WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/COMTD/AFT/W/26/Add.1 
20 June 2011  
 
(11-3029) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Aid for Trade  
 
 
 
COMPENDIUM OF AID FOR TRADE CASE STORIES 
 
Joint Communication from the OECD and WTO Secretariats1 
 
Addendum 
  
1. This addendum contains six additional case stor ies submitted in June 2011.  One case story 
was submitted by the World Trade Organization (W TO) Secretariat and the remaining five case 
stories were presented by Cambodia. 
2. The following paragraph should be added at the end of "Section IV - Case Stories about 
Global Aid-For-Trade Programmes": 
The World Trade Organization  (WTO) submitted a case story showcasing the results 
achieved by its trade-related technical assistance activities in key areas necessary to equip developing 
countries and particularly least-developed countri es to effectively participate in the multilateral 
trading system and reap its benefits.  This has b een done through the application of a monitoring and 
evaluation tools inherent in the Results Based Management (RBM) methodology.  The immediate 
(output level) to medium term (outcome level) effects of selected WTO technical assistance activities have been tracked and highlight ed via the use of qualitative and quantitative trade performance 
indicators.  The case story highlights several are as where WTO's technical assistance has strengthened 
the capacity of many partner countries.  For exam ple, many delegations ha ve acknowledged the high 
degree of attribution between the WTO's training received as having put them in a much better 
position to actively engage in the Committee work, negotiations as well as wi der participation in 
trade-related activities.  In continued efforts to ensure that WTO's trade capacity building programmes 
are results oriented and accommodating the trade-re lated needs of developing countries at various 
levels, this case story highlights the importance of design, management and delivery of these 
programmes being governed by the RBM approa ch and complemented by WTO's Progressive 
Learning Strategy (PLS).
2  The PLS is woven into the technical assistance activities and is managed 
by the sequencing principle, geared essentially to strengthen the absorption capacity for the training at 
the next tier to be more efficient and effective.  Thus, the dual application of PLS and RBM in WTO's 
technical assistance plans act to safeguard further growth and even tual sustainability of human and 
institutional capacities to deal with WTO-related wo rk and in the long-run achieve the wider goal of 
supporting poverty reduction.  C ase Story (CS) Ref. no. 275. 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the res ponsibility of the OECD and WTO Secretariats and 
without prejudice to the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the OECD or WTO. 
2 The Progressive Learning Strategy is a tiered approach operating at levels 1, 2 and 3 with a two-track 
methodology, i.e. the generalist and the specialist paths. WT/COMTD/AFT/W/26/Add.1 
Page 2  
 
