Emergency Committee For American Trade

ECAT Urges Approval of Peru TPA Implementation Act and S.3496, PNTR with Vietnam

July 26, 2006

The Honorable Charles Grassley The Honorable Max Baucus

Chairman Ranking Member

Committee on Finance Committee on Finance

U.S. Senate U.S. Senate

219 Dirksen Senate Office Building 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510

Re: Peru Trade Promotion Agreement and S. 3495, Permanent Normal Trade Relations with Vietnam

Dear Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Baucus:

I am writing on behalf of the Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT) to express our strong support for the Finance Committee’s approval of both the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (Peru TPA) Implementation Act and S. 3495, authorizing the President to accord permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to Vietnam, as the United States does to over 140 other countries around the world.

ECAT, an association of the chief executives of leading U.S. business enterprises with global operations, was founded more than three decades ago to promote economic growth through expansionary trade and investment policies. Today, ECAT’s members represent all the principal sectors of the U.S. economy – agriculture, finance, high technology, manufacturing, merchandising, processing, publishing and services. The combined exports of ECAT member companies run into the tens of billions of dollars. The jobs they provide for American men and women – including the jobs accounted for by suppliers, dealers, and subcontractors – are located in every state and cover skills of all levels. Their collective annual worldwide sales total nearly $2.4 trillion, and they employ more than five and one-half million persons. ECAT companies are strong supporters of negotiations to eliminate tariffs, remove non-tariff barriers and promote trade liberalization and investment worldwide.

ECAT strongly supports approval of both the Peru and Vietnam trade measures before the Committee on Finance.

Peru TPA. The Peru TPA represents a comprehensive, high-standard and commercially meaningful agreement that will help open opportunities for U.S. farmers, manufacturers and service providers, promote economic development and improve ties with a key partner in the Western Hemisphere. It will advance the U.S.-Peruvian relationship from one where the United States grants unilateral preferences to one that is reciprocal and mutually advantageous.

PNTR with Vietnam. S. 3495, authorizing PNTR with Vietnam, is critical to ensure that United States will benefit from the market-opening commitments Vietnam has made to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Upon entry into the WTO, Vietnam will open key agricultural, consumer and industrial goods and service markets and provide key protections for intellectual property rights. Failure to approve S. 3495 and provide PNTR with Vietnam before its entry into the WTO, however, would mean that U.S. goods, services and farm products would not enjoy the benefits of the market access that U.S. negotiators significantly made possible.

Both these measures represent major steps forward with our trading and broader relationships with Peru and Vietnam respectively. ECAT comments on both trade measures are attached. We urge you and the full Committee on Finance to approve the Peru TPA Implementation Act and S. 3495, authorizing PNTR with Vietnam, and work to promote the approval of both measures by the full Senate.

Respectfully,

Calman J. Cohen

President

cc:

The Honorable Orin G. Hatch

The Honorable John D. Rockefeller, IV

The Honorable Trent Lott

The Honorable Kent Conrad

The Honorable Olympia J. Snowe

The Honorable James M. Jeffords

The Honorable Jon Kyle

The Honorable Jeff Bingaman

The Honorable Craig Thomas

The Honorable John F. Kerry

The Honorable Rick Santorum

The Honorable Blanche L. Lincoln

The Honorable Bill Frist

The Honorable Ron Wyden

The Honorable Gordon Smith

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer

The Honorable Jim Bunning

The Honorable Mike Crapo

Attached Document(s): 07-26-06 Letter to SFC on Peru and Vietnam.pdf