International Trade and Development

A/RES/80/121View PDF

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A document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 16aInternational trade and development, published in 2025.

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33 versions · 1994–2025

2025A/RES/80/121International trade and developmentLatestCompare with previous version
2024A/RES/79/195International trade and developmentCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/134International trade and developmentCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/77/151International trade and developmentCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/190International trade and developmentCompare with previous version

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8 entities

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What subjects does this mandate have?

4 topics

Development International Trade Multilateral Trade Negotiations Trade Facilitation

What does this mandate say?

46 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Trade and Development Board of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the report of the Secretary-General;

Reaffirms that international trade is an engine for inclusive growth and poverty eradication and that it contributes to the promotion of sustainable development, structural transformation and industrialization, particularly in developing countries;

Underscores that a universal, rules-based, fair, open, transparent, predictable, inclusive, non‑discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system should contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, providing policy space for national development objectives, poverty eradication and sustainable development, consistent with relevant international rules and countries’ commitments, and promote export-led growth in the developing countries through, inter alia, preferential trade access for developing countries, targeted special and differential treatment that responds to the development needs of individual countries, and the elimination of trade barriers that are inconsistent with World Trade Organization agreements;

Recalls the ministerial decision of 7 December 2013 on duty-free and quota-free market access for least developed countries, recognizes that nearly all developed country members of the World Trade Organization provide either full or nearly full duty-free and quota-free market access to least developed country products and that a number of developing country members of the World Trade Organization also grant a significant degree of duty-free and quota-free market access to least developed country products, takes note of the adoption of trading arrangements that further extend preferential market access for the benefit of other developing States, and welcomes the ministerial decision that was adopted at the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization on 2 March 2024 on smooth transition support measures in favour of countries graduated from the least developed country category;

Also recalls the commitment of World Trade Organization members to work towards the necessary reform of the Organization, with the aim of improving all its functions, while reaffirming the foundational principles of the Organization, and to conduct discussions with a view to having a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system accessible to all members as soon as possible, and for this purpose, to accelerate discussions in an inclusive and transparent manner, build on the progress already made, and work on unresolved issues, while taking advantage of the available opportunities, addressing the challenges that the Organization is facing and ensuring the Organization’s proper functioning; the work shall be member-driven, open, transparent, inclusive and must address the interests of all members, including development issues; and notes the contribution of the multilateral trading system to promote the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals;

Reaffirms that maintaining stable trade flows is essential to urgently addressing the multiple global crises, inter alia, of food, energy and finance faced by developing countries, as well as enhancing food security and nutrition in these countries;

Underscores the urgent need to keep markets, including for food, fertilizer and agriculture, open, equitable, transparent, non‑discriminatory and predictable by eliminating trade-restrictive measures and distortions, speculations and hoarding through the reform of the multilateral trade rules on agriculture, according to World Trade Organization mandates, and to ensure sustained food security and nutrition of countries, particularly the least developed and net food-importing developing countries;

Encourages cooperation among countries to improve agricultural productivity and trade with a view to increasing the availability, accessibility and affordability of food to help address global food security;

Notes with concern that certain forms of support for agricultural producers are either trade-distorting or harmful to nature and health, and reaffirms its commitment to correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, highlights the need to address trade-distorting domestic support in agriculture, and looks forward to continuing the World Trade Organization negotiations consistent with existing mandates to further reform agricultural trade rules, with a view to achieving concrete and positive results at the next Ministerial Conference;

Stresses the continuing importance of the provision and mobilization of new and additional means of implementation, such as climate finance, technology transfer on mutually agreed terms and capacity-building to developing countries, for expanding trade in renewable energy that can contribute to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy and in line with their national development priorities, including through making clean and renewable energy technologies available for all;

Recognizes the increase in services trade as a portion of global economic output, and its role in trade and employment as well as its contribution to global and regional connectivity and productivity growth, and in this respect underlines the critical role of services, digitally enabled services and electronic commerce and creative economy in sustainable development, and highlights the importance of supporting developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, in taking advantage of the sector’s potential, including by addressing the digital divides and improving data collection and regulatory capacities of services;

Also recognizes the importance of plurilateral initiatives at the World Trade Organization, which have been vital in driving concrete progress in key areas of trade;

Urges the members of the World Trade Organization to reaffirm their commitment to enhancing the participation of the least developed countries in global services trade, including by conducting research through the least developed countries services waiver questionnaire at the World Trade Organization to review and promote the operationalization of the services waiver, formalized by a decision adopted at the 2011 Ministerial Conference;

