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 Overview of the Task Order USAID’s Latin America and Caribbean / Rural Sustainable Development Office (LAC/RSD) is managing a regional IQC task order focused on support to the field in building trade capacity in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region. The activity, known as “LAC Trade III,” being implemented by CARANA Corporation , provides rapid-response technical assistance to LAC countries on trade capacity building issues related to trade negotiation preparation, trade agreement implementation, and the transition to free trade. The objective is to provide assistance that supports advancing trade negotiations, implementing trade agreement provisions, and making adjustments so as to enable countries to benefit from trade liberalization, where such assistance cannot be provided in the short-term by existing bilateral or regional programs. Assistance approved by the CTO complements existing Mission priorities and activities, and typically is carried out on a short-terms basis (4 weeks – 6 months). Throughout the FTAA, DR-CAFTA, Andean FTA and Panama FTA negotiations, the LAC Trade series of activities has played a significant role in assisting governments, private sector stakeholders and bilateral missions to define and implement new areas of technical assistance (see examples below). The current task order, funded in FY 05, will function through March 31, 2007.
Scope of Technical Assistance Activities That Will Be Considered The LAC Trade III activity is a demand-driven, rapid response task order designed to provide short-term, catalytic technical assistance under the three categories of assistance identified in the TCB Committees of the regional and bilateral FTA negotiations: 1) Trade Negotiation Preparation; 2) Trade Agreement Implementation; and 3) Transition to Free Trade. The following table provides a framework for understanding the scope of technical assistance and training implemented under LAC Trade as well as examples of types of assistance that might be requested: Trade Negotiation Preparation | | Examples of projects conducted in this area include: | - Civil society outreach strategy development and program implementation with government and/or the private sector (13 countries)
| - Creation of the national action plans for trade capacity building (Honduras, Panama, Suriname)
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Trade Agreement Implementation | Examples of projects conducted or contemplated in this area include: | - Support to the Government of Nicaragua in the Creation of the Administrative Office for Textile Tariff Preference Levels under DR-CAFTA
| - Technical assistance on SPS requirements, including assistance to the private sector or assisting governments streamline Phytosanitary permit procedures.
| - Rapid Evaluation of the Environmental Provisions of the DR-CAFTA for the Governments of El Salvador and Honduras
| - Technical assistance on IPR enforcement, including improved systems for IPR registration, review/approval of patent applications, and case management in the judicial system.
| - Training on Rules of Origin Verification Procedures for Customs Officials of the Governments of Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic
| - Technical assistance on Government Procurement and/or E-Government, including drafting procurement law and streamlining rules and procedures.
| Transition to Free Trade | | Examples of projects conducted or contemplated in this area include: | - Support in the Development of a New Arbitration Law for Nicaragua, including institutional strengthening for private sector management of the ADR mechanism
| - Study of Impact of Transportation and Logistics on Country or Cluster Competitiveness (Nicaragua, Paraguay)
| - Pilot Firm Level and Cluster Technical Assistance Projects in Tourism and Furniture industries (Nicaragua)
| - Improvement in the Operations of the Nicaragua National Free Zone Commission
| - Industry/Cluster competitiveness diagnostic assessments: for example, Haiti HERO Textile Sector Assessment
| | Accessing Services under LAC Trade III USAID Missions interested in accessing services under the LAC Trade III task order should contact the task order CTO (Barry MacDonald). The selection criteria that will be applied in identifying and approving activities are listed below: - Impact – The assistance provided should have a measurable impact in terms of increasing support for free trade, accelerating implementation of trade agreement provisions, and/or improving the business climate for increased trade, investment, and job creation.
- Time Frame – The activity needs to be implemented in a relatively short time frame, six to nine months (no later than March 31, 2007).
- Cost – Given the current level of funding, each activity will have a funding level of no more than $200,000.
- Consensus – The activity needs to have strong support from all participants in order to increase its chances of success.
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