Certificate Program in Trade and Development

Centre for Trade Policy and Law (CTPL)

Carleton University/University of Ottawa

September 29-30, 2015, Ottawa, Canada

This is a practical, skills-based course on how to promote Canada’s trade interests and development cooperation objectives through an integrated engagement strategy.   The course is designed for trade and development practitioners in government, the non-profit and private sectors involved in the design, development and implementation of Canada trade and development strategy.   The course will be complemented by online modules on the fundamentals of trade agreements and trade policy analysis.

Learning objectives:

This course is a practical, skills-based course on how to design an effective trade and development strategy for Canada.   Participants will

  • learn how trade and development objectives can be integrated to promote sustainable economic growth;
  • learn how to use decision-making analysis to determine an appropriate trade and development strategy for a developing country; and
  • gain greater insights into how Canada can support the trade and development objectives of its developing country partners.

Instructors:         Phil Rourke, Executive Director, CTPL; Lecturer at Carleton (NPSIA), uOttawa (Faculty of Law), and University of the West Indies (Shridath Ramphal Centre)

Don Stephenson, former ADM Trade, DFADT; former Canadian Ambassador to the WTO

Yiagadeesen (Teddy) Samy, Associate Director, NPSIA, Carleton University

Dane Rowlands, Director, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA), Carleton University

Soraya Hassanali, international trade and development consultant

TUESDAY, September 29th

8h30-8h45           Continental breakfast

8h45-9h00           Introduction to course

Phil Rourke

9h00-10h30         How trade policy shapes a country’s economic growth and development strategy

  • definition and core principles of trade economics
  • how free markets are efficient
  • market failure and public goods
  • the role of government in a country’s trade, economic development and commercial policies

Instructors: Dane Rowlands and Yiagadeesen (Teddy) Samy

                               

10h15-10h30      Break

10h30-12h00      Why are some countries rich and others poor?

  • growth and development theory
  • what determines productivity and competitiveness
  • the role of institutions
  • the role of government and structural reforms
  • challenges: foreign direct investment, global value chains, and corporate social responsibility

Instructors: Dane Rowlands and Yiagadeesen (Teddy) Samy

12h00-13h00      Lunch

13h00-14h30      Exercise: Global Value Chains and Ethiopia’s flower industry  

Participants will work in groups to analyse this example of how the private sector, government, and targeted trade capacity building support can work together to promote trade and development objectives.

Instructors: Phil Rourke and Don Stephenson

14h30-14h45      Break

14h45-16h30      The trade and development challenge  

  • how a trade practitioner looks at development issues
  • how a development practitioner looks as trade issues
  • understanding the trade and development challenges for both Canada and its developing country partners

Instructors:  Don Stephenson and Soraya Hassanali

 

16h30                    End of Day 1

WEDNESDAY, September 30th

8h30-8h45           Continental breakfast

8h45-10h00         Trade policy analysis and strategic planning 

  • identifying trade policy problems and alternatives; assessing trade policy choices
  • understanding the policy instruments available in a trade practitioner’s “tool kit”
  • decision-making analysis for developing policy recommendations

Instructor: Phil Rourke

10h00-10h15      Break

10h15-12h00      Exercise:  Designing a trade strategy for Canada and its developing country partners

Participants work in groups to develop trade policy recommendations.  Half of the participants will be given a case exercise involving Canada; the remaining participants will work on a case exercise involving a developing country.  All groups will use the policy analysis framework presented in the previous module to develop their trade policy recommendations to their respective Deputy Ministers.

Facilitators: Soraya Hassanali, Phil Rourke and Don Stephenson

12h00-13h00      Lunch

13h00-15h00      Group discussion and presentations  

Each group finalizes their discussions and presents its recommended strategy.  The group discussion focuses on comparing and contrasting how Canada and its developing country partners with trade and development issues.

Instructor: Soraya Hassanali, Phil Rourke and Don Stephenson

15h00-15h15      Break

15h15-16h30      Designing a trade and development strategy for Canada

This capstone examines the effectiveness of recent examples in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia of governments and donor agencies integrating trade issues into development programming.   These cases will inform an interactive discussion of how to integrate trade and development objectives into a practical strategy for Canada

Facilitators: Phil Rourke, Soraya Hassanali, Dane Rowlands, Yiagadeesen (Teddy) Samy, and Don Stephenson

16h30                    End of course