FTS-COMMERCE-ITA-1
April 24, 2007
11:00 am CT
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Good afternoon. May we
have a roll call?
Marc Chittum: Yes sir, I’m happy to do so. Thank you very much.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Okay.
Marc Chittum: We know you’re here and - has (Jim Morgan) joined us?
All
right, we know Sharon Allen is here.
John
Chen?
John Chen: Yes.
Marc Chittum: Jim Dicke?
((Crosstalk))
Marc Chittum: Is he there?
James Dicke: Here, Jim Dicke is here.
Marc Chittum: Great. Yeah, I know Warren’s there.
One
moment please.
(Arnold
Donald)?
Juan
Carlos Iturregui?
Juan Carlos Iturregui: I’m here.
Marc Chittum: Chris Jenny?
Cecilia
Levine?
Betty
Manetta?
We
know Prakash is still with us, correct?
Prakash Puram: Yes.
Marc Chittum: Great, Prakash.
Lenny
Sands?
Harold
Smith?
Harold Smith: Here.
Marc Chittum: And Warren Staley.
Warren Staley: Yes.
Marc Chittum: Thank you.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Jim Dicke.
James Dicke: Yes?
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: You’re there.
Okay.
Marc Chittum: We have, yourself included, Mr. Marriott, eight of the PEC
members other than Secretary Gutierrez and Ambassador Schwab.
Is
Jim Lambright with us?
Undersecretary
Lavin?
Frank Lavin: Here.
Marc Chittum: Thank you for joining us.
That’s
the roll as of now, Mr. Chairman.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Okay. I’ll call the meeting to order.
Welcome
all of you. Thank you for joining us.
We’re
going to discuss our recommendation on Trade Promotion Authority. And as we all
know, the council is very supportive of us doing the free trade agreement and
the expanding markets of our trading partners are of great interest and
concern, I think, to all Americans.
In
fact, we wrote a letter to the President two years ago in favor of renewal of
Trade Promotion Authority, continued US involvement in the WTO and the pursuit
of free trade agreements.
With
the pending expiration of TPA on June 30, we are revisiting the issue.
Secretary
Gutierrez and Ambassador Schwab have been leaders on the issue, and I’m pleased
they’re joining us today and I would first like to call on Secretary Gutierrez
to give us any thoughts he has on the matter.
Carlos Gutierrez: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And
I want to thank you and the council for your clear statement and leadership in support
of extending the President’s Trade Promotion Authority. We believe that it’s
very important for President Bush and very important for every president to
have TPA.
Without
confidence that negotiated agreements will be voted on as presented, our trading
partners will be reluctant to enter into talks or negotiations. So, not having
Trade Promotion Authority would be a disadvantage.
We
have a solid track record with TPA, and I’ll just mention a couple of
highlights.
Under
President Bush’s leadership, we have implemented free trade agreements with 11
countries. That’s more than has ever been done before.
Last
year, very importantly, our export growth outpaced our import growth and just
remarkable that we are able to grow exports 13% for a total of
1.4 trillion.
So
not only are we the largest exporter in the world of goods and services but
also growing off that base a very impressive 13%, and that’s above the rate of
growth of imports, which was 11%.
So
we’re seeing the impact of these trade agreements rolling up and achieving
momentum in our export numbers and that - all of that is being reflected in our
economy.
Our
economy is clearly the fastest growing of any industrialized nation. In March,
we created 180,000 new jobs. Our unemployment is at 4.4%, which is below the
average of the past 40 years. Our growth rate in 2006 was 3.3%, that’s also
above the last 15-year average.
So,
exports are clearly contributing to this. And as we talked before, exports are
supporting millions of high-paying US jobs.
So
I thank you again for your leadership and we look forward to working with you
to ensure that we can get TPA renewal and continue to have trade work in favor
of US firms and US workers.
So,
thank you again, Mr. Chairman.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Secretary, appreciate your good comments.
I’d
like to ask Ambassador Schwab to give us her views.
Susan Schwab: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And again, let me also
commend the President’s Export Council for its engagement and enthusiasm and
support for Trade Promotion Authority.
We
have, as you all know, a three-pronged agenda when it comes to trade
agreements, the Doha round negotiations going on.
We
have the FTAs, the free trade agreements, 11 new ones implemented. We have two
ready for congressional action, that’s Peru and Colombia; and two ready for
closure, Panama and Korea most recently.
Korea,
being a free trade agreement with the tenth largest economy in the world, our
seventh largest trading partner, fourth largest market, for example, for US
agricultural exports; so a huge opportunity there for American farmers and
ranchers and workers and businesses and service providers.
And
then finally, a final prong of our trade agenda, the enforcement of this
rules-based trading system, whether it’s enforcement of WTO agreements, WTO
accession agreements or free trade agreements.
