FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ambassador Barshefsky has noted the enormous debt we owe to Jeffrey Lang, the deputy United States Trade Representative with regard to this agreement. Let me start by adding our thanks to the dedicated Treasury officials who worked with their USTR colleagues to make it possible: Tim Geithner, our Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, who led the Treasury team in Geneva during the final stages of the negotiations; Meg Lundsager, our Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade and Investment Policy, who has lived and breathed financial services liberalization since March; Matthew Hennesey, director of Treasury's office of financial services negotiations; and Michael Kaplan, who designed the technical content of the negotiations and made a critical contribution to their success. You all have our deepest appreciation for your hard work.

This is an important step for one of America's most competitive industries and a critical step for the world economy. By laying the foundation for a truly global capital market it provides confidence right now and an opportunity for the financing of critical investments in development around the world for many, many years to come.

Achieving this agreement has been a priority for many years, in both Democratic and Republican Administrations. We have done this in partnership with industry. We have maintained our position unless and until satisfactory offers were forthcoming from important markets around the world. And we have worked closely with, and benefited from, the support and steadfastness of the Senate and House Banking, Finance, Ways and Means and Commerce Committees.

The output of US securities firms has grown four times faster than the economy as a whole since 1977, and financial services now account for some seven percent of our GDP. Ours is the largest, most successful financial services industry in the world. This agreement will help ensure it remains so well into the next century.

Going into these negotiations we laid down four core objectives; countries had to grant foreign firms the right to establish. They had to grant them the right to full majority ownership, which is crucial for effective firm management. They had to assure foreign firms of their existing rights in these markets. And they had to grant them the right to participate fully throughout the market, on the basis of substantially full national treatment

Those four objectives have been met in the overwhelming majority of countries. United States firms will have the right to enter foreign financial markets in one way or another and compete on a level playing field in virtually every WTO member country, including the key emerging markets. In all industrialized countries, and in most of the emerging markets, foreign providers will be permitted to be majority owners of local operations. And the existing rights of foreign providers will be assured in markets accounting for well over 90 percent of global trade in financial services.

This historic agreement provides a foundation for the creation of a truly global capital market. In the weeks, months and years ahead we will be working to build on this foundation by supporting continuing openness of financial markets around the world. A particular priority will be to address a key outstanding issue, regarding the forced divestiture of major equity stakes in important markets. It is vital for our industry, and vital for the global financial services market that we find a solution to this problem -- and our officials will be working hard to achieve that objective as we go forward.

This agreement sends a critical message at a critical period. At a time of instability and uncertainty in world markets, it will increase confidence by showing that the international community's commitment to integration remains intact. Some 70 additional nations have pledged genuine and permanent liberalization of their financial services markets. And they have set in place a powerful framework for ensuring that the progress toward more open and efficient global markets continues. Thank you. -30-