When the Doha Development Agenda was launched in November 2001, World Trade Organization (WTO) members agreed that this round of negotiations must emphasize development so that developing countries can share in the benefits of expanded global trade. However, to take full advantage of the opportunities trade can offer, developing countries need technical assistance and trade capacity building so they can attract investment and the critical private sector capital that will bring with it the latest technology and skills.

The United States has broad, comprehensive trade capacity building programs throughout the world. With such programs, developing countries can harness the power of trade and create open, predictable policies and procedures to boost economic growth and reduce poverty. The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) leads the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) trade capacity building efforts in developing countries. FAS programs and activities are designed to build institutions and regulatory frameworks that facilitate trade and create an environment conducive to market-driven agricultural growth, while also supporting the President’s 2006 Trade Policy Agenda and 2006 National Security Strategy of the United States.

FAS trade capacity building efforts fall into the following primary areas:

• Helping developing countries meet their World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations and strengthening policy and regulatory frameworks, especially on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, and avoiding or eliminating unjustified technical trade barriers. FAS provides training and technical assistance in topics ranging from food safety to SPS standards to international standards-setting bodies. This helps developing countries understand how internationally recognized guidelines work, understand their obligations and rights, and put workable and credible institutional systems in place. Many developing countries need to understand more fully the Codex Alimentarius, the International Plant Protection Convention, and the World Animal Health Organization, which are the three international standards-setting bodies for food, plants, and animals. FAS provides technical assistance, scientific training, and research opportunities to developing country decision makers, researchers, and scientists so they become familiar with these organizations and their regulations.
   
• Enhancing market infrastructure development, including market information systems, agricultural grades and standards, and cold chain practices, and increasing the capacity to purchase U.S. agricultural products. FAS provides technical assistance and training to help developing countries enhance their agricultural market information systems. This training demonstrates how to collect, analyze, and disseminate statistical and economic information needed by decision makers to trade, regionally and globally.

FAS also provides training to help countries improve grades and standards for fruits, vegetables, and bulk commodities, and technical assistance in cold chain processes to preserve the safety and quality of perishable products.

Success Stories

U.S. Trade and Development Agency

• Trade Capacity Building Sector
   

• USTDA Awards Over $2.7 Million in Grants To Promote Economic Growth in Africa (06/07/06)
  — Fact Sheet: USTDA Grants Signed at the AGOA Forum (06/07/06)

U.S. Government Accountability Office

World Trade Organization

• Doha Development Agenda Trade Capacity Building Database
   

• 2005 Joint WTO/OECD Report on Trade-Related Technical Assistance and Capacity Building (December 2005)