General Purposes

About this grant

Since the North American Free Trade Agreement and Uruguay Round debates in Congress a decade ago, the structure of decisionmaking established at the international level on trade clearly excludes a role for elected state and local public officials. Current negotiations at the World Trade Organization and the pursuit of a Free Trade Agreement of the Americas provide opportunities for local and state governments to promote economic development in new ways. However, there is a critical need for cities and states to participate in the debate on the goals of these trade agreements and the impact of the rules being negotiated in order for their needs to be addressed.Multiyear funding will support efforts to engage elected officials at the state and local levels in the global trade debate. Objectives include building a national network of public officials; supporting subnational opportunities for engaging state and local officials; and creating working groups to support public officials.The Forum on Democracy and Trade was established in late 2002 to provide information and networking support to state and local elected officials.