Trade and Competitiveness Activity (TCA) Annual Report October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021

The TCA enables USAID/Washington, USAID Missions, and other operating units to access expert technical assistance in a single mechanism to design, implement, and evaluate a range of activities to meet business enabling environment, competitiveness, and trade capacity building needs of developing country partners. TCA's work is divided into five component areas: Technical Analysis, Assessments, and Diagnostics; Rapid Response and Short-Term Assistance; Communications and External Stakeholder Engagement; Knowledge Generation and Management; and Training. The TCA Project Tracker includes a list of USAID trade and competitiveness projects that are currently being implemented or are forecasted for solicitation, along with color coding to indicate new, updated or cancelled activities, and a column to describe the Trade & Competitiveness themes of each project. The TCA Consultant Database and Skills Matrix provides a broad range of technical and geographic expertise across the five component areas. The database includes contact information, geography, language capabilities, and technical expertise, and was updated with additional experts on a quarterly basis during Year 4. The International Trade Standards Expert, who supported EMD on a full-time basis until July of year 4, provided ongoing technical guidance to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on various initiatives, including the Standards Alliance (SA2) and the coordination of a medical devices regulatory convergence activity in several countries. The International Trade Standards Expert also assisted ANSI with the development, planning, and launch of activities related to concrete standards, water and sanitation, and water quality, as well as the design and launch of a project on regional harmonization of regional petroleum standards in West Africa. Additionally, the expert advised ANSI on the development of a National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) assessment tool and developed the first draft of a cybersecurity guide for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with support from an expert cybersecurity consultant and TCA. The guide will walk SMEs through assessing their own vulnerabilities to cybersecurity threats and provide easily implemented mitigation actions that are targeted to companies' current and future digital operations. The TCA's work in this area aims to support the development of a more competitive and resilient private sector in partner countries, and to promote economic growth and development through improved trade and competitiveness. The TCA's activities and initiatives are designed to support the development of a more competitive and resilient private sector in partner countries, and to promote economic growth and development through improved trade and competitiveness. The TCA's work in this area aims to support the development of a more competitive and resilient private sector in partner countries, and to promote economic growth and development through improved trade and competitiveness.