Centre for Trade and Development (Centad) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation registered under the Indian Societies Act that carries out policy research and advocacy on issues around trade and development, with a focus on South Asia.

Centad aims to strengthen the ability of governments and communities to make trade and globalisation work for development. Its focus currently is on South Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka).

Rationale

International trade is recognised as a powerful process that has the capacity to enhance economic growth in developing countries. It can do this best when combined with the right macroeconomic policies and poverty reduction strategies.

For developing nations to harness the opportunities that trade presents, their communities need to understand the phenomenon of trade, the role and impact of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime, and the linkages trade has with overall development.

Role

Centad seeks to aid this understanding by research and advocacy, interactions with civil society institutions, policy makers and other stakeholders. It seeks to strengthen the capacity of people, especially the poor, and their governments, to harness trade in a manner that helps development.

Centad works to:

• advocate for policy changes around trade and development in South Asia, with a specific focus on India, based on rigorous research analysis combined with grassroots experience
• offer unique policy insights into debates around trade and development, and
• facilitate the process of development by empowering South Asian civil society organisations (CSOs) with information on the linkages between trade, development and poverty reduction.

Key activities

• Undertake policy-oriented research on trade and development.
• Publish policy papers and briefing documents.
• Publish a trade and development report for South Asia.
• Organise seminars and fora for sharing knowledge and advocating on key policy issues.
• Engage with policy makers to advocate and lobby for change at national as well as global levels.
• Develop a comprehensive website on South Asia trade and development issues.

Strategy

Centad's main strategy is to further an understanding of the linkages between trade and development in the South Asia region through the following approaches:

• Research
• Advocacy
• Outreach

Research

Research is central to understanding the real impact of international trade on the people of South Asia, and its linkage with development. To further this aim, Centad has three research projects on its agenda:

• Annual Trade and Development Report. The thrust of this report will be on analysing the impact of trade on development in South Asia, especially after the formation of the World Trade Organisation.
• TRIPS and public health. Comprehensive research on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and public health, with special focus on India where the introduction of product patents has raised fears of escalating drug prices.
• Regional Trade Agreements (RTA). Research to explore the linkages between RTAs and free trade agreements in South Asia and some specific sectors.

Advocacy

Advocacy is one of the most important strategies for civil society organisations to fulfil their objectives. Centad has identified the following advocacy strategies:

• Language translation. Briefing documents and research papers will be translated into Hindi and other regional languages to make them more accessible.
• Building and supporting coalitions and alliances. Centad will have at least one partner in every South Asian country and numerous partners in India. In addition, it will be a resource centre linking all CSOs and bridging the gap between research organisations, academic institutions and CSOs.
• Advocacy with policy makers. Providing reader-friendly briefs on trade issues to policy and law makers will lead to a better understanding of the issues and may result in better policy formation.
• Interactions with policy makers. Centad will encourage the participation of policy makers at conferences where they can interact with CSOs and other stakeholders.