User:Carsonfirestone/sandbox 2

Planned Draft Contribution

-Add in that Enoh Ebong is the Acting Director

Under General information and History

When the USTDA was created in 1961, the ideas and programs it was founded on came from foreign assistance initiatives that were developed in the Mutual Security Act of 1954, and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. These acts addressed the idea of using taxpayer dollars overseas in order to help promote foreign trade with the US. For the first 19 years of it's existence, this program was known as the Agency for International Develpment. In 1980, the agency was renamed the United States Trade and Development Program after it was combined with multiple other offices within this umbrella of programs. In 1992, the name of the program was again changed to it's current name, the United States Trade and Development Agency. Lawmakers supported the name change to clarify and emphasize that USTDA is an independent agency and to increase its visibility both internally and abroad as a promotion tool with foreign trade partners.

Under Programs

In 2010, President Barack Obama signed an executive order, the National Export Initiative, in an attempt to double the amount of US exports through 2015. To support this project, the USTDA launched the International Business Partnership Program, a program that helped connect American manufacturers with international trade partners around the world.

New Section: Controversies

The USTDA came under fire in December of 2000 when they granted funding to RKR Enterprises to begin exploring oil initiatives and reserves in Uganda. This was controversial because of the unrest at the time over Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, who had been accused of jailing political opponents. Doing business with and oppressive regime such as this one was met with heavy criticism from the American Public.

Sources

http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/permalink/meta-crs-56:1

http://www.allgov.com/departments/independent-agencies/united-states-trade-and-development-agency-ustda?agencyid=7282