The Government of Paraguay is holding the first technical meetings of the Trade-Enabling Agricultural Systems and Technology (T-FAST) project in Paraguay with the aim of improving agricultural trade with the United States. The meetings began on February 24 and will continue until February 28, reported the National Customs Directorate (DNA).
The project T-FAST aims to provide technical assistance to simplify, modernize and harmonize processes for the export, import, and transit of agricultural products. In Paraguay.
This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food for Progress program and is scheduled to launch in mid-2020.
Two-way trade in goods between the United States and Paraguay totaled $2.5 billion in 2018; the United States is Paraguay's main source of foreign direct investment.
Together with the public and private sectors, and the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC), the T-FAST project will reduce non-tariff barriers to trade and will create improvements in predictability, through transparency and automation of processes.
T-FAST is implemented by the International Executive Service Corps (IESC) in conjunction with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and Kansas State University (KSU).
The Food for Progress (FFPr) program was originally authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Food Security Act of 1985. The FFPr is intended to help developing countries and emerging democracies modernize and strengthen their agricultural sectors. The FFPr has two main objectives: to improve agricultural productivity and to expand trade in agricultural products.
Previous FFPr projects have trained farmers in animal and plant health, improved farming methods, developed road and utility systems, established producer cooperatives, provided microcredit, and developed agricultural value chains.
The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service provides a list of priority countries in its annual request for project proposals. Eligible organizations include: foreign governments, intergovernmental organizations, PVOs, cooperatives, non-governmental organizations, and universities.
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