Grant is provided under the regional Private Sector Initiatives project to the Chicago Association for Commerce and Industry (CACI) to demonstrate ways of linking specific Chicago-area private firms with trade and investment opportunities in specific Caribbean Basin nations, and vice versa, beginning with two primary countries: Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. There will be four types of activities: (1) research (e.g., exploring opportunities for exports to Chicago, and for investment by Chicago firms in the Caribbean Basin); (2) promotion (including activities such as establishing a Caribbean Basin Trade and Investment Center in Chicago and arranging trade missions, plant visits, lectures, and workshops); (3) TA (e.g., providing cross-cultural training for businesspersons, helping to match potential business partners and negotiate agreements); and (4) replication (based on the experiences of this program, writing a guidebook for other U.S. business organizations interested in stimulating trade and investment with developing countries).
