USTR Contributes $150,000 to Assist WTO Trade Facilitation
The U.S. will contribute $150,000 to help developing countries participate in World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation negotiations. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said the funds are in response to developing countries' request to update the assessment of their technical assistance and implementation needs. Needs assessments were conducted in the area of trade facilitation in 2007-2010, and in response to the request of some members, the WTO will be updating those assessments to reflect changes since the initial assessments.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
The U.S. contribution, which was approved by Congress, will be part of a technical assistance fund that will be used to help developing nations identify the reforms they would need to make under a trade facilitation agreement and the technical assistance needed to implement those reforms, USTR said.
The WTO Trade Facilitation negotiations seek to clarify and improve certain provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. The WTO is designing a program to update these needs assessments, for those members that request such updates, to reflect changes since the initial needs assessments were conducted, USTR said.
The U.S. also is contributing $1 million for trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) to WTO, USTR said. The WTO's TRTA program provides training for developing countries that enhances their ability to participate effectively in the negotiations and other WTO activities. The U.S. contribution was appropriated by Congress as part of the funds it provides to the U.S. Department State for voluntary contributions to international organizations.