http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/CAFTA/Trade_Capacity_Building/Section_Index.html
CAFTA National Action Plans for Trade Capacity Building
As part of the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement negotiations, National Action Plans have been designed for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua to identify each country's trade capacity building needs. The action plans serve as a tool for mobilizing and managing trade capacity building assistance – both from public and private sources – to support participation in the negotiations, implementation of the negotiated agreements, and help make the transition and changes necessary to realize the linkage between trade and development
ONE EXAMPLE: COSTA RICA
Capacity Building Issue
Elaboration of an Action Plan to take advantage of CAFTA
to position Costa Rica in the international investor
community
Cluster development and strengthening
Improvement of infrastructure:
- Identification of necessary regulatory changes to
improve public works concession laws
- Development of a program aimed at attracting FDI in
the public works sector
- Identification of possible sources of capital to expand
infrastructure projects
Improvement of physical infrastructure
Qualitative improvement in the education of the Costa
Rican labor force, specially in the fields of English
proficiency and computer literacy
Identification of mechanisms to enable the system of
adjudication of public contracts to operate efficiently
Capacity Building Issue
Implementation of effective mechanisms to enable Costa
Rican SMEs’ competitive participation in international
markets
Strengthening SME participation in export capacity
building programs
Strengthening of trade promotion services, including basic
training, professional update activities, establishment of
trade promotion offices, participation in trade missions and
fairs, access to data bases and other support activities
Negotiation of trade and cooperation agreements aimed at
fostering the establishment of new SMEs and horizontal
links among diverse enterprises
Improvement of information systems and access to
information resources in order to analyze external markets
Promotion and execution of programs specifically aimed
at fostering the incorporation and use of information
technology by SMEs
Improvement of linkages between foreign investors and
local business, including promotion of SMEs as suppliers
of bigger multinational exporting enterprises, fostering an
integration of the productive sector as a whole
Specialized skills’ enhancement in areas such as high
tech and control of the English language
Improvement of technical capacity to match labor offer
and demand through specialized databases
Generation of business development programs, e.g.
assistance with entrepreneurial and technical skills,
including those related to applications of science and
technology such as biotech, market information, export
promotion, quality and consistency of supply, e-commerce
and other technological applications
Development of competitiveness activities, e.g. cluster
development, competitiveness councils, and workforce
development strategies
Generation of new and innovative financial services, e.g.
venture capital and small and micro-scale finance
Capacity Building Issue
Programs to upgrade electronic telecommunications
infrastructure
Programs to promote universal access to Internet
Strengthening of e-government programs and
digitalization of governmental agencies and services
Legal framework improvements
Development of joint programs between government
agencies, universities, and financing institutions to foster
the establishment of SMEs on knowledge-intensive and
high-tech activities
Generation of new and innovative financial services, e.g.
venture capital and small and micro-scale finance
specifically geared to the needs of emerging high tech and
knowledge intensive businesses
Development of professional internship programs with the
private sector, aimed at allowing young entrepreneurs to
learn, through hands on experience, best international
management practices
Generation or expansion of scholarship funds
Promotion of student and professor exchange programs
Promotion and execution of programs aiming at fostering
a higher participation of women in science and technology
based-business
THE US TAXPAYER WILL PAY FOR ALL OF THESE
Try to fight honestly.
I just am not convinced that removing tariffs on our exports is a bad thing, especially when we have no tariffs on their imports.
While it's probably unwritten, the way this will unfold is that large corporations and banks will capitalize these projects and then, when X amount of them go under, the Government (US) will foot the bill...