Deputy Secretary's Speech

Deputy Secretary of Commerce David A. Sampson
Trade Winds Forum
Crystal City, Virginia

I am pleased to welcome all of you to Washington and to the Trade Winds Conference. I understand this conference is a sell out. That’s an encouraging sign, and I thank you for your interest in advancing the U.S. trade agenda. I specifically would like to acknowledge our Commercial Service staff who have traveled here from around the world to join us here today. Thank you all for your dedication, and for the wonderful service that you provide for American businesses in Europe, India and Africa.

I’d also like to take a moment to thank the great sponsors of this forum and in particular mention BCIU and FedEx for their support. Your participation and leadership are critical to the success of this conference.

Before you begin your in-depth meetings and seminars this morning, I would like to give you an update on the state of trade policy in the United States

This Administration is dedicated to improving market access, encouraging innovation and helping you succeed in the global marketplace. We recognize the important role that exports play in promoting a dynamic and competitive economy. In fact, helping the United States economy become an export powerhouse is one of Secretary Gutierrez’s top priorities for the department. And our Commercial Service staff is dedicated to promoting American businesses in overseas markets.

America has been at the forefront of promoting expansion in international trade for decades, and our economy has benefited from this strategy. Last year, trade—both imports and exports—accounted for the equivalent of 28 percent of our nation’s GDP. Fifty years ago, it was just over nine percent, so trade in real terms has become three times as important to our economy in my lifetime.

Last year, our growth in exports surpassed our growth in imports, totaling more than $1.4 trillion. So your work in reaching new markets for your products and services is clearly having a positive impact on our nation’s economy.

We are not the only ones benefiting from expanding global trade. A generation ago, trade accounted for 17 percent of the world’s economy. Today it makes up about 30 percent of the world's economy, and it’s growing.

This is good economically, and it also promotes security around the world. Economic growth means investment. It means jobs. It means opportunities for citizens that create an environment of stability and peace in their communities. Nations that have strong trade and investment relationships are less likely to go to war with each other. As President Bush said, “Trade is not just an economic opportunity, it is a moral imperative.”

That’s why this Administration has created a comprehensive trade policy that allows American companies to compete on a level playing field in an increasingly interconnected global trading and investment environment.

This approach has a number of components, starting with our bilateral trade agreements. Some of these are very specific and impact just one industry or area of our economy—for example, the Civilian Nuclear Agreement with India, or the Trans-Atlantic Dialogue with the EU. Each step we take enhances our relationships, lowers trade barriers and opens new opportunities for American companies.

But it is our free trade agreements that have been the hallmark of this Administration’s trade agenda. The U.S. has FTAs with fourteen countries—eleven since President Bush took office in 2001. Fourteen might not sound like much, but the significance lies in the fact that over 42 percent of U.S. exports is destined for our free trade partners.

These agreements have opened the doors to international commerce, which is helping create an export culture here in America. Our recent Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is also assisting in this effort. I recently traveled with the ambassadors of the CAFTA countries to open a new World Trade Center in Northwest Arkansas. Without exception, they believe CAFTA will bring great benefits to their countries and to the region.

Prior to CAFTA, we maintained a trade deficit with the six Central American countries that are part of CAFTA. Two years after beginning this process, our exports to the countries were $19.6 billion, and imports totaled $18.6 billion. So I am pleased to say we are now running a trade surplus with our CAFTA partners.

We must build on this momentum. This is not the time for protectionism, isolationism, or raising market barriers.

As you know, we have pending FTAs with Colombia, Korea, Panama and Peru. Combined, these agreements will open market opportunities with nearly 125 million consumers whose combined GDP in 2006 was $1.1 trillion.

Last week we saw the beginning of what appears to be a return to the traditional bipartisan consensus on trade in this country.

In a rare, but welcome sight, a breakthrough trade deal was announced last week with Speaker Pelosi standing side-by-side with U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab.

American political leaders were able, together, to find a path to achieve what you already know: that opening new markets for our U.S. goods and services builds our economic strength and allows our nation to capitalize upon its innovative spirit.

We now have a clear bipartisan path forward for congressional consideration of pending FTAs with Peru, Colombia, Panama and Korea. These FTAs are strong commercial deals that will result in significant new market access for U.S. exports. We also have a template for extending the President’s Trade Promotion Authority.

This trade deal is a positive sign for international commerce, and it sends a strong signal to the global community as we work towards the successful conclusion of the Doha Round. It will lead to the creation of new opportunities for those companies that are ready to engage the world and find markets for their products, and we at the Department of Commerce would like to help you do just that.

Trade is a part of the very architecture of the Commerce Department. President Thomas Jefferson’s mandate in 1802 to "Cultivate peace and commerce with all nations,” is inscribed on the exterior facade of our building.

We take that motto seriously, and we can help you engage in those commercial opportunities across the globe and compete in a fair environment.

The Department of Commerce, through the Commercial Service, has many trade promotion services that can help you become better exporters. This includes providing accurate, up-to-date industry and country information to assist you in finding markets that hold the greatest potential for your products.

They can help you open doors by increasing access to customers in foreign markets that you might not otherwise be able to reach. The Commercial Service can also help make your products export-ready and represent your products in international marketplaces, such as at trade shows and exhibitions.

And through our government partners, like OPIC and the Export/Import Bank, who are also here today, we can assist with other export facilitation services, even providing funding and insurance for projects.

The three markets you will be discussing today and tomorrow are very different, but all hold tremendous opportunity. I just returned from a healthcare conference in Germany, and will be traveling to Africa this summer, where I will be exploring markets with some of the greatest growth potential in the world. The Department of Commerce has led a number of very successful trade missions to India, a country that is quickly becoming one of our top trading relationships.

So, the Department stands ready to help. I encourage you to use the valuable resources at the Department of Commerce to help your businesses grow and prosper in the international market. Thank you for the opportunity to address you, and I look forward to visiting with you at the reception this evening and learning of the progress made here today.

Thank you.