Economic Growth and Trade

USAID supports inclusive, sustained, and resilient economic growth in our partner countries as central to reducing poverty and dependency.  We partner with host governments, local and international private sector and non-governmental organizations, development assistance organizations, financial institutions, and other donors to foster enterprise-driven development.

Our programs expand enterprise-driven economic growth and employment through robust analysis, regulatory reform, trade promotion, and entrepreneurial capacity development to foster sustainable development outcomes. USAID’s economic growth and trade programs focus on:

Providing expert research, analyses, and technical capacity building to support USAID to make smart, evidence-based program decisions to help partner countries achieve their own development objectives;

Building trade capacity to implement trade agreements, remove trade barriers, improve customs procedures, and modernize markets that improve competitiveness and level the playing field, which generates economic growth in partner countries;

Improving the enabling environment for private investment through support for regulatory reform and private sector advocacy that opens markets;

Increasing employment opportunities through improved market systems that enhance competition and enterprise growth.

In line with the U.S. National Security Strategy, and complementing USAID’s recent appointment to the National Security Council, USAID’s programs play a catalytic role in promoting private-sector-led economic growth, helping partner countries become stronger trading and security partners. Our economic growth programs help build new markets for the United States by supporting the emergence of middle-class consumers that can buy U.S. goods and services.  

Economic Growth goes hand-in-hand with USAID’s Private Sector Engagement (PSE) Policy to build capacity and support our partner countries to plan, finance, and implement solutions to solve their own development challenges.