NML’s Program on International Trade is focused on regional trade agreements (RTAs), inclusive and sustainable trade and development, and capacity building. NML’s work encompasses a range of trade rules and policies, digital trade rules, regulation of specific sectors, sustainable development and alignment with the UN SDGs, trade corridors and value chains, food security, and regional trade frameworks (including African RTAs such as the AfCFTA, ECOWAS, EAC, COMESA, and SADC). Particular areas of focus include gender and trade, digital regulation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, standards, services regulation (including financial services), labor and environment, regulation of small businesses, and customs and trade facilitation. NML’s programmatic work also includes investment and the business enabling environment. In addition, NML’s trade program has focused on key sectors and value chains, including e-commerce and services, cosmetics, and handicrafts and apparel.

NML’s trade program centers on development-focused models for international and regional trade designed to tailor trade rules and agreements to local needs and the SDGs. NML has advocated for new models for trade agreements and trade preference programs, initiatives to improve food security, and legal and regulatory approaches that balance the interests of diverse economies and legal systems. NML has made notable contributions that link international legal frameworks with development considerations, working with partners like the World Economic Forum, UN Agencies, the Asia Pacific Economic Community (APEC), the WTO, think tanks (such as CSIS, Brookings, and the German Marshall Fund), the Center for International Private Enterprise, and African regional economic communities to provide thought leadership on new approaches to trade and development.