14 April 2003

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) supports trade capacity-building efforts in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, according to an April 4 USTDA press release.

The USTDA will assist these Central American countries, currently engaged in Central American Free Trade (CAFTA) negotiations with the United States, to advance trade-related information technology projects, the press release said.

Following a more formal dialogue with each country, the USTDA will also support an additional industrial sector that each country identifies as important for its national development, the release added.

Following is the text of the USTDA press release:

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U.S. Trade and Development Agency

UPDATE ON USTDA CAPACITY-BUILDING ASSISTANCE RELATED TO THE CAFTA NEGOTIATIONS

U.S. Trade and Development Agency For Immediate Release

SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR -- (April 4, 2003) Earlier this week, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) made two announcements related to the agency's support for capacity-building initiatives in Central America. The announcements came as part of the third round of negotiations on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which took place this week in El Salvador.

During the second round of CAFTA negotiations in Cincinnati, Ohio, in February, USTDA announced plans to support trade capacity-building efforts in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua by assisting each country in advancing one or two identified trade-related information technology (IT) priority projects. Each country had previously indicated its interest in receiving support in this sector. Since then, USTDA has worked with representatives from each of the five Central American nations to better define the specific trade-related IT priority projects that USTDA would consider for support.

El Salvador and Costa Rica are the first two nations to present their specific project needs to USTDA. USTDA is preparing to issue a Request For Proposals (RFP) for U.S. firms to bid on a contract to provide expert analysis in fully defining the scope of services and budgets for the technical assistance to be made available in support of the IT projects identified by both countries. Interested U.S. firms will be able to access the RFP via the USTDA Definitional Mission Hotline at (703) 875-7447. Similar RFPs to evaluate potential projects in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua are expected to follow soon.

The USTDA funds to be expended under this initiative are the first the agency has reserved in the Latin American region from the special appropriation USTDA received to support trade capacity-building activities around the world. Under P.L. 108-7, the "Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003," USTDA received $2.5 million to support trade capacity-building activities during fiscal year 2003.

In addition, USTDA announced that it will begin a more formal dialogue with each country to support an additional priority industrial sector that each country has identified as critical for national development. This dialogue begins the second phase of USTDA assistance, which involves providing expert technical assistance to each of the five Central American nations in developing these priority sectors.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, feasibility studies, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment. USTDA's strategic use of foreign assistance funds to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development. In carrying out its mission, USTDA gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from U.S. exports of goods and services.