Today, USAID released its Economic Growth and Trade Policy, which affirms and renews the Agency's commitment to fostering economic resilience and inclusive growth, while addressing critical global challenges to support our shared economic future. This new Policy will help strengthen economic resilience abroad while creating opportunities for American businesses and bolstering U.S. economic security.
Economic growth and trade are critical to addressing the world's pressing development and economic security challenges. However, unsustainable debt, slowing investment, supply chain disruptions, unfair trade practices, and economic coercion threaten development progress and global stability. The Economic Growth and Trade Policy offers a strategic roadmap to confront these challenges, positioning USAID to act quickly and effectively in the face of emerging economic issues.
The Policy focuses on three overarching goals:
- Sustainable economic development: Ensuring growth strengthens a country's ability to meet its development goals, without taking on excessive debt or depleting natural resources;
- Resilience to economic crises: Strengthening economies to withstand and quickly recover from negative shocks; and
- Improved inclusive economic opportunities: Driving equitable distribution of economic benefits.
Underpinning these goals are five programming principles: expanding strategic partnerships, prioritizing systemic change, measuring and evaluating impact, using a cross-sectoral approach, and advancing U.S. strategic and economic priorities.
