Public Benefit
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To increase employment and foster economic development, the U.S. Government provides small loans to help the indigent attain start-up capital to open a micro- or small-sized business. Madame Fanfan, pictured above, received a small loan and was able to purchase a stall in a prime location in a Haitian market where she sells rice, flour, coffee, oil and other products. Finca International Photo/Robert Bengtson |
The U.S. Government goal is to achieve rapid, sustained, and broad-based economic growth for the United States, its trading partners, and developing countries. Global economic growth is a key U.S. foreign policy priority and is essential for the reduction and eventual elimination of extreme poverty, poor health, and inadequate education among developing countries. Countries that offer their citizens hope for increasing prosperity are less prone to extremism, more inclined to favor democracy, more willing to settle disputes peacefully, and more likely to be constructive partners with the United States in the international community.
The United States derives enormous benefits from a stable, resilient, and growing world economy and plays a leadership role to promote economic growth and prosperity. For example, the U.S. is a founding member of the Group of Eight (G-8), an international forum of eight countries that represent approximately 65 percent of the global economy. The G-8 annual summit brings together heads of state to discuss issues such as debt and trading policy, carbon dioxide emissions, and globalization.
2007 Resources Invested
| State Operations |
Foreign Assistance |
Total |
|---|---|---|
| $.500 billion | $3.212 billion | $3.7 billion |
Strategic Priorities
Private Markets and Competitiveness: The U.S. supports other countries? efforts to streamline business regulations and improve commercial governance. Support to the private sector helps build people?s capacity to take advantage of expanding economic freedom and promotes effective public-private partnerships. This cutting-edge blend of diplomacy and development aims for economic transformation that creates more jobs, higher productivity and wages, improved working conditions, more effective protection of labor rights, and more opportunities for the poor, women, and other disadvantaged groups to participate in expanding local, regional, and global markets.
Trade and Investment: The U.S. Government promotes increased trade and investment ? a powerful engine for growth ? both on a multilateral and bilateral level. Multilaterally, the U.S. Government has played a leadership role in the Doha Development Agenda, a comprehensive global trade and investment framework currently under negotiation under the aegis of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Doha Round is designed to reduce trade barriers, specifically tariffs on agricultural products, manufactured products, and services. In addition to promoting a successful Doha outcome, the U.S. Government has negotiated a number of bilateral free trade agreements to open new markets for American goods and services. At the beginning of the Bush Administration, the U.S. had free trade agreements in force with three countries. Currently, the U.S. Government has nine free trade agreements in force with 14 countries. President Bush signed a free trade agreement with Peru on December 14, 2007, and free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea will be discussed with Congress for final approval in 2008.
The following indicator assesses a key component of the U.S. Government?s activities to strengthen both U.S. and foreign economies by protecting commercial and transactional deals, enforcing contracts, ensuring market access, and fighting corruption. It measures the direct support provided by the U.S. Government to U.S. businesses in exporting goods and services as well as in resolving commercial disputes and managing overseas investments.
| Performance Indicator | 2005 Results |
2006 Results |
2007 Target |
2007 Results |
2007 Rating |
2008 Target |
2009 Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Company-Specific Cases for Which Advocacy Services Were Provided | 225 | 339 | 330 | 335 |  |
330 | 330 |
Financial Sector: The U.S. seeks to improve financial sector governance, the quality of financial services, and access to financial services for entrepreneurs, enterprises, and consumers. The U.S. also is committed to improving corporate governance, accounting, financial transparency, and to combatting financial crimes and corruption.
Infrastructure: Access to competitively priced energy, communication and transport services is critical to economic growth. The U.S. Government promotes sustainable improvements in foreign infrastructure by utilizing opportunities for public-private partnership, strengthening capacities for oversight and management, and expanding markets for tradable infrastructure services. Efficient markets enable nations rich in energy resources to foster transparency, the rule of law, and to ensure the benefits are enjoyed widely. It helps countries avoid the so-called ?paradox of plenty,? where the dependence on natural resource wealth works to inhibit the political and economic development of a country.
Energy Security: The U.S. Government enhances U.S. and global energy security by promoting open and transparent, integrated, and diversified energy markets; encouraging appropriate energy-sector investments to expand access to energy and increase economic growth and opportunity; and developing clean and efficient energy technologies.
