Explain the steps in the Certification process. Be sure to include how countries are categorized by their illicit producing and /or drug activities

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: "Certification" is a process by which the U.S. government evaluates the cooperation of foreign countries in counter-drug efforts. This is a method by which the United States attempts to control the production of illicit drugs in foreign countries is through a certification process. Enacted by Congress in 1986, certification is a process in which the U.S. government evaluates the cooperation of foreign countries in counter-drug efforts. Each year, the president is required to compile a list of countries that have been determined to be major illicit producing and/or drug transit countries.

Countries on this list are then divided into three categories:
(1) those that are fully compliant with U.S. counter-drug efforts ("certified"), (2) those not compliant with U.S. efforts ("decertified"), and (3) those that are noncompliant but certified based on vital U.S. national interests. If a country is decertified, U.S. law requires that all foreign aid be withheld until the president determines whether the country should be certified. In addition, U.S. representatives to multinational banks such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are required to vote against any loans or grants to a decertified country.