Free Trade Area of the Americas - FTAA

espaņol

 
Ministerial
Declarations
Trade Negotiations
Committee
Negotiating
Groups
Special
Committees
Business
Facilitation
Civil
Society
Trade&Tariff
Database
Hemispheric
Cooperation
Program

Home Countries Sitemap A-Z list Governmental Contact Points

 
 

Derestricted
FTAA.sme/inf/82
August 12, 2003

Original: Spanish
Translation: FTAA Secretariat

FTAA – CONSULTATIVE GROUP ON SMALLER ECONOMIES

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND NICARAGUA

HEMISPHERE COOPERATION PROGRAM
PRESENTATION OF PROJECTS
 


Introduction
 
  1. Project title

    Fund to support restructuring of businesses and redeployment of production

  2. Background

    Countries such as the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua have a significant number of small and medium-sized companies and producers, which account for a substantial portion of their output and employment. Due to their lack of financial, human, and technological resources, as well as their size and the increased competition they face from imported products and/or services, these companies are not individually able to prepare for the challenges posed by globalization.


  3. Rationale

    The Dominican Republic and Nicaragua are highly interested is ensuring that their small and medium-sized enterprises and/or producers are able to take part in and benefit from the trade opening in these countries, and, to this end, that they receive all necessary support (financial, technical, technological).

     
  4. Objectives of the Project:

    1. General

      To establish a fund to support the restructuring of small and medium-sized companies and the redeployment of their production, so as to allow the sector to take advantage of increased trade, and to ensure that trade opening does not lead to increased poverty
       
    2. Specific

      • To make funds available for conducting feasibility studies
         
      • To create a hemispheric-trade information center for producers
         
      • To make funds available with which to provide these producers with technical and production assistance (to raise their competitiveness, improve their production processes and marketing, etc.)
         
      • To provide export training
         
      • To establish a fund to compensate producers for loss of markets and to provide emergency economic aid

  5. Input: resources needed for the project

    1. Financial resources (grants to allow the Dominican government to conduct this project, which will last approximately ten years)
       
    2. Specialized technical assistance (in areas to be determined)

  6. Expected results
     
    1. Preparation of producers during the transition period, to strengthen their capacity to compete and export,
       
    1. and/or to redeploy their production,
       
    2. and/or to create new enterprises to produce goods and/or provide services

       
  7. Other relevant information
     
 
countries sitemap a-z list governmental contact points