Emergency Committee For American Trade

ECAT Welcomes U.S. Trade Negotiations to Join Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership

News Release For Immediate Release

September 23, 2008 Contact: Liz Clemons (202) 659-5147

ECAT WELCOMES U.S. TRADE NEGOTIATIONS TO JOIN TRANS-PACIFIC STRATEGIC ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

High-Standard and Market-Opening Agreements with Key Trading Partners Would Boost U.S. Economic Opportunities

Washington, D.C., September 23, 2008: Calman Cohen, President of the Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT), issued the following statement welcoming the launch of U.S. negotiations to join the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership:

“ECAT strongly supports U.S. efforts to open markets and promote economic growth by launching negotiations to join the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership. The conclusion of a high-standard and comprehensive agreement with the current Trans-Pacific countries, building on the best provisions in trade agreements that the Trans-Pacific countries and the United States have entered into since the Trans-Pacific agreement was negotiated, will provide concrete opportunities to America’s farmers, manufacturers, service providers, workers and consumers. There is also great potential for expanding those opportunities in the future as more countries enter into the strategic partnership in a region that now accounts for nearly 60 percent of world GDP Strong rules and market-access provisions are particularly important to the United States, helping to expand the participation of some of the United States’ most competitive industries in foreign markets and, at the same time, growing the U.S. economy and creating opportunities here in the United States.

“With only four percent of the world’s population within our borders, it is vital for the United States to continue to open new markets around the world for U.S. farmers, manufacturers, service providers and their workers and to set strong rules protecting U.S. interests. Access to foreign markets is increasingly important given the strong role that exports are playing to keep the U.S. economy moving. While the United States already has strong and comprehensive bilateral agreements with Singapore and Chile, the Trans-Pacific agreement represents an important opportunity to expand U.S. competitiveness with the other current members of the agreement – New Zealand and Brunei. Significantly, the Trans-Pacific agreement represents an important vehicle that will ultimately expand throughout other important markets in the Trans-Pacific corridor.

“ECAT looks forward to working with U.S. negotiators to ensure that a strong and comprehensive result is achieved that will open markets, strengthen the rule of law and promote U.S. opportunities for economic growth.

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Founded in 1967, ECAT is an organization of the heads of leading U.S. international business enterprises representing all major sectors of the American economy. Their annual worldwide sales total over $2.8 trillion and they employ more than six million persons. ECAT’s purpose is to promote economic growth through the expansion of international trade and investment.

Attached Document(s): 9-23-08 ECAT Welcomes Launch of Trans-Pacific Agreement Negotiations.pdf