Agriculture: In many developing countries, increased productivity and growth in the agricultural sector is critical to overall economic prosperity and poverty reduction. In this sector, the U.S. Government promotes expanded agricultural trade and market systems, broadened application of scientific and technological advances, including biotechnology, and sustainable natural resource management.
For example, the U.S. Government is helping Nicaragua take advantage of the opportunities offered through the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) through an emphasis on rural economic diversification and trade capacity building. The U.S. assisted over 5,200 micro-farmers to graduate from food-aid recipients to supplying food for international fresh produce markets. For the first time, the farmers can count on a stable monthly income for their families. Overall, U.S. Government-assisted programs in Nicaragua provide technical and financial support to more than 20,000 producers. The indicator below assesses results in linking producers of agricultural commodities to markets in seven U.S-assisted country programs.
| Performance Indicator | 2005 Results |
2006 Results |
2007 Target |
2007 Results |
2007 Rating |
2008 Target |
2009 Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent Change in Value of International Exports of Targeted Agricultural Commodities | N/A | N/A | 26% | 41% |  |
38% | 42% |
Macroeconomic Foundation for Growth: Macroeconomic stability, including sound fiscal policy, is essential for sustainable economic growth. The U.S. aims to strengthen the macroeconomic foundations for growth at both the national and international level, by encouraging macroeconomic stability, including low inflation, stable financial markets, and smooth balance of payments adjustment. For example, the Armenian government endorsed the U.S. Tax Improvement Project (U.S.-TIP) 2007-2009 Strategic Tax Plan, which simplified Armenia?s tax code. In addition, the Armenian National Assembly approved U.S.-TIP-drafted amendments to the Simplified Tax Law, plugging major loopholes that allowed large businesses to avoid taxes by paying only a one percent tax on total sales. These amendments will significantly raise Armenian government revenues, thereby decreasing Armenia?s fiscal deficit. The U.S. also helped publish a comprehensive tax handbook to provide self-assessment capabilities to business taxpayers.
Economic Opportunity: Economic opportunity includes efforts to build inclusive financial markets, improve the policy environment for micro and small enterprises, strengthen microfinance institution (MFI) productivity, and improve economic law and property rights. MFIs help the poor to obtain start-up capital to open micro- or small-sized businesses, expanding their choices and reducing the risks they face. The ability of U.S. Government supported MFIs to impact the lives of the poor depends on the MFI?s ability to become sustainable. U.S. support is helping MFIs throughout the developing world achieve operational sustainability (the point at which they are covering their costs) and ultimately financial sustainability (the point at which they are able to finance their own growth). The mix of MFIs that receive U.S. Government support spans newer as well as more mature institutions; this mix is reflected in the sustainability figures.
| Performance Indicator | 2005 Results |
2006 Results |
2007 Target |
2007 Results |
2007 Rating |
2008 Target |
2009 Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of U.S. Assisted Microfinance Institutions That Have Reached Operational Sustainability | 71% | 71% | 70% | 69% | |
70% | 70% |
Environment: Environmental issues such as climate change, protection of natural resources and forests, and trans-boundary pollution continue to play critical roles in our diplomatic and development agendas. The U.S. Government remains committed to promoting partnerships for economic development that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and create other co-benefits by using markets to improve energy efficiency, enhance conservation, and expand low carbon energy sources.
Bolivia and El Salvador are two environmental management success stories. In Bolivia, programs have renewed efforts to work at the municipal level to help local governments meet their increasing responsibilities related to local planning, territorial management and economic development. As a result of this work, Bolivia?s largest municipal protected area (more than 600,000 hectares) was created. In El Salvador over 20,000 hectares came under improved natural resource management, exceeding the goal of 15,000 hectares by 33 percent. This achievement was largely due to successful coffee farm certification which helps coffee producers implement conservation measures. The indicator below assesses the impact of natural resource and biodiversity interventions in 21 countries receiving U.S. Government assistance.
| Performance Indicator | 2005 Results |
2006 Results |
2007 Target |
2007 Results |
2007 Rating |
2008 Target |
2009 Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Hectares Under Improved Natural Resource or Biodiversity Management as a Result of U.S. Assistance | N/A | N/A | 69.79 million |
121.61 million |
|
113 million |
150 million |
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