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1 1 (September 10, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbazk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Updated September 10, 2019 U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA) Backround The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA) is an independent U.S. government export promotion and foreign assistance agency. TDA aims to support U.S. jobs by linking U.S. firms to export opportunities for development projects in developing and middle-income countries through funding pre-export assistance. TDA is authorized permanently under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended (22 U.S.C. §2421), and operates under the Secretary of State's policy guidance. In 1992, Congress established TDA as an independent agency (P.L. 102-549), but its predecessor dates to the 1980s. The TDA Director is appointed by the President, by and with the Senate's advice and consent. President Trump's continued request for funding to eliminate TDA, as well as other legislative and policy developments, may intensify debate over the arguments for and against TDA, its role in supporting U.S. exports, and its relationship to other federal agencies. Funding. TDA is small relative to other U.S. export promotion and foreign assistance agencies. President Trump's FY2020 budget requests funding to implement an orderly closeout of TDA; the Administration's view is that the private sector is better suited to serve TDA's mission, and that other federal agencies can continue to support U.S. exports, U.S. businesses overseas, and international infrastructure development. Congress did not implement similar requests by the President in FY2018 and FY2019 to eliminate TDA, instead funding TDA's continued operations (see Table 1). Table I. TDA Funding ($ millions) and Employment FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20a Funding $60 $75 $79.5 $79.5 $12.1 FTESb 55 57 48 62c 15c Source: CRS, based on appropriations laws and budget documents. Notes: (a) Requested. (b) FTEs: Full-time equivalents. (c) Estimated. Programs. TDA provides grants to foreign project sponsors (public or private entities that can make decisions and implement projects), who select U.S. firms (primarily smaller firms) to perform TDA-funded project preparation activities. TDA activities include (with examples of FY2018 obligations): Feasibility studies that assess technical, financial, legal, environmental, and other aspects of infrastructure development projects that may lead to follow-on business, to assist projects in securing financing and achieving implementation (such as feasibility studies for renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa); also, in some cases, pilot projects to demonstrate U.S. sellers' goods, services, and technologies in the foreign buyer's setting, for testing and scaling up in order to secure project funding. * Technical assistance to support legal and regulatory reform, the establishment of industry standards, and infrastructure-planning activities, to enhance the business environment for U.S. exports (such as for aviation-related projects in China and India, and a cybersecurity project for the Brazilian energy sector). * Training programs for foreign decision-makers on technology, regulatory requirements, or other areas to support U.S. exports (such as partnering with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) to train decision-makers in the Indo-Pacific on sustainable gas infrastructure procurement best practices). * Reverse trade missions (RTMs) to bring foreign delegations to the United States to meet with U.S. firms and observe the design, manufacture and operation of U.S. goods and services, to foster commercial ties (such as a health care RTM for a Chinese delegation and a ports development RTM for an Egyptian delegation). * Conferences and workshops to connect U.S. firms with foreign project sponsors (such as hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Connectivity Through Rail Forum (Jakarta, Indonesia) to connect project sponsors with U.S. providers of technologies and services to advance ASEAN's rail infrastructure development goals). TDA Initiatives TDA partners with public and private groups, domestic and overseas, to advance certain initiatives through its programs. Global Procurement Initiative: Training and other assistance for procurement officials on best practices and policies to calculate the total costs for infrastructure projects. U.S. Gas Infrastructure Exports Initiative: Feasibility studies, RTMs, and other support to connect U.S. companies with infrastructure export opportunities across the gas value chain in emerging markets. Making Global Local: RTMs, conferences, and other support to expand TDA outreach to U.S. businesses, especially smaller firms. TDA participates in the Trade Promotion Coordination Committee (TPCC), an interagency body that coordinates U.S. government export promotion efforts. Some projects that use TDA-funded services may use financing from the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) for exporting. For example, in 2018, TDA provided a grant to Ghana's Ministry of Energy for a feasibility study to expand energy access through solar-based, independent minigrid energy systems, with the aim to use Ex-Im Bank financing to implement the minigrids. TDA also collaborates with other agencies, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), on Administration initiatives.

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