United States Trade and Development Agency

United States
Trade and Development Agency
Agency overview
Formed 1961 (1961)
Headquarters 1000 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA
Employees 80[1]
Annual budget $56.2 million (FY 2012) [2]
Agency executives
  • Leocadia I. Zak, Director
  • Peggy Philbin, Deputy Director
  • Clark Jennings, Chief of Staff
Website ustda.gov

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1961 to advance economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle income countries.

General information

USDTDA is located in Rosslyn in Arlington County, Virginia. The agency currently works in 66 countries.[3]

Programs

The agency's legal basis is section 661 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 USC 2421).[4] USTDA’s mission is to “promote economic growth in developing and middle income countries, while simultaneously helping American businesses to export their products and services, thereby creating U.S. jobs”.

USTDA's programs are designed to help countries establish a favorable trading environment and a modern infrastructure that promotes sustainable economic development. According to USTDA, the agency’s development assistance has always involved building partnerships between U.S. companies and overseas project sponsors to bring proven private-sector solutions to developmental challenges.[5] As part of its programs, USTDA funds various forms of technical assistance, early investment analysis, training, orientation visits, and business workshops in the areas of trade capacity building and sector development, and project definition and investment analysis.[6]

USTDA works closely with other federal agencies to advance host country development objectives, but unlike U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), USTDA gives preference to projects that promote the export of U.S. goods and services. Most USTDA projects are located in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.[7] The agency's activities span a wide variety of sectors, although projects in the transportation and energy and power sectors account for 43% of the funding in 2008.[7] In 2008, USTDA obligated over a total of $46 million in support of projects in 66 host counties around the world, including 67 technical assistance activities, 41 feasibility studies, and 24 orientation visits.[8]

References

  1. ↑ USTDA: About USTDA: Staff. Ustda.gov. Retrieved on 2013-08-12.
  2. ↑ http://www.ustda.gov/otherinfo/FY2013_CongressionalBudgetJustification.pdf
  3. ↑ USTDA: About USTDA: Mission Statement. Ustda.gov. Retrieved on 2013-08-12.
  4. ↑ Section 661 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. See 22 USC 2421.
  5. ↑ http://www.ustda.gov/pubs/brochures/USTDA_PublicPrivatePartnerships.pdf
  6. ↑ USTDA: Program & Activities. Ustda.gov. Retrieved on 2013-08-12.
  7. 1 2 http://www.ustda.gov/pubs/annualreport/USTDA_AnnualReport_2008.pdf
  8. ↑ USTDA: About USTDA: At-a-Glance. Ustda.gov. Retrieved on 2013-08-12.

External links

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