Trade and Investment
Trade and investment are powerful engines that drive economic
growth and reduce poverty. By trading with other countries
and attracting foreign investment, countries can take advantage
of global market forces--competition, human resource development,
technology transfer, and technological innovation--which generate
growth.
During the 1990's, developing countries that successfully
integrated into the global economy enjoyed per capita income
increases averaging 5 percent annually. Countries that limited
their participation in the global economy saw their economies
decline. To make significant inroads in reducing poverty,
these countries need to rapidly accelerate economic growth.
The purchasing power of global markets offers opportunities
for growth that don’t exist in small, isolated, and
poor internal markets.
Before developing countries can increase their levels of
trade and investment, they must negotiate trade agreements
and comply with and implement these agreements. They must
also position their economies to be able to benefit from the
new trade agreements and become competitive in the world market
place. USAID is the U.S. government's lead agency in helping
to build the capacity of developing countries to gain from
increased levels of trade and investment.
The USAID report USAID’s
Strategy: Building Trade Capacity in the Developing World
outlines the Agency's strategy into three areas:
- Participate in trade negotiations: USAID helps to build
negotiators capacity to understand and analyze the issues
in complex trade talks and agreements, including accession
to the World Trade Organization.
- Implement trade agreements: USAID helps countries to carry
out trade agreements that may require special reporting
and institutions plus increased coordination, information
management, and oversight across ministries.
- Respond to and benefit from to trade opportunities: USAID
implements projects to address a wide range of development
needs in the public and private sectors to increases countries’
competitiveness—from helping governments create a
competitive and enabling environment to supporting local
enterprises abilities to identify and produce goods and
services the world is willing to buy.
Read more on trade capacity
building...
Back to Top ^
|
