The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), located in Rosslyn, Arlington, Virginia, is an independent U.S. Government

Federal government of the United States

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

 foreign assistance agency

Independent agencies of the United States government

Independent agencies of the United States federal government are those agencies that exist outside of the federal executive departments...

 pursuant to section 661 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 USC 2421). The agency was established to advance economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle income countries. USTDA’s stated mission is to “promote economic growth in developing and middle income countries, while simultaneously helping American businesses to export their products and services, thereby creating U.S. jobs,” and the agency currently works in 66 countries.

USTDA's programs are designed to help countries establish a favorable trading environment and a modern infrastructure that promotes sustainable economic development. According to USTDA, the agency’s development assistance has always involved building partnerships between U.S. companies and overseas project sponsors to bring proven private sector solutions to developmental challenges. As part of its programs USTDA funds various forms of technical assistance, early investment analysis, training, orientation visits and business workshops in the areas of trade capacity building and sector development, and project definition and investment analysis.

USTDA works closely with other Federal agencies to advance host country development objectives, but unlike U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) USTDA gives preference to projects that promote export of U.S. goods and services. As a result most USTDA projects are located in Latin America, Europe, or East Asia. The agency's activities span a wide variety of sectors, although projects in the transportation and energy and power sectors account for 43% of the funding in 2008. In total in 2008 USTDA obligated over $46 million in support of projects in 66 host counties around the world, including 67 technical assistance activities, 41 feasibility studies, and 24 orientation visits.

Leocadia I. Zak

Leocadia I. Zak

Leocadia Irine Zak serves as the Director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency where she leads an agency dedicated to encouraging economic growth in emerging markets and the export of U.S. goods and services to those markets. After being nominated by President Barack Obama in November 2009, Zak...

is the current Director of USTDA.