And
as Carlos noted, you know, this agenda is showing results. And our exports to
the ten free trade FTA countries that we have closed and implemented FTAs with
since 2001 exports are up twice as fast, 26% to those FTA partners compared to
13% to the rest of the world.
And
that 13% is a very respectable number, but obviously the 26% being very, very
impressive, and even though these FTA partners account for what 7% of non-US
GDP in the world, we’re talking about 42% of our exports.
Trade
Promotion Authority, every president since 1974 has had this authority and we
need it for Doha round agreement, we cannot, will not have a Doha round
agreement without it.
And
if Trade Promotion Authority lapses and is not renewed, we’re basically going
to be sitting on the sidelines while lots of other countries are out there
negotiating bilateral and regional trade agreements that will exclude us, that
will disadvantage our competitive exporters and import-using industries.
So
the sort of my message and all the more important that the President’s Export
Council deliver this letter, I think it is - it’s terrific, it’s a great
message.
And
I would just add, when it comes to messages, it is very clear from watching the
media and contemplating US trade politics in this day and age that we can’t
take for granted that the American people or even workers in export-competitive
industries understand the extent to which the US economy relies on trade, is
benefited by trade.
A
little footnote here: We have World Trade Week coming up in May, I believe the
20th of May thereabouts. There’ll be activities going on the week before, the
week of, the week after.
Very,
very useful for those of you in industries, whether agribusiness or
manufacturing or services, to get out there and get the word out, whether
that’s op ed pieces, slipping little notes into your employees’ pay stubs,
letting people know, letting your communities know how very important trade is
to their economic future.
So,
thank you.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Thank you very much.
You’ll
have the votes going, but if you were voted on today, do you think we’d win?
Susan Schwab: On the FTAs.
J.W. Marriott: Yeah.
((Crosstalk))
Susan Schwab: On the Doha, on the FTAs, hard to know. I think there’s a
clear sense among some Democrats that they’re uncomfortable with how partisan
trade had become in the last several years. A lot of moderate Democrats are
interested in voting yes on trade bills where they felt they were precluded
from doing in the past.
The
Republicans I’ve talked to would also much prefer to see a more bipartisan US
trade policy and trade agenda.
So
part of - we’re in the middle of a dialogue right now. I’m in the middle of a
dialogue right now with Chairman Rangel, Congressman Jim McCrery, Chairman
Bachus, Senator Grassley to see what kind of changes might be made some of the
pending FTAs that would really bring up - bring out the bipartisan vote count,
and that’s our focus right now.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Yeah, that’s great.
Susan Schwab: Regardless, you know, you can squeak by with one vote, we’ve
squeaked by with one in the past. That’s suboptimal. We really would like to
see strong bipartisan votes for these FTAs.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Right. Well, thank you for your tremendous effort, both you and
the Secretary.
We’d
like now to go to Warren Staley, who’s Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on
Trade Promotion and Negotiation, to give a report.
Warren?
Warren Staley: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Secretary
Gutierrez, Ambassador Schwab, and fellow council members, thanks for the
opportunity to present the Trade Promotion and Negotiation Subcommittee’s
letter on Trade Promotion Authority or TPA for short.
It’s
the authority granted by Congress to the President that allows for the trade
agreements to be implemented without amendment.
Without
this, our trading partners will be unwilling to negotiate with us out of fear
that any agreement could be reopened by Congress.
TPA
legislation sets out the guidelines for U.S. trade negotiations and mandates
extensive consultations between the executive and legislative branches prior to
conclusion and negotiation.
Since
it was most recently enacted in 2002 the United States has entered into trade
agreements with ten partner countries.
The
agreements have contributed greatly to the expansion of U.S. exports. For
example, U.S. exports to Chile have grown 150% since the implementation of the
U.S.-Chile FTA in 2004.
Overall,
the growth of U.S. exports to FTA partners in 2006 was 26% double the growth to
all other countries.
These
numbers demonstrate the importance of TPA for expanding market access for U.S.
exporters.
U.S.
exports in turn are directly linked to higher paying American jobs.
With
TPA set to expire on June 30, 2007 it is time to for the administration to work
in partnership with Congress to renew the important tool for U.S. trade policy.
Our
main economic competitors, as was mentioned, will continue to negotiate trade
agreements regardless of the U.S. trade agenda. These competitors could gain an
advantage over U.S. manufacturers, farmers, and service providers if the United
States is not similarly engaged in key markets.
Export
growth is particularly important for U.S. manufacturing as approximately 5.1
million manufacturing jobs are dependent on exports.
TPA
is also necessary for continued U.S. leadership in the global economy.
TPA
renewal would promote progress in the WTO Doha round -- another priority for
President’s Export Council members.
It
is in the U.S.’ interest to see the WTO negotiations move forward.
Economic
liberalization is a major factor in economic development and stability of
developing countries.
Mr.
