The FINANCIAL — The United States is contributing USD 300,000 (CHF 293,981) to the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) for 2015. This amount consists of USD 100,000 (CHF 97,908) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and USD 200,000 (CHF 195,816) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These funds will be allocated to help developing countries comply with international food safety, animal and plant health standards and gain access to markets.
“I welcome the United States’ continued generosity,” said WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo. “This donation will help developing and least developed countries to strengthen their trading capacity so that they can further integrate into the global economy.”
U.S. Ambassador Michael Punke said: “The United States remains committed to working with developing country partners to strengthen animal health, plant health, and food safety systems and broaden global trade.”
This new donation brings the United States’ contributions to WTO trust funds to USD 19,176,052 (CHF 18,763,234) since 2002, according to WTO.
The STDF is a global partnership working to increase awareness, mobilize resources, strengthen collaboration, identify and disseminate good practice and provide support and funding for the development and implementation of projects that promote compliance with international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements. Established by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health, the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the WTO, the STDF is financed by voluntary contributions. The WTO provides the Secretariat and manages the STDF trust fund.
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