July 16, 2002
The following fact sheet was released by USTR at a press event in Geneva on July 17.

Trade Capacity Building and Trade-Related Technical Assitance

 

TRADE CAPACITY BUILDING/ TRADE-RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

"Providing assistance to promote trade-related capacity building in developing countries is an integral part of promoting their future economic development and prosperity."
Ambassador Robert B. Zoellick (January 21, 2002).

Existing U.S. Activities: The United States devotes substantial resources from many agencies in a wide range of activities, totaling more than US$ 1.3 billion in funding for trade capacity building (TCB) activities (FY1999 through FY2001.) The United States is currently surveying all agencies that provide trade-related technical assistance to update funding information.

New U.S. Initiatives in Africa: USAID will establish three new Regional Competitiveness Hubs to support implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), assist private sector development, and promote African integration into the multilateral trading system. The Hubs are to be set up at USAID's three regional missions in Botswana, Kenya and Ghana. The Botswana Hub was launched in late June; the other two are to open before the end of 2002.

US Contributions to WTO Efforts: WTO Annual Technical Assistance Plan: Following through on commitments made at the Doha Ministerial Conference to supply technical assistance to developing countries, on January 21, 2002, Ambassador Robert B. Zoellick announced the USG contribution of $1 million to the WTO's Global Trust Fund (GTF). WTO Member pledges for the Global Trust Fund for 2002 total 24 million CHF ($16 million) and in-kind contributions.

Expansion of the WTO's Trade Policy Training Programs: The USG contributed $250,000 to this important project to bring the valued WTO trade policy courses to two Universities in Africa (Morocco and Kenya).

OECD/WTO Database: As the largest bilateral donor, the updated survey of USG activities will form a significant contribution to the WTO Country Data Base which is intended to identify assistance provided by the multilateral agencies and national governments. This will be critical to documenting assistance and assessing responsiveness to developing country needs.

USG Africa-specific contributions for WTO training: The WTO is now implementing two grants, totaling $1.02 million, under the Africa Trade and Investment Policy Program (ATRIP). The grants funded dispute settlement courses, computer-based training modules on WTO agreements, 30 scholarships for 3-week training courses in Geneva and two regional seminars on agriculture and services.

ITC Trade Maps: The United States is working on a licensing agreement with the WTO/UNCTAD International Trade Centre (ITC), so that USAID missions can make available the ITC's interactive trademap database to a wide-range of users in developing country, including government officials, private sector, and NGOs. This will be an important analytical tool for developing countries.

U.S. Contributions to the Integrated Framework: The USG will contribute additional funds for Integrated Framework (IF) follow-up work. The IF is the mechanism for coordinating the work of six multilateral agencies in mainstreaming trade into the development strategies of the Least-Developed Countries (LDCs). The Agencies are: International Trade Center (ITC), International Monetary Fund (IMF), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Three pilot Diagnostic Trade Integration Studies (DTIS) have been completed for Cambodia, Madagascar & Mauritania. DTIS are scheduled for Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Senegal and Yemen.