Underscores the continuing need for international support to increase economic resilience and diversification of commodity-dependent developing countries in such a way that their structural transformation is sustainable and economically meaningful;

Encourages the scaling up of Aid for Trade, particularly for the least developed countries, and commits to improving its efficiency and effectiveness, placing special emphasis on addressing the priorities of least developed countries, and reaffirms the commitment under the Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries to significantly increase Aid for Trade support for these countries;

Calls upon Member States to take complementary actions at the national level to strengthen domestic enabling environments and implement sound domestic policies and reforms conducive to realizing the potential of trade for inclusive growth and sustainable development;

Notes the commitment to increase the added value and competitiveness of the exports of critical minerals and commodities of developing countries by strengthening and supporting the establishment of sectors capable of enhancing the capacity of local industries to participate in regional and global value chains, to drive industrialization, growth and development in those sectors; and encourages collaborative efforts involving Governments, regulators, industry stakeholders and civil society to foster fair, transparent and resilient commodity markets that benefit all participants in a fair way and contribute positively to global economic stability and sustainability at all levels;

Underlines that enlarging aggregate trade gains alone is insufficient to help countries to eliminate poverty, empower women or create jobs on a sustainable basis, in order to reduce inequality within and among countries, and that trade must be made more inclusive to benefit people and economic actors who tend to be economically isolated or vulnerable;

Calls for the development of additional and innovative instruments that support the integration of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries into higher-value global value chains with a focus on financial inclusion that ensures that trade benefits all;

Reaffirms the importance of promoting regional economic integration of developing countries to foster trade recovery and development, and in this regard welcomes ongoing efforts to fully operationalize the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, including the commencement of actual trading under the Agreement aimed at doubling intra-African trade to deliver economic transformation and strengthen Africa’s resilience, including food security and nutrition, recovery from the consequences of COVID‑19 and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and notes the progress made in the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement;

Reiterates that States will not be able to achieve the ambitious Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development without a revitalized and enhanced global partnership and means of implementation and that a revitalized global partnership will facilitate an intensive global engagement in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, bringing together Governments, civil society, the private sector, the United Nations system and other actors and mobilizing all available resources;

Welcomes the outcome document of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, the Sevilla Commitment, and calls for its timely and effective implementation;

Encourages the development and implementation of inclusive trade policies that can contribute to advancing gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, which has a positive impact on economic growth and contributes to poverty eradication;

Recommits firmly to promoting a rules-based, non‑discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, equitable and transparent multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its core, as well as meaningful trade liberalization, and with a strong development dimension in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, while preserving the fundamental principles of the World Trade Organization;

Calls for strengthening competition and consumer protection laws, policies and enforcement for open, fair, equitable, transparent, non‑discriminatory and predictable markets, deepening international cooperation among competition authorities in order to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement against cross-border anti‑competitive business practices, in accordance with the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices, and among consumer protection authorities in order to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement against cross-border fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices, in accordance with the United Nations guidelines for consumer protection;

Looks forward to the convening of the Fourteenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, to be held in Cameroon from 26 to 29 March 2026;

Emphasizes the need to continue combating protectionism in all its forms and to rectify any trade-distorting measures, including trade barriers, that are inconsistent with World Trade Organization rules, recognizing the right of countries, in particular developing countries, to fully utilize flexibilities consistent with their World Trade Organization commitments and obligations, and emphasizes that the work of the World Trade Organization shall continue to promote sustainable economic development with provisions for special and differential treatment remaining integral;

Takes note with appreciation of the ministerial decision on the TRIPS Agreement that was adopted at the Twelfth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization to authorize the use of the subject matter of a patent required for the production and supply of COVID‑19 vaccines without the consent of the right holder to the extent necessary to address the COVID‑19 pandemic, in accordance with the provisions of article 31 of the TRIPS Agreement, and recognizes that paragraph 8 of the ministerial decision on the TRIPS Agreement (WT/MIN(22)/30) states that members of the World Trade Organization will decide on the extension of the ministerial decision to cover the production and supply of COVID‑19 diagnostics and therapeutics;

