USAID seeks to improve Palestinian trade with Israel

USAID seeks to improve Palestinian trade with Israel    The U.S. Agency for International Development has initiated a new three-year $12 million program to improve Palestinian trade from the West Bank and Gaza to Israel.
   The Trade Facilitation Project, which will be managed by U.S.-based Chemonics International, aims to reduce transportation costs for Palestinian shippers by helping them to satisfy Israeli packing and shipping requirements while supplying Israeli border control with equipment to speed merchandise inspection.
   The project includes the development of improved lighting of loading areas, tracking trucks moving from factory to border, and better monitoring of border crossings, the federal agency said.
   In addition, the project will help shippers and traders cut costs by planning more efficient routes and publicizing processing requirements and scheduling systems to make border crossing faster, less expensive and more efficient.
   Howard Sumka, USAID mission director for the West Bank and Gaza, said the goal is to “find out what the Palestinians are going to need, keep red tape to a bare minimum and make procedures transparent to speed merchandise moving in both directions on to its final destination.”
   USAID believes the project will ultimately benefit both Israeli and Palestinian companies by making it easier to move materials and products in both directions. For example, Israeli textiles can be shipped to Palestinian factories for sewing and finishing and then shipped back to Israel and other destinations. The project will also allow for more perishable agricultural exports, especially to Europe, USAID said.