In November 1999, the World Bank established a new program of international standards, technical regulations, and trade policy with the support of the United Kingdom's Department of International Development's (DFID) Trust Fund. The DFID umbrella Trust Fund project had eight sub-components or projects: WTO 2000 and WBI Core Course developed by the World Bank Institute; WTO Agriculture; Services Trade; Trade Support; International Standards Support; Trade Policy Data System; and Impact Modeling. This file appears to have been initially maintained by Anthony Venables (Manager for Trade, Development Research Group [DECRG]) who was designated Task Manager to administer this three-year Trust Fund project.

Found in the series are copies of electronic messages (e-mails) exchanged in 1998 between L. Alan Winters, then Trade Manager, DECRG with David Batt, Head of DFID about a DFID-World Bank collaboration on trade policy in advance of the next round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations in order to increase understanding of the policy implications and economic impact of standards and regulations on world trade development. A copy of Winter's 21 December 1998 letter to Botts expressing the Bank's interest in a Trade Policy Development Project is in the file. Also in the file are copies of e-mails and notes concerning the preparation process for a Bank Initiating brief for a Trust Fund for the Trade Policy Development Project and a copy of the Initiating brief executed on 29 March 1999 that describes the objectives of the Trust Fund.

In the series are descriptions of each sub-component project approved by DFID for financing, program updates/progress reports, and other project related correspondence including Venable's correspondence with personnel designated as Bank contact points for the sub-projects and with DFID and a copy of a later 2001 facsimile message requesting payment from DFID for expenditures for the period 1 October 2000 to 30 September 2001.