Commodities

A/RES/55/183No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 92bCommodities, published in 2001.

What other versions does this mandate have?

22 versions · 1987–2025

Newer documents in this group exist (latest: 2025).

2025A/RES/80/124CommoditiesLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/138CommoditiesCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/194CommoditiesCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/74/204CommoditiesCompare with previous version
2018A/RES/72/205CommoditiesCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

13 topics

Commodities Commodity Markets Economic Cooperation Economic Growth Export Diversification Financial Assistance Research and Development South-South Trade Sustainable Development Technical Cooperation Terms of Trade Trade Liberalization Trade Negotiations

What does this mandate say?

18 operative paragraphs

Emphasizes the need for the developing countries that are heavily dependent on primary commodities to continue to promote a domestic policy and an institutional environment that encourage diversification and liberalization of the trade and export sectors and enhance competitiveness;

Expresses the urgent need for supportive international policies and measures to improve the functioning of commodity markets through efficient and transparent price formation mechanisms, including commodity exchanges, and through the use of commodity price risk management instruments;

Expresses concern at the declining terms of trade in most primary commodities, in particular for net exporters of such commodities, as well as the lack of progress in many developing countries in achieving diversification, and, in this regard, strongly emphasizes the need for actions at both the national and international levels, inter alia, to improve market access conditions, address supply-side constraints and provide support for capacity-building, including in areas that actively involve women;

Urges the developed countries to continue to support the commodity diversification and liberalization efforts of commodity-dependent developing countries, especially in Africa and the least developed countries, as well as commodity-dependent small island developing States, in a spirit of common purpose and efficiency, inter alia, by providing technical and financial assistance for the preparatory phase of their commodity diversification programmes;

Urges producers and consumers of individual commodities to intensify their efforts to reinforce mutual cooperation and assistance;

Reiterates the importance of maximizing the contribution of the commodity sector to economic growth and sustainable development, while continuing with diversification efforts in developing countries, especially in commodity-dependent countries, and, in this respect, stresses that:

International support for the efforts of developing countries in the industrial transformation of their commodities is required to increase their export revenues and improve their competitiveness with a view to facilitating their integration into the global economy;

In the context of the process of trade liberalization, tariff peaks should be minimized and the use of trade-distorting policies and protectionist practices and non-tariff barriers should be eliminated as they have negative effects on the ability of developing countries to diversify their exports and undertake the required restructuring of their commodity sector and have an adverse impact on liberalization measures taken by commodity-dependent developing countries and their efforts to eliminate poverty;

In line with Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Governments should make it their objective to ensure that trade and environmental policies are mutually supportive so as to achieve sustainable development; in so doing, their environmental policies and measures with a potential trade impact should not be used for protectionist purposes;

In the light of the process of multilateral trade liberalization, which has led to the diminution of differentials accorded by preferred trade regimes, there is a need to take measures, as appropriate and consistent with international obligations, to address the diminution, in particular by strengthening technical assistance, by continuing to provide financial assistance to commodity-dependent developing countries and by addressing supply-side constraints faced by such countries, in order to improve the competitiveness of their commodity sectors and to overcome difficulties encountered in their diversification programmes;

Timely and effective financial cooperation to facilitate the management by commodity-dependent countries of excessive fluctuations in commodity export earnings should be maintained and further pursued;

Strengthening technical cooperation in the areas of transfer of new technologies and know-how in production processes and training for technical, managerial and commercial staff in developing countries is of paramount importance for quality improvements in the commodity sector;

Expansion of South-South trade and investment in commodities enhances complementarities and offers opportunities for intersectoral linkages within and among exporting countries;

There is a need to promote, expand and intensify research and development, to provide infrastructure and support services and to encourage investment, including joint ventures in developing countries engaged in the commodity and commodity-processing sectors;

Encourages the Common Fund for Commodities, in cooperation with the International Trade Centre, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and other relevant bodies, to continue to expand the activities of its Second Account with the necessary and effective support for research and development and extension services in developing countries, including adaptive research on production and processing aimed at smallholders and small-sized and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries, in order to widen the scope of activities and thus ensure the effective participation of all stakeholders;

Invites the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, within its mandate, to provide assistance to developing countries in the financing of commodity diversification and to include issues related to commodities in the provision of analytical support and technical assistance to developing countries in their preparation for effective participation in multilateral trade negotiations and in formulating a positive agenda for future trade negotiations;

Requests the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session on world commodity trends and prospects;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-seventh session, under the item entitled “Macroeconomic policy questions”, the sub-item entitled “Commodities”.

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