Description:
S. 2201 would authorize the appropriation of $50 million a year for a pilot program to assist developing countries to engage in international trade. The bill also would require the Administration to establish an interagency committee to coordinate the federal government’s efforts to build institutional capacity in developing countries to expand trade, develop and implement government-wide strategic plans to build that capacity, and report to the Congress on the progress of those efforts.
Based on an analysis of information from the Department of State (which would lead the interagency committee) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID; which would have secondary responsibility for the committee and would implement the pilot program), CBO expects that the department, USAID, and the U.S. Trade Representative would require a total of seven additional employees, at an average cost of $250,000 each, to implement the interagency process required by the bill. In total and assuming appropriation of the specified and necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $183 million over the 2017-2021 period (see table below).
Enacting S. 2201 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 2201 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
