Canada Trade Fund

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.