Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress makes the following findings: Productive international trading relationships are vital to the economic growth and national security of the United States. According to the United States Agency for International Development, 11 of America’s top 15 trading partners were once recipients of United States foreign assistance, and some of the fastest growing markets are former recipients of United States foreign assistance. Stable trading relationships promote security and prosperity, and leadership by the United States in international trade fosters the expansion of open markets and can help level the playing field for United States businesses, workers, and consumers in the global marketplace.
Programs to provide trade capacity building assistance strengthen good governance, advance rule of law, combat corruption, promote human rights, reduce poverty, and spur economic opportunity. Private-sector-led trade and investment are fundamental components of inclusive growth and development. Programs to provide trade capacity building assistance help developing countries to reduce and eliminate nontariff trade barriers that inhibit the ability of such countries to implement trade agreements, participate in the global economy, create jobs and economic opportunity, and reduce poverty.
Reducing trade transaction costs through trade capacity improvements and trade facilitation reforms will assist United States exporters and small and medium-size enterprises reach new customers in developing countries. Reducing these costs through trade facilitation reforms will assist developing country businesses to trade and invest with each other and take advantage of global supply and value chains. According to the United States Trade Representative, the United States is one of the largest single-country providers of trade-related assistance (also called trade capacity building assistance or Aid for Trade ).
At the 9th Ministerial of the World Trade Organization in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2013, the 159 members of the World Trade Organization
(WTO)concluded the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), the first global WTO trade agreement in 20 years. WTO members amended the WTO agreements to include the TFA on November 27, 2014, and opened it for acceptance by WTO members. The TFA entered into force on February 22, 2017, after ratification by two-thirds of the WTO membership. The TFA includes measures and obligations designed to streamline customs procedures, increase customs transparency, and speed the flow of goods across borders. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), full implementation of the TFA could reduce trade costs by as much as an estimated 16.5 percent of low income countries, 17 percent for lower-middle income countries, 14.6 percent for upper-middle income countries, and 11.8 percent for OECD countries. The OECD has noted that trade barriers created by ineffective policies and burdensome rules and procedures can incentivize corrupt business practices, and therefore all relevant stakeholders have an interest in supporting efforts to streamline trade regulation and reduce non-tariff barriers. The TFA requires developing countries to identify impediments to trade facilitation and commits developed countries to assist developing countries’ efforts to come into compliance with the obligations of the TFA. The United States is the largest provider of trade capacity building assistance in the world, according to the United States Agency for International Development. In 2017, the United States Government obligated nearly $1,100,000,000 in trade capacity building efforts in over 130 countries, which were implemented by more than a dozen United States Government departments and agencies. There is no single coordinating agency for trade capacity building activities in the United States Government. Each agency has its own processes for ensuring proper and effective programming of its appropriated funds. A clear, whole-of-government strategy is needed to leverage and coordinate limited trade capacity funds to implement the TFA, advance productive international trading relationships for United States businesses, workers, consumers, foreign trading partners, and promote inclusive economic growth and opportunity in developing countries.