Ability to set political disagreements aside in order to advance trade is a hallmark of pragmatic leadership.

Bruce Stokes, one of Washington’s most closely followed commentators on international trade, profiles the opportunities that enhanced trade ties to Europe could present in his “Balance of Payments” column on www.nationaljournal.com:

Eight months ago the Libyan people launched peaceful protests against the Qaddafi regime, which led to a full-scale revolution that ended last Saturday with the demise of the former oppressor.  Yet another unprecedented transition to more accountable and inclusive governance in North Africa has therefore begun, and Secretary of State Clint

With Congress passing the trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama, world leaders should "go deep" with an aggressive trade agenda starting with next month's APEC 2011 Summit.

Today President Obama signed the trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama into law, signaling a victory for American workers,

The last couple years have focused on finalizing free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama, and rightfully so.  Their passage was a much needed boost to job creation in this country.  While a good start, those agreements alone won’t allow the United States to double exports

This was a big week for trade!

For American businesses like Quality Float Works, free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama means no longer being at a competitive disadvantage against German manufacturers in South Korea.

The votes on the pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama are expected to (finally!) take place this week. The Chamber and the business community continue to educate Congress and the public about the need to pass these agreements. The U.S. can't fall behind our global competitors, and we need the job-creating benefits of the FTAs.

Here's an ad from the U.S.-Korea Business Council:

Still aren’t entirely clear how the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement will benefit U.S. workers, farmers, and companies? This lunchroom dialogue between two co-workers clears up misconceptions and illustrates why Congress must pass this agreement when it comes up for a vote next week.

Prime Minister Béji Caïd Essebi of Tunisia visited the Chamber on Wednesday to dine with 30 high-level business and U.S. government leaders.  Those in attendance discussed Tunisia’s transition to democracy and investment opportunities in the country.

Yesterday, the Discover America Partnership, a broad coalition under the leadership of the U.S.

Just like Major League Baseball's playoffs that started this weekend, the pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama are at a critical stage now that President Obama sent them to Congress for approval.

There are reports that the White House will finally send the pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama to Congress

If you take away oil imports--an issue all by itself--the free trade agreements (FTAs) the U.S. has with 17 countries accounts for a trade surplus.

When you hear opponents of the pending FTAs with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama worry about an increased trade deficit, show them this Third Way infographic:

Yesterday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition hosted Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for a program on the importance of maintaining America’s legacy of leadership and support for the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs).

Myron Brilliant, Chamber Senior Vice President for International Affairs, appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box this morning to talk about the pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, South Korea, and Panama. He noted that by not passing the FTAs American companies are losing market share to other countries

Here in the City of Conversation, as Henry James called Washington, we are pretty much conversing about just two things: job creation and spending reduction.  While everyone and

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has issued the latest version of their study entitled “Growing U.S.

If patience is a virtue, then those waiting for Washington to approve the pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama have been saints.

Today, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) spoke to me about how the delay in passing the pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, South Korea, and Panama is causing America to fall behind its global competitors.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiators dropped their gloves on Thursday after ten straight days of negotiations which were described as “intensive and fruitful”.

Back in 2009 the Chamber warned that "Buy American" provisions in the stimulus package would trigger retaliation from our trading partners, costing American jobs and slowing economic recovery.

Interesting engagement from the White House – we appreciate their response to our question via Twitter about their efforts to create jobs by expanding trade. 

With almost 14 million Americans out of work, it’s imperative that Congress and the White House work together to improve our ability to compete in the global marketplace. 

Sure, it’s not the 110 round bout between Andy Bowen and Jack Burke in the Big Easy, nor the 14 round Thrilla in Manila with Ali and Frazier, but this week more than five hundred government officials from nine co

Chamber Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Martin Regalia talked to CNBC about the Chamber's six step jobs plan and how the biggest bang for the buck can come from passing the pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama.

Check out this video of Chamber President and CEO, Tom Donohue outlining the six steps Congress and the President can do now to grow the economy and create jobs:

Daniel Griswold at the Cato Institute finds the U.S. is on track to double exports by 2014 and posted this chart:

As both the U.S. and the European Union struggle to conjure the right combination of fiscal and monetary tools to rein in deficits while boosting economic growth, they risk overlooking the role that trade policy can play.

Once the land of bikinis and exotic cocktails, Brazil has transformed into a global economic and energy powerhouse, as evidenced by real estate prices that exceed even those in New York City.  U.S.

Paul Krugman: NY Times pundit, Nobel Prize-winning economist, and now sci-fi visionary. You know you've run out of ideas when you think faking an alien invasion could be a way to boost the economy.

The Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, met the week of Aug.

Wow, Investors Business Daily lays into Big Labor for their opposition to the pending free trade agreement with Colombia, calling it the equivalent of "outsourcing" American jobs:

Oh Canada! I'm jealous of our northern neighbors. Today, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Canada and Colombia went into effect.

