notes that are sent by e-mail to non-residents' capitals and missions in Europe, and
the annual "Geneva Week", where non-residents are invited to Geneva for briefings on WTO
work.  Here they have the chance to interact with WTO officials and Geneva-based
delegations.  IMF and World Bank staff are invited to participate in this process, providing
technical expertise and guest speakers.
Joint Vienna Institute (JVI). The WTO Secretariat works with the IMF, the World Bank, BIS,
OECD, EBRD and the Austrian Government as  co-sponsors of the Joint Vienna Institute
(JVI), established in 1992 to provide training support largely for countries making the
transition from centrally-planned to market-based economies, although other countries arealso involved.  Applied Economic Policy courses, where trade issues figure prominently, are
held twice yearly from September to December, and February to April.  The WTO also
organizes two seminar courses on trade policy, in late spring and early autumn, at the JVI.
This year the WTO is chairing the Executive Board of the JVI, and has hosted joint meetings
of the Board and external donors in Washington DC and Prague.  The activities of the JVI aresupported by a growing number of external donors, including the central banks of the Czech
Republic, Hungary, and Poland, while the Europ ean Investment Bank and the International
Financial Corporation of the World Bank Group have also expressed an interest in
                                                     
6 Reports of the  IF Steering Committee are contained in documents WT/IFSC/M1 and M/2.
7 WT/LDC/SWG/IF/15/Rev.1.
8 The Secretariat is exploring how the World Bank's Global Learning Network infrastructure can be
used in expanding the reach of WTO training courses in the future.WT/TF/COH/S/5
Page 6
participating.  In 2001, proposals have advanced, and are currently being studied, to turn the
JVI into a permanent, year-round training centre.
Trade Policy Review Reports.  Starting last year, the WTO Secretariat now regularly
examines the technical assistance needs and priorities of least-developed and lesser developed
countries, both to help guide the work of th e Integrated Framework and to feed into the
IMF/World Bank Poverty Reduction Strategy pr ocess.  This was done for Mozambique,
Uganda, and Madagascar this year, while Malawi, Mauritania, Haiti, and Zambia are
scheduled to be examined next year.
Training Programme on the Legal Aspects of Inte rnational Trade.  Building on a pilot project
last year,9 the Legal Department of the World Bank, the World Bank Institute, and the WTO
are developing a joint training programme aimed at facilitating regular exchanges among
legal experts and developing-country trade officials on issues related to international trade
law.  The programme is scheduled to be launched in 2002.  Its focus will be on promoting
mutual understanding of the legal aspects of the international trading system, and facilitating
development strategies that are consistent with  international trade rules.  The programme will
consist of a series of video-conferences, spread over several months, linking together legal
staff at World Bank headquarters in Washing ton and the WTO Secretariat in Geneva, with
developing-country officials and experts in capitals.
General Contacts Pursuant to Paragraph 10 of the IMF Agreement and Paragraph 8 of the
World Bank Agreement
14. Pursuant to Article 10 of the WTO/IMF cooperation agreement, the WTO Secretariat and the
IMF staff consult, as necessary, on issues of possible inconsistency between measures under
discussion with a common member and that member's obligations under the WTO Agreement, and onissues of possible inconsistency between measures under discussion with a common member and that
member's obligations under the Fund's Articles of Agreement.  Both the WTO Secretariat and the IMF
staff take care to ensure that cooperation in this area  is conducted in such a way as to respect fully the
separate mandates, confidentiality requirements and the necessary autonomy in decision-making
procedures of the two organisations, and that cooperation does not result in cross-conditionality nor
extra conditions on WTO Members.
15. The exchange of views and information on trade and trade-related issues is an important
requirement for greater coherence in policy-making, and the three organizations continue to draw
extensively on the work and expertise of each other.  For example, WTO reports utilise inputs from
the IMF and the World Bank on macroeconomic, trade, and social developments.  Similarly, the IMF
and the World Bank use information on trade, trade measures and related issues from WTO sources,
particularly to ensure that their policy advice does not include WTO-inconsistent measures.
High-Level Working Group on Coherence
16. The High-Level Working Group on Coherence, consisting of senior staff from the IMF, the
World Bank and the WTO, met twice in 2001.  Discussions focused in particular on joint research
projects, and on the representation of the World Bank and the IMF at the WTO's 4
th Ministerial
Conference in Doha in November, as well as on a range of issues of routine interest.
                                                     
9 Last year, WTO staff participated in a Worl d Bank seminar on "International Trade Law" in
Washington.  The purpose of the seminar was to better inform IMF and World Bank lawyers about WTO law -
given their growing role in providing legal advice on trade issues to governments.WT/TF/COH/S/5
Page 7
Least Developed and Net Food-Imp orting Developing Countries
17. The IMF and the World Bank report regularly to the Committee on Agriculture on financial
support they provide to these countries in this area, through adjustment programmes or emergency
lending in the case of the IMF, and through agricultural development projects, structural adjustmentlending and emergency lending in the case of the World Bank (G/AG/W/42/Rev.3).  In addition, the
Committee on Agriculture, in its September discussion of implementation-related issues, resolved that
an inter-agency panel of financial and commodity experts be convened to report on the scope for
improving access by least-developed and WTO net food-importing developing countries to
multilateral programmes and facilities to assist with  short-term difficulties in financing commercial
imports of basic foodstuffs, as well as on the concept and feasibility of the proposal for establishing a
revolving fund (G/AG/W/49 and Add.1).  The detailed terms of reference and composition of such aPanel would be submitted for approval by the General Council not later than the end of March 2002.
__________