Trade Capacity Building
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2009
The world's least developed countries hold 12 percent of the world's population but account for less than one percent of global trade. Expanding trade with and among developing countries is a critical driver of economic growth and poverty reduction because it encourages entrepreneurship, human resource development, technology transfer, technological innovation and good governance.
The United States is the largest single-country provider of trade-related assistance in the world. The U.S. government, primarily through USAID and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, has provided more than $9.7 billion in trade-related assistance - often called "aid for trade" - to developing country trading partners since 2000, providing over $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2008 alone.
USAID's Approach
Since 2001, USAID has provided more than $3.4 billion through Trade Capacity Building programs, helping more than 110 developing countries prepare government officials and private sector representatives to participate in trade negotiations and implement trade commitments, adopt trade-friendly policies, and improve commercial practices.
In Bangladesh - where USAID introduced shrimp exporters to hygienic processing, eco-friendly freshwater species, and other best practices - exports have grown by 30 percent. USAID helps municipal governments in El Salvador remove constraints on businesses, creating a more growth-friendly policy environment. USAID is helping Jordan become one of the first developing countries to sign on to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. In Tanzania, USAID helped establish transparent procedures to document and track trade and register dealers for the gem tanzanite, averting Al-Qaeda's alleged trade in the gem and reviving tanzanite retail in the United States. USAID improves trade policy at a regional level in Africa through trade hubs, which help African businesses in 40 countries participate in local, regional, and international markets.
In 2008, USAID funding for trade capacity building totaled more than $385 million. A breakout of the top six funding categories within trade capacity building includes:
" $118 million for trade facilitation (customs operations)
" $62 million for trade-related agriculture
" $36 million for financial sector development and good governance
" $32 million for environmental trade and standards
" $27 million for physical infrastructure development
" $25 million for human resources and labor standards
For more data and success stories on USAID and other U.S. government trade capacity building assistance, visit the USAID-maintained TCB database at http://qesdb.usaid.gov/tcb/. For more information about USAID and its programs, go to www.usaid.gov.
The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.
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