Trade agreements can induce growth throughout an economy if all parties to the agreements have strong capacity for trade. Over the next four years, DNG, a joint venture of Nathan Associates and DAI, will be working to strengthen the human, informational, and institutional resources necessary for trade-induced growth in Peru and the Andean region through USAID?s Peru and Andean Trade Capacity Building (PATCB) Program (2010-2014).

The primary goal of the program is to support successful implementation of the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (USPTA), which entered into force in February 2009. Open and prosperous trade via that and other agreements, such as APEC and a proposed Trans Pacific Partnership, will broaden economic growth and reduce poverty. To help ensure this, the PATCB program will endow Peru with

• A fully functional management information system, management procedures,and judicial protocols to enforce labor rights;
• Training programs in intellectual property rights for the customs administration and the judiciary;
• Municipalities with simplified procedures for business registration; and
• Faster clearance times for goods in port.

Reforms in each area will make the private sector more competitive and enable businesses to take advantage of trade opportunities. Similar achievements in the Andean region, including regionally coordinated approaches to IPR enforcement, will improve chances for sustained growth and investment.