US AID November 4, 2019
“At USAID, we are working to advance the U.S. Government’s vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific by leveling the playing field for trade, improving competitiveness, and creating an enabling environment for infrastructure development. We believe private sector engagement is the single most powerful force for lifting people out of poverty and strengthening their communities. One of our jobs at USAID is to help strengthen the regulatory environment for private enterprises to flourish and to help accelerate countries toward self-reliance.”
– USAID Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum, November 4, 2019.
At USAID, we believe that private enterprise is the single most powerful force for lifting lives, strengthening communities, and accelerating partner country self-reliance. Incentivizing greater private sector investment helps unlock new financing streams—and greater choice of approaches and partners—for development.
To unlock enterprise-led growth, USAID helps advance reforms to governing laws, regulations and policies to ensure fair and open market competition and level the playing field for legitimate players—including the U.S. private sector—with a focus on driving their engagement in the development of infrastructure and the digital economy.
We work at the bilateral level and through regional platforms including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to build partner capacity to increase regional economic connectivity and foreign direct investment.
USAID contributes to interagency initiatives announced by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in July 2018. These include the Infrastructure Transaction and Assistance Network, which enhances U.S. Government efforts to advance sustainable infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific, and the Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership, which improves partners’ digital connectivity and expands opportunities for U.S. technology exports.
USAID brings extensive experience to the table. Our past achievements in this area include:
- In Vietnam, USAID has assisted in rewriting over 180 commercial laws and regulations, contributing to a significant improvement in the country’s business enabling environment. Vietnam’s ‘ease of doing business’ ranking, as measured by the World Bank’s annual Doing Business report, has drastically improved over the past year—from 82 in 2017 to 68 in 2018.
- In the Philippines, USAID has helped to advance reforms such as the Customs and Tariff Modernization Act, which streamlines cargo clearances, and the Philippine Competition Act, which regulates efficient and fair market competition—both key to leveling the playing field for U.S. businesses and contributing to the country’s economic growth.