Calls for enhancing the capacity of the multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its core, to increase pandemic and disaster preparedness and resilience through a multifaceted response, including through partnership with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the International Trade Centre, and including by strengthening the resilience of global supply chains, including short-term measures such as trade facilitation, transparency and restraint in relation to export restrictions on vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics supplies, as well as the rapid scaling up and expansion of vaccine production globally, including in developing countries, and recalls the ministerial declaration on the World Trade Organization response to the COVID‑19 pandemic and preparedness for future pandemics, adopted on 17 June 2022;

Recalls the decision at the Twelfth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization not to impose export restrictions on foodstuffs purchased for non‑commercial humanitarian purposes by the World Food Programme;

Takes note of the dedicated work programme undertaken in the World Trade Organization as provided for in the ministerial declaration on the emergency response to food insecurity to examine how the Marrakesh Ministerial Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries could be made more effective and operational and consider the needs of least developed and net food-importing developing countries to increase their resilience in responding to acute food instability, bolster their agricultural production and enhance their domestic food security, as needed, in an emergency;

Underlines that any emergency measures introduced to address food security concerns shall minimize trade distortions as far as possible, be temporary, targeted, transparent and be notified and implemented in accordance with World Trade Organization rules, and underscores that particular regard should be given to the effect that such measures have on developing countries, including the least developed and net food-importing developing countries;

Welcomes the entry into force of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies among accepting World Trade Organization members on 15 September 2025, having reached the required threshold of two-thirds of members formally accepting the agreement, urges members of the World Trade Organization that have not yet done so to promptly accept the Agreement, and encourages the members of the World Trade Organization to finalize negotiations on outstanding issues and achieve a comprehensive agreement on fisheries subsidies, including through further disciplines on certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing country members and least developed country members should be an integral part of these negotiations;

Underlines the importance of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation annexed to the Protocol amending the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization in improving transparency, expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit, and thereby reducing trade costs, and in this regard encourages its full and effective implementation, including through enhanced support towards its implementation;

Urges the international community to adopt urgent and effective measures to eliminate the use of unilateral economic, financial or trade measures that are not authorized by relevant organs of the United Nations, and that are inconsistent with the principles of international law or the Charter of the United Nations or that contravene the basic principles of the multilateral trading system and that affect, in particular, but not exclusively, developing countries;

Reiterates the need to make efforts to ensure a level-playing field and fair competition by discouraging protectionism and market distorting practices, to foster a favourable trade and investment environment for all, consistent with World Trade Organization rules;

Notes that the use of policy instruments for environmental purposes with potential impact on international trade can have unintended consequences for partner countries, especially the least developed countries, which need to be addressed to aid their pursuit of structural transformation and economic diversification;

Expresses deep concern regarding unilateral protectionist measures taken by some trade partners that would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries or a disguised restriction on international trade, including unilateral and discriminatory border adjustment mechanisms and taxes;

Stresses the importance of article 3.5 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and article 4.15 of the Paris Agreement, in this regard welcomes the recognition, in the global stocktake at the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, that measures taken to combat climate change, including unilateral ones, should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade, and calls upon Parties to reconsider such measures and suspend their implementation;

Welcomes efforts to enhance South-South and triangular trade cooperation under interregional trade arrangements, such as the Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries, as a vehicle to support export diversification, economic resilience and technological upgrading;

Reiterates the important role of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development as the focal point within the United Nations system for the integrated treatment of trade and development and interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development, and in contributing to supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda;

Reaffirms the fundamental role that competition and consumer protection laws, policies and enforcement can play for strong economic development and the usefulness of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices and the United Nations guidelines for consumer protection, as well as the important and useful role that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development plays in this field;

Takes note of the report of the Ninth United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices, held from 7 to 11 July 2025 in Geneva, and, in line with the recommendations contained therein, decides to rename the Conference as the United Nations Conference on Competition and Consumer Protection, and also decides to convene the Tenth United Nations Conference on Competition and Consumer Protection, to be held under the auspices of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in 2030;

Welcomes the convening of the sixteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, from 20 to 23 October 2025 in Geneva;

Reaffirms the commitment at the very heart of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind and commit to taking more tangible steps to support people in vulnerable situations and the most vulnerable countries and to reach the furthest behind first;

Requests the Secretary-General, in collaboration with the secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, to submit to the General Assembly at its eighty-first session a report on the implementation of the present resolution and developments in the international trading system, and decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eighty-first session, under the item entitled “Macroeconomic policy questions”, the sub-item entitled “International trade and development”.

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