WTO: 2012 PRESS RELEASES

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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE


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The US $1 million contribution, which was approved by the US Congress, will be part of a technical assistance fund that developing nations can use for assistance in analyzing issues, assessing individual country interests, and meeting their WTO obligations.

In making the announcement, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said that "this contribution reflects our commitment to work with developing countries as partners and to ensure that developing countries can participate effectively in all the activities of the WTO.”  He added that “we continue to believe that, working through the WTO, we can help these countries further their development goals and improve the wellbeing of their people by opening markets and creating meaningful new opportunities for farmers, manufacturers and service providers.”

The United States will also contribute $150,000 for technical assistance to support developing countries’ participation in the WTO Trade Facilitation negotiations. Specifically, the funds are being provided in response to some developing countries’ request to update the assessment of their technical assistance and implementation needs with respect to various trade facilitation and customs reforms that are currently being negotiated. 

In announcing that funding, Ambassador Kirk said “the elimination of unnecessary red tape and modernization of customs procedures that will result from trade facilitation improvements has the potential to deliver significant development gains, and we remain committed to working with our developing country partners to make these gains achievable.”

“I welcome these new donations which demonstrate the US continuing commitment to help developing countries benefit from the multilateral trading system and better integrate in the global economy,” WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said.

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