Project Goal

To assist smaller economies in the region to become more capable of defining and presenting their economic and social development interests in international trade negotiations, and to develop implementation policies to take better advantage of opportunities and reduce adverse effects of trade agreements.

Project Purpose

To respond to the human resource trade capacity building needs of smaller economies in the region, as identified in their National Trade Capacity Building Strategies and project profiles submitted to the FTAA’s Consultative Group on smaller Economies, within the FTAA’s Hemispheric Cooperation Program.

Results

I. Increased access to relevant information for trade related policies and trade agreement negotiation and implementation.

II. Increased capacity to take advantage of opportunities brought about by trade liberalization.

Project Context

Recognizing the broad differences in levels of development and size of the economies of countries participating in the FTAA negotiations, the Ministers Responsible for Trade reaffirmed their commitment, to ensure the full participation of the smaller economies and to enhance their levels of development. At the same time, they stressed the importance of cooperation as a means of strengthening the countries’ productive capacities and competitiveness, especially for smaller economies, and restated the necessity of meeting the needs of technical assistance and special measures, in order to attain these goals.

In this context, the Ministers adopted the Hemispheric Cooperation Program (HCP), intended to strengthen the capacities of the FTAA, and to further contribute to growth with equity and inclusive economic development. These objectives coincide with the Millennium Development Goals to create a Global Alliance for Development and Poverty Eradication. In the framework of the HCP, the countries have formulated their respective National Trade Capacity Building Strategies (National Strategies), which foresee the participation of international cooperation in their implementation.

The National Strategies are documents elaborated by the respective governments which identify and prioritize their trade related needs. In addition, these documents include various actions and projects that address their needs. The implementation of these Strategies could improve and make more efficient the interaction between countries and cooperation donors, since both could respond to the identified needs in a coordinated manner within their respective framework and expertise.

Applying ECLAC’s experience and analytical resources, in coordination with other institutions, ECLAC could meet some of the most relevant needs of the countries participating in the FTAA. ECLAC has been providing technical assistance to countries during the FTAA process since 1994. At the Summit of the Americas and the Meeting of the Ministers in Denver, Colorado, ECLAC, along with the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the Organization of American States (OAS), was asked to provide analytical support, technical assistance and the relevant information needed in its field of expertise to the countries of the Agreement.

In summary, this project proposal is based on the National Strategies to strengthen the Trade Related Capacities in which each country has identified and prioritized its trade related needs. The National Strategies have also identified actions and projects to address their needs. They have involved a thorough national exercise to identify and systematize trade related needs according to their countries’ specific global development strategies and priorities.