Lao BTA/WTO Program (2008-2011)

The Laos U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement Compliance and World Trade Organization Accession (Laos BTA/WTO) project supports the Government of Lao PDR in making the reforms necessary to join the WTO, implement the U.S.-Lao PDR Bilateral Trade Agreement, implement obligations under the ASEAN Economic Community, and execute the country's economic growth and poverty reduction strategy. Nathan Associates provides the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and other line ministries and the National Assembly with technical assistance and training to enhance Laos’ economic engagement with the United States, ASEAN, and the world. So far, the project has

• Sponsored a National Assembly workshop in which parliamentarians explored how to navigate and benefit from WTO accession and BTA implementation, drawing in part on the experience of Vietnam and Cambodia;
• Conducted a workshop on composing trade-related fact sheets;
• Oversaw translation of trade-related laws and regulations into Lao and English;
• Conducted a needs assessment of the Lao intellectual property rights regime;
• Initiated work on a Trade Resource Center; and
• Authored a report on trade in telecommunication services in Laos and manuals describing U.S. import requirements for five Laotian export sectors.

Other technical assistance and training is delivered as needed to help the government achieve its trade policy and development objectives, including improvement in its intra-agency and public-private sector cooperation.

The Lao BTA/WTO project is a part of the joint U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Department of State-supported ADVANCE program. ADVANCE is a comprehensive program to support the integration of the ASEAN Community across its three pillars: Political-Security, Economic and Socio-Cultural.

For more information about this program, contact

Kim Martin, Project Coordinator
Email