Daniel F. Runde – författare

Justifying traditional U.S. assistance to middle-income countries is an increasingly difficult proposition, and refocusing limited U.S. government development resources away from middle-income countries offers an efficient way to identify savings in the foreign assistance budget. This is not the first time that the U.S. government has faced such questions, and it can draw upon past transitions—not all successful—for a variety of valuable lessons for repurposing the United States’ relationship with middle-income countries. This report begins with a brief introductory chapter on the main issues and themes. Chapter 2 considers the experiences of South Korea, Lithuania, Costa Rica, Portugal, and Tunisia as case studies of countries with relatively successful U.S. assistance transitions. Chapter 3 examines Brazil, India, Russia, and Panama, four middle-income countries with which the United States can shift its assistance relationship toward a focus on bilateral trade and cooperation interests. Chapter 4 offers nine specific recommendations for shifting the United States’ relationships with middle-income countries from assistance to true partnerships. Chapter 5 concludes.

The CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development convened a working group of development implementers, former and current policymakers, and other practitioners to discuss the evolving role of U.S. development under the new USAID Forward agenda and how to achieve aid effectiveness. The working group met three times to discuss local capacity building; results, accountability, and transparency; and development effectiveness. These meetings, combined with extensive interviews, led to the conclusion that the current U.S. ecosystem of international development assistance should be treated as a strategic asset that plays an important role in meeting U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives. This system, while imperfect, delivers a level of accountability and transparency for the U.S. government that is vital to continued political support for foreign assistance. Significant risks are associated with USAID’s proposed reforms, which, if fully implemented, may not achieve the results desired. This report’s recommendations are designed to help development implementers do more to meet the changing nature of how the U.S. government sees development and the broader trends in the field.

While free trade agreements and other intermediary trade agreements allow emerging nations increased access to markets, many low- and middle-income countries lack the capacity required to meet global standards. Deficiencies in quality of product, speed of transport, or quality of regulation can prevent countries from reaping the benefits of trade agreements, particularly with the United States. This report of the CSIS Congressional Task Force on Trade Capacity Building—cochaired by Representatives Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Jared Polis (D-CO)—focuses on how projects to build trade capacity can be planned and coordinated to maximize the benefits of new trade agreements, both for the United States and its partners.