Engaging and consulting on trade agreements

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trade policy brief

Engaging and consulting on trade agreements

October 2019

A number of trends are contributing to a complex and challenging environment for trade agreements:

Why do consultation and engagement matter?

They promote greater understanding of trade and the role of trade in national economic policy.

They help to respond to citizens’ legitimate desire for greater engagement in, and ability to influence, trade policy.

They help to build relationships of dialogue and trust with key groups; lack of transparency feeds mistrust, which is hard to dispel once created.

They make for better trade agreements, benefitting from more information about societal interests; the nuances of, especially nontraditional, issues; and public sensitivities.

They help to build support for agreements, including for legislative passage.

They help to promote greater awareness, and use, of the opportunities created under new agreements.

The broader scope of trade agreements, including behind-the-border and regulatory issues, and newer issues related to progressive trade agendas (e.g., environment, labour). Increasingly professional and networked civil society organisations (CSOs), looking to have increased upstream involvement in policy-making. New possibilities for engagement enabled by the Internet, but also greater expectations for transparency; more limited ability to maintain confidentiality; and the potential for even small, local issues to go global. Waning public support for trade and for globalisation more broadly, mistrust of governments and experts, and a feeling among some that trade agreements are negotiated with insufficient transparency and accountability or that their benefits have been oversold. A ubiquitous media cycle, including driven by social media, along with concerns about misinformation, “fake news” and “echo chambers” where existing beliefs are reinforced, irrespective of evidence.

All this suggests the need to think again about how to make trade policy-making a more open conversation where more people can inform, and be informed by, the debate. This places new demands on the process of trade negotiations, including in terms of time, resources and skilled staff. Many countries are updating and expanding their processes for consultation and engagement, moving from passive styles of consultation (such as posting texts online for comment) to proactive efforts to engage continuously with a wider range of stakeholders using a broader range of tools, including workshops, town halls and roadshows. Engagement is becoming more systematic and more continuous, before, during and after the negotiation of agreements. This note draws on discussions at the OECD Trade Committee to highlight some observations and approaches regarding consultation and engagement on trade agreements.

Better process leads to better outcomes There is wide recognition of not just the need for, but the benefits of, greater engagement. Transparency leads to more accountability, and greater legitimacy for any deal. By contrast, secrecy can lead to greater criticism, with negative consequences, including for legislative passage of the agreement. www.oecd.org/trade

tad.contact@oecd.org

Consultation is a two-way process of information sharing and education, and helps sustain support for rules-based trade. Inputs from stakeholders lead to better decisions. Private sector input highlights issues for business and informs negotiating priorities. Consultation with stakeholders can also help new governments get across trade issues. Some systems for engagement and consultation are evolving at the initiative of trade ministries, or at the urging of stakeholder groups. Others are legislatively mandated, setting out the processes to be followed and establishing specific consultation mechanisms within government, with legislative bodies and with stakeholders. There is a risk that consultation can be dominated by vested interests, but broad engagement, over time, can help to avoid capture. Broadening the conversation is key.

WHO: Broadening the conversation The much broader scope of trade agreements enlarges the group of stakeholders, both within and outside government, that need to be included in engagement and consultation. This reflects the need for wider and more specialised expertise, as well as questions about the legitimacy of trade negotiators to lead discussions on newer issues (such as environment and labour) for which other national or international forums exist.

@OECDtrade


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