US Tradeport
After going to the Tradeport website, I have
decided to do my paper on a US
federal government agency. I explored a few of
the agencies and decided to
choose the US Trade and Development Agency. The
US Trade and Development Agency
(TDA) is a small independent agency. It is
comprised of about forty-one people.
The director is Mr. J. Joseph
Grandmaison, who was nominated by President Bill
Clinton. The TDA with
the help of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee
works with the
Department of Commerce, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas
Private
Investment Corporation, and other agencies to advance American
business
interest in other countries. They are primarily involved in the
agriculture,
energy, environment, health care, information technology
manufacturing, mining
and mineral development, telecommunications,
transportation, and water resources
areas. This is the TDA Mission Statement:
The U. S. Trade and Development Agency
assists in the creation of jobs for
Americans by helping U.S. companies pursue
overseas business opportunities.
Through the funding of feasible studies,
orientation visits, specialized
training grants, business workshops, and various
forms of technical
assistance, we enable American businesses to compete for
infrastructure and
industrial projects in middle-income and developing countries
(1). The TDA
funds project planning activities which directly influences the
decisions
related to major industrial projects. In other words, these are
projects that
represent millions of dollars in US export potential. "TDA works
to ensure
that the services and products needed for projects will be stamped
‘Made in
the USA’" (How TDA Operates 1). An example of some of the goods
and services
are radar for airports in Asia and process controls for refineries
in Latin
America. The TDA is active in over forty countries throughout the
world.
Sometimes, however, statutory, and policy restraints either prevent or
limit
the availability of TDA programs in certain countries. All activities of
the
TDA are carried out by US firms. The TDA looks at many things before
deciding
to implement a project. The look at eligibility of the country,
the
environmental impact, effect on US jobs, need to work with other trade
promotion
agencies, the relationship with financing institutions, cost
sharing and success
fees, feasible studies, and definitional missions and
desk studies. Definitional
Studies are teams of technical specialists
contracted to visit a host country
for a short time. These teams gather any
additional information needed for the
project. A Desk Study also involves
gathering information for the project, but
there is no need to go overseas.
TDA also sponsors conferences and reverse trade
missions called "orientation
visits". Both of theses activities familiarize
foreign decision makers with
American-made products and services, build business
relationships, and
encourage US companies to export to developing and
middle-income countries
(How TDA Works 2). Also in certain regions, the TDA
provides trade-related
training, which provide the means for host country
project personnel to
receive technical and managerial support. There are no
application fees for
TDA services. However, in most feasible study grants, TDA
requires that the
company share the cost. If the project is implemented, then
TDA requires
reimbursement for their share of the study cost. " Because of its
focused
mission, TDA only considers projects that have potential to mature
into
significant business opportunities for US companies" (TDA Questions
&
Answers 1). For projects to be considered, they must: 1) Face
strong competition
from foreign companies 2) Be a development priority of the
country where the
project will be located 3) have the endorsement of the US
Embassy in that area
4) Represent an opportunity for sales of US goods or
services 5) Be likely to
receive implementation financing, and have a
procurement process open to US
firms (Questions & Answers 1). To obtain
TDA funding one must do a few
things. First and foremost, project must meet
the above requirements. Next one
need to prepare documentation and research
that clearly shows how the project
meets the above requirements. The
information should include a one to two page
summary. Be sure to include
information about your company, its resources,
capabilities, and the
personnel. One should also obtain a copy of TDA’s
"Feasible Study Model
Format", which one can get from the website. Follow
the instructions
carefully and fill in the appropriate information. After all
this is done,
contact the TDA Country Manager who is responsible for the country
where the
project is located. The Country Manager will set up an office
appointment for
an informal review of the proposal. The TDA does have a limited
budget, so
not all proposals will be accepted (Question & Answers 2). Below
is a
short summary of some of the things that should be included in
the
application of the TDA Feasible Study Model Format. A) Executive Summary
B)
Project Proposal C) Developmental Priority D) Justification E)
Implementation
Financing F) US Export Potential G) Foreign Competition H)
Impact on US Labor I)
Qualifications J) Terms of Reference K) Budget A
more detailed version of the
above can also be found on the US Trade and
Development Agency website.
Bibliography
US Trade and Development
Agency. "About TDA." Online. March 1, 2000.
Available:
www.tda.gov/abouttda/index.html US Trade and Development Agency.
"From
the Director." Online. March 1,2000. Available:
www.tda.gov/abouttda/director.html
US Trade and Development Agency. "How
TDA Works." Online. March 1, 2000.
Available:
www.tda.gov/abouttda/howworks.html US Trade and Development Agency.
"TDA
Feasibility Study Model Format." Online. March 1, 2000.
Available:
www.tad.gov/resources/feasibility_us.html US Trade and Development
Agency.
"TDA Questions & Answers." Online. March 1, 2000. Available:
www.tda.gov/abouttda/qanda.html