NED grantees are working to promote transparency, protect property rights, and ensure fair competition for businesses and workers. Their efforts offer a strong alternative to authoritarian regimes that use economic pressure to manipulate markets and undermine the rule of law. A vibrant private sector and respect for worker rights mean stronger democracies, fair economies, and more stable societies. This work also helps ensure a level playing field for American businesses and workers.
From combating forced labor to exposing corruption, NED’s partners drive meaningful change that protects democratic values and enables broad-based prosperity. This report highlights key successes by NED grantees that have strengthened markets and safeguarded economic freedom worldwide.
With NED’s support, partners are:
- Promoting market transparency by investigating opaque financial networks, tracking illicit trade routes, and exposing corrupt practices that distort fair competition.
- Strengthening economic resilience by equipping local businesses with tools to navigate authoritarian pressure, ensuring they can operate independently and ethically.
- Protecting business rights by advancing legal reforms that safeguard property rights, strengthen procurement laws, protect small businesses and promote fair market practices.
- Defending labor rights by partnering with civil society groups to combat exploitation and protect workers from coercion and intimidation.
NED IMPACT CASE STUDIES:
1. Protecting U.S. Markets from China’s Forced Labor:
NED-supported research and advocacy exposed China’s use of forced labor in electric vehicle production, solar panels, and critical mineral processing, which undermines U.S. industries. NED partners also worked to expose the use of forced labor in the Uyghur region, helping to block goods produced with forced labor from entering U.S. markets.
2. Fighting Corruption, Stabilizing Trade:
NED funds investigative journalism that has uncovered corruption in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Colombia, revealing ties to drug cartels and transnational crime. These efforts help hold governments accountable and create more transparent environments for trade and investment.
3. Ending Forced Labor, Promoting Fair Competition:
A coalition of experts and local activists successfully worked to eliminate child labor and reduce state-imposed forced labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry. Supported by NED partners, this alliance of over 30 human rights, business, and labor organizations played a key role in pressuring Uzbekistan to implement major reforms. By promoting fair labor practices, these efforts leveled the playing field for businesses in the U.S. and elsewhere that adhere to ethical sourcing standards.
4. Revealing Authoritarian Economic Influence in Sri Lanka:
NED supported investigations expose foreign authoritarian influence on overseas commerce, including China’s control over Sri Lanka’s Port City project and Russian sanctions evasion by Sri Lankan officials.
5. Promoting Accountability and Economic Integrity in Ukraine:
NED-funded initiatives advance transparency and accountability in Ukraine. NED-supported organizations have established a transparent procurement system for U.S. and allied supplied non-lethal military aid, safeguarding against corruption and saving $300 million in 2024 alone. NED core institute CIPE has helped over 200 business associations improve Ukraine’s business environment by advancing reforms in customs and economic security laws, empowering the private sector to advocate for lasting change.
6. Exposing North Korean Economic Manipulation:
NED grantees revealed North Korea’s use of global supply chains to evade sanctions, linking its exports to China, Russia, and other authoritarian regimes. Their widely cited findings highlight Pyongyang’s deepening ties with Moscow, an ever-present concern for U.S., Indo-Pacific, and European security.
