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WTO NEWS: 2004 PRESS RELEASES

Press/377
14 May 2004
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

The United States pledges US$ 994,100 to WTO technical assistance

The United States Government today (14 May 2004) pledged a contribution of US$ 994,100 (CHF 1.3 million) to the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund for 2004. The United States has already contributed a total of CHF 4.1 million to technical assistance in 2002 and 2003.

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The United States’ contribution will be used to strengthen the technical capacity of developing
countries to assess their interests and to participate in market access negotiations and in the WTO’s work on trade facilitation.

“I am extremely grateful to the United States for helping developing countries,” said WTO Director-General Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi. “The WTO’s technical assistance activities play an important role in facilitating the understanding and implementation of the Agreements, precisely at this time in the negotiations when we have a foundation for future work.”

The United States is the fourth biggest voluntary contributor to WTO technical assistance activities since 1995, with a total of CHF 8.5 million.