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Trade Capacity Building
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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
Resources:
U.S. Department of
Agriculture
U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID)
U.S. Trade
Representative
The White House
U.S. Department of
State
U.S. Trade and Development Agency
U.S. Government
Accountability Office
World Trade Organization
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