Chairman, the President’s Export Council strongly supports the renewal of Trade
Promotion Authority in order to allow for the continued negotiation of trade
agreements that open U.S. markets that open markets for U.S. exporters.
Thank
you for your attention and I submit the subcommittee’s letter for discussion
and adoption.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Thank you very much, Warren.
A
copy of the letter has been sent to council members, and for the members of the
public, a copy is posted online.
Are
there any comments, questions?
Jim Morgan: This is Jim.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Hi, Jim.
Jim Morgan: Warren, I think that’s really a nice job and I would
encourage us to forward it as is. I think you just did a great job on it and
it’s really critical to get support for trade promotion for our country and for
our competitive position in the world.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Okay, thank you.
Any
other comments?
Man: Yes.
((Crosstalk))
Man: I’d
echo (Jim)’s comments. I think it’s a great job and is critically important.
J.W. Marriott: I agree.
Anyone
else?
Juan Carlos Iturregui: I do have one, Mr. Chairman, Juan Carlos
here.
Warren Staley: Yeah.
Juan Carlos Iturregui: On the CAFTA paragraph here on all these new
trade agreements, I would suggest that we actually in one line or one number
say or state how many new jobs, high value-added jobs have been created in the
U.S.
Susan Schwab: Yes.
Juan Carlos Iturregui: In addition to the five million, you know,
manufacturing jobs that are dependent on trade.
And
then the last paragraph, we talk about the, you know, non-tariff barriers that
restrict the flow of trade, we should - investment. It’s semantics but I think
it’s important.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Are you okay with this, Warren?
Warren Staley: Yes, yes.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Okay.
Warren Staley: It’s a good idea.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Good. I think those are good ideas.
Man: Yeah,
I do too.
J.W. Marriott: Anyone else?
Prakash Puram: Hi. I have…
((Crosstalk))
Prakash Puram: …a question, this is Prakash Puram.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Okay.
Prakash Puram: Ambassador Schwab just told us that the - that every president
since 1974 has had TPA and we - when we say 2002, officially this is the right
date TPA in its present form, but are we minimizing the importance of how long
it’s been in effect and can we in fact say some form or the other TPA has been
in existence since 1974 or ’88 or should we leave it to be precise? In its
current form it was enacted in 2002.
Susan Schwab: The way you formulate it is entirely up to you. The thing that
we would hope to avoid is the eight-year gap that existed during the Clinton
administration…
Prakash Puram: Correct.
Susan Schwab: The beginning of the Bush administration because during that
time obviously we lost a lot of opportunities - missed a lot of opportunities
in the trade arena.
Prakash Puram: Right.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: So let’s just leave it out, let’s not get in this.
I
think the letter’s complete and I think the question - suggestions that were
put forward are very good.
Any
other suggestions?
John Chen: Yeah,
this is John Chen. I don’t know whether I missed this or not, but early on
Secretary Gutierrez has listed or at least identified the (RO) export. And many
of those are tied to our trade agreement partners, the TPA partners or FTA
partners. Is that point worth mentioning?
Warren Staley: I’m not sure what the point is.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: I didn’t understand either, John.
John Chen: The
point was, you know, if I understand correctly, with FTA which was the fast
track program which was - or the free trade agreement program which was the -
which has encouraged a lot of exports and thought that the basic weapon or
process to allow these FTAs to be negotiated are entirely right on this fact
that we have the TPA or is that not a true fact, those two are not linked?
Warren Staley: I think the comment that Sue Schwab mentioned that the FTAs -
exports to FTA countries have grown by 6% and total exports have grown by 13%,
is that…
John Chen: Yeah,
but I mean I have seen some statistic about that and I thought that was a very
powerful set of data, so to speak and - to encourage trade and it’s very fast
track trade.
Susan Schwab: And you’re right, without - I mean, without Trade Promotion
Authority there would be no free - no future free trade agreements.
John Chen: Right,
that’s what I thought. But anyway, I’ll submit that for Warren’s committee to
look at maybe.
Man: Great.
J.W. Marriott: I think that’s a good suggestion. Why don’t we just put one
line in there that says that there won’t be any more trade agreements without
free trade approval?
Woman: TPA.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Right, without TPA. Is that all right?
Woman: Yes.
Man: Yes.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Okay.
Other
questions or suggestions?
Okay.
I don’t hear any and so therefore, are there any objections to the letter?
If
not, I will forward it on to you, Mr. Secretary, and you can send it to the
President.
Carlos Gutierrez: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks to all the council for your
leadership and commitment.
Susan Schwab: Thank you all very, very much.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Thanks for participating everyone.
Woman: Thank
you.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: We appreciate it.
Man: Thank
you.
Woman: Good
luck.
Man: Thank
you.
((Crosstalk))
Man: Thank
you.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Thank you.
Man: Bye
everybody.
J.W. Marriott, Jr.: Bye.
Man: Bye-bye.
Woman: Bye.
END