Project profile — Canada Trade Fund

• America, regional (100.00%)

• Trade Policy And Regulations And Trade-Related Adjustment: Regional trade agreements (RTAs) (33130) (100.00%)

• Gender equality (not targeted)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (significant objective)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

The Canada Trade Fund makes it possible for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to provide resources that enable the region's developing countries to participate beneficially and equitably in trade liberalization. The activities funded are meant to strengthen the capacity of Latin American and Caribbean countries to participate in trade negotiations, to implement their trade commitments, and to benefit from hemispheric integration, including productive capacity and competitiveness in the region. The goal of the activities is to better enable these countries to integrate into the world economy. Assistance may benefit governments, the private sector, or other sectors of civil society. While special attention is lent to supporting the phases of negotiation and implementation of trade agreements, the Fund may also finance impact and fiscal studies and the preparation of trade-related capacity building strategies.

N/A

Results achieved as of the end of the project (December 2011) include: a total of 39 sub-projects were financed. The Fund has supported the implementation of trade agendas in various countries by addressing issues such as (i) competitiveness and poverty reduction in Panama, (ii) attraction of investment to Haiti through awareness building and matchmaking, (iii) trade facilitation in Guatemala, and (iv) administration and implementation of Origin regimes in Peru and Colombia. Specific examples of results include: (1) the organization of a Trade and Investment Forum in Haiti, which involved almost 700 participants, has had a direct impact on fostering trade and increasing foreign investment in the country by improving the image of Haiti among investors and highlighting areas of opportunity; and (2) the strengthening of a trade information system at the CARICOM Secretariat, which has improved the timeliness and accessibility of trade data in CARICOM, significantly enhancing the region’s capacity to provide detailed, accurate and timely trade data. Overall, the Fund was indispensable for laying the groundwork for trade-related development for countries with very weak technical and institutional capacity, in particular the smaller economies. The Fund provided a strong foundation and a good methodological framework to handle trade, particularly critical at a time when the international trade agenda of the region was undergoing important adjustments after the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) process entered hiatus and countries were undertaking trade negotiations with former FTAA parties. The activities of the Fund contributed to mainstreaming trade into countries’ development strategies and to critical trade and development initiatives in the region.

• Proactive disclosure