Development Assistance, Export Promotion, and Environmental Technology Page: III
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oreword
olicymakers--both in the United States and in other countries that provide for-
eign assistance-are examining possible links between environmental export
promotion and foreign assistance. As developing countries address their environ-
mental problems, sizable markets for environmental technologies and services
could emerge. With their long experience in environmental management, developed
country firms could be a vital source of environmentally preferable technologies and
know-how.
While most resources for environmental improvement will need to come from
developing country sources, U.S. foreign aid and that of other donors could serve a
potentially catalytic role in fostering technology transfer, with commercial benefits to
donors in the form of exports and the potential for continuing trade after such aid ends.
Yet, the commercial features of foreign aid programs, if undertaken with insufficient
attention to developing country needs, could promote exports of inappropriate technolo-
gies at the expense of sustainable development. The role of foreign aid in encouraging
technology transfer is receiving added attention as countries consider follow up measures
to the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, a major
world event attended by the heads of state from more than 100 countries.
This Background Paper provides an overview of developing country environ-
mental problems and markets for environmental technologies and services. It discusses
preliminary estimates on the amount and purposes of environmental aid provided by
donor countries in 1991. The Paper discusses the commercial implications of other coun-
tries' aid for U.S. environmental firms, and the Helsinki package adopted by the OECD
in late 1991 to limit commercial advantage from use of tied aid credits. Japan's aid pro-
gram, which seems likely to become the largest bilateral source of development assis-
tance and environmental aid, receives the most attention. The Paper's appendixes discuss
environmental markets in developing and newly industrialized countries, and U.S. export
promotion programs pertinent to environmental technologies and services.
The Background Paper is the second of three publications in OTA'S American
Industry and the Environment assessment, which was requested by the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Finance
Committee. The Paper was prepared to meet the specific request of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee for interim information on environmental industry issues. The initial
product of the assessment, Trade and Environment: Conflicts and Opportunities, was
published in May 1992. The final report of the assessment will address U.S. environmen-
tal industry competitiveness in detail. It will also discuss interactions between environ-
mental regulations and technology, and their implications for U.S. manufacturing indus-
try competitiveness.
Roger C. Herdman, Directoriii
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United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment. Development Assistance, Export Promotion, and Environmental Technology, report, August 1993; [Washington D.C.]. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc40050/m1/3/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.