  3. The following paragraphs should be added under "Section VI - Asia and The Pacific" at the 
end of "Sub-Section E - South-East Asia"
3:   
Cambodia  submitted five case stories that illustrate  the country's experience with Aid for 
Trade.  The first case story addresses the implem entation of Cambodia's Work Programme of legal 
reforms and commitments resulting from WTO accession.  It describes how the WTO accession 
process spurred the Government of Cambodia to ta ke action and improve its legal and regulatory 
framework to strengthen the country’s business and trade environment.  Coordination of assistance 
and resource mobilization were some of the challe nges that the introduction of the Trade Sector-Wide 
Approach (Trade SWAp) in early 2008 helped overcom e.  As a result, the Government of Cambodia 
was able to make significant progress in the area of  trade facilitation, intellectual property protection 
and foreign investment.  On trade facilitation, the number of days required to clear import and export 
containers through customs has declined by n early half since the mid-2000s.  In the area of 
intellectual property, over 36,000 tr ademarks were registered by th e end of 2010, including 100 patent 
applications and 130 applications  for industrial design and the es tablishment of two geographical 
indications.  Foreign investment increased fro m US$80 million in 2003 to US$533 million in 2009.  
The Government of Cambodia is also seeking to make  further progress in other areas, such as sanitary 
and phytosanitary (SPS) issues, and human and in stitutional capacity building.  CS Ref. no. 270. 
The second case story by Cambodia  describes the reforms implemented in the area of trade 
facilitation.  The case story notes that trade facilitation has received the most coordinated technical assistance from multiple development partners in the ar ea of trade development.  This has led to the 
successful simplification of customs procedures th rough the introduction of the Single Administrative 
Document (SAD), the implementation of a risked-ba sed inspection strategy and the adoption of the 
Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA).  The World Bank's Doing Business 2011 reports 
that time to export has been reduced  from an average of 37 days in 2007 to 22 days in 2010 and the 
time to import from an average of 45 days in 2007 to  26 days in 2010.  The case story concludes that 
further progress in the area of trade facilitation will be determined by improvements in SPS controls.  
CS Ref. no. 271.   
The third case story by Cambodia  illustrates the expansion and diversification of Cambodia's 
exports of milled rice.  It was the initiative and lead ership of the private sector that initiated the move 
away from paddy rice to milled rice exports.  In or der to support the efforts of Cambodian rice millers 
and to reduce remaining bottlenecks to export, the Government issued a Policy Paper on the 
Promotion of Paddy Rice Production and Rice Export in 2010.  The Policy sets out a target of 
1 million metric tonnes of milled rice exports by 20 15-2016.  Exports of milled rice have gone from 
being insignificant to 20,000 metric tonnes in 200 9-2010, and are expected to reach 50,000 to 60,000 
metric tonnes in 2010-2011.  In this sector, th e Agriculture SWAp, the Trade SWAp and the Rice 
Export Policy are proving effective tools for the Government to effect stronger Aid for Trade 
coordination.  CS Ref. no. 272.   
Capacity building for export value chains  and trade information was the subject Cambodia's  
fourth case story, submitted by its Ministry of Co mmerce.  The need for capacity development in 
value chains was identified in the Cambodia Trad e Integration Strategy 2007 and has led to the 
creation of a Value Chain Unit within the Minist ry of Commerce with initial support from the United 
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Trade-Re lated Assistance for Development and Equity 
(TRADE) project.  While it is too early to identify measurable impacts, the cas e story recognises that 
in the medium- and long-term the creation of str ong value chain and trade information capacity could 
support the Government’s capacity to plan and coor dinate additional Aid for Trade with development 
                                                      
3 South-East Asia:  Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, 
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/26/Add.1 
 Page 3 
 
 
  partners for selected export value chains.  At th e same time, it would be crucial in supporting the 
private sector in its efforts to reach international markets.  CS Ref. no. 273.   
The fifth case story from Cambodia, also submitted by its Ministry of Commerce, addresses 
the expansion and diversification efforts of Cam bodian silk production.  Since the 1990s, the sector 
has received the support of various developm ent partners.  Initial assistance from the Agence 
Française de Développement (AFD) was taken over in 2006 by the International Trade Centre (ITC) 
multi-donor support with the financing of the New Zealand Agency for International Development 
(NZAID), the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and UNDP Trade-Related Assistance for Development and Equity (TRADE) pr oject.  More recently, the Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO) has started providing support on  sericulture.  The support received has helped 
revitalize the silk sector, but early assistance was mostly donor-driven and private-sector focussed.  
The case story highlights the importance of involvi ng the Government to consolidate progress and 
formulate a sector-wide strategy for the Cambodian s ilk, through targeted policies and the creation of 
a business enabling environment for the sector.  It al so makes the case for the significance of the silk 
sector to the Cambodian economy.  The estimated  value added of the silk sector is about 
US$25 million and 2009 estimates suggest that ex port of silk products were around US$3.5 to 
4 million.  This indicates that a substitution of dom estic production from current imports of yarn could 
create an additional 20,000 to 25,000 jobs, which w ould benefit mainly women in relatively poorer 
regions.  CS Ref. no. 274. 
 
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