Even though the news cycle slows down in August, the mis-interpretation of the facts within the news never does.  Case in point, the recent op-ed on the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement (KORUS) by Korean National Assembly Member Chun Jung-ba

Sitting on Congress' big to-do list are the pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. While American businesses, workers, and farmers wait, economic growth opportunities are lost. Today, in Politico, Sen.

As Congress prepares to consider the pending trade agreements when it returns this September, it’s desperation time for the protectionists who oppose these job-creating deals.  In a last-ditch effort to undermine support for the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), opponents are circulating the bogus accusation that the agreement will allow North Korean goods into the United States. Specifically, they charge that KORUS will allow goods made in the special industrial zone in Kaesong, North Korea, to enter the U.S.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is in Colombia today on what the Globe and Mail is calling a “victory lap” ahead of the entry-into-force this coming Monday (August 15) of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

The Kaufman Foundation's latest survey of economics bloggers finds most of them to be pessimistic about the economy with "95 percent who believe overall conditions are mixed, facing recession, or in recession." The most common word they used to describe the economy was "uncertain."

A quick follow-up to Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue's post today on the need to pass the pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama.

Pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Korea, and Panama have languished for so long that it’s worthwhile to remind Washington policymakers what these agreements are all about: jobs for American workers and fairness for American businesses.

While the debt debate continues to (justifiably) steal the headlines in Washington, another debate continues under the surface: the pending trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea.

On the Senate floor today, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell urged for progress in passing the pending Free Trade Agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama:

Just three weeks have passed since Korea’s free trade agreement with the European Union entered into force, and the numbers are staggering.  Between July 1 and July 13, exports from the European Union to Korea increased by 16%, while Korean exports to the European Union ha

Last week, I posted Rep. Dave Camp's answers to questions about the pending Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) he received from Facebook. Another member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) answered some as well, and said the FTAs should be passed to "level the playing field for our farmers, our workers, and our businesses."

Rep. Dave Camp, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee answered a few questions from Facebook users about the how the pending Free Trade Agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama will create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Well isn’t this rich: from the beaches of Maui, Clyde Prestowitz, founder and President of the Economic Strategy Institute, phones in a column to the Foreign Policy blog blasting… what?!  Well, just about every job-creating policy that was discussed at the Chamber’s

The Wall Street Journal's David Wessel tweeted that two economic forcasters have lowered their second quarter U.S. GDP expectations. That's not a good sign for the job market.

Today, the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition released a new report underscoring the importance of the U.S. International Affairs budget to helping American businesses grow and create jobs here at home.

Following grassroots tours, beltway ad campaigns, and press conferences, the Chamber is taking its lobbying campaign on behalf of the Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) onto the Internet.  The Chamber is launching online ads in 14 targete

On July 9, senior representatives of the ministries of finance and central banks of G20 countries will meet again to discuss further policy coordination. They will of course spend time on the critical state of public finance in advanced economies and the inflationary pressures in the surplus emerging markets.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce welcomed today’s approval of the pending trade agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama in the “mock” markups held by the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees.

The Chamber supports a single global accounting system.

Why?  It will give investors and businesses a single financial reporting language allowing them to compare apples to apples rather than apples to bacon when making financial decisions. Such a single system should, in theory, reduce costs and complexity.

Getting to that single system is the hard part.  

For the American trade agenda, it’s later than you think.

Having just returned from leading the Chamber’s first business delegation to Baghdad and Basrah, I am cautiously optimistic for the future of Iraq’s economic development and stabilization. What I saw and experienced there was not what I had anticipated. While the Iraqi government and private sector have much work to do to bring its legal, regulatory, and investment climate into the 21st century, I don’t doubt their capability. However, I am less optimistic about the role our private sector will play in this process.

I see Roll Call noticed work the Chamber is doing to get Washington to past the three pending Free Trade Agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama.

The case of Korea is particularly pressing because on July 1, the European Union-Korea trade agreement goes into effect leaving U.S. companies at a disadvantage and jobs at risk:

The clock is ticking.

The House Ways and Means Committee wants your questions about the pending Free Trade Agreements with Panama, South Korea, and Colombia.

Go to the committee's Facebook page to leave a question.

House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) announced today that he will oppose the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, which is expected to come before Congress this summer. While the announcement is disappointing, Levin’s position is by no means representative of sentiment toward the agreement among other leading Democrats in Congress — or the head of the party himself:

On July 1, the European Union-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will enter into force — knocking down Korean tariffs and giving European businesses new access to the Korean market. Six weeks later, on August 15, the Canada-Colombia FTA will enter into force, giving Canadian businesses a leg up in Colombia.

by Sean Hackbarth

Last Friday, the U.S. Chamber joined with 15 other associations to send a letter to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus and his fellow committee members urging them to support H.R. 2072, the Securing American Jobs Through Exports Act of 2011, which will reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). It reads in part:

On Monday, the White House issued a statement reaffirming America’s longstanding open investment policy. President Obama said the statement underscores “a commitment to treat all investors in a fair and equitable manner under the law, and I encourage all countries to pursue such a policy. My Administration is committed to ensuring that the United States continues to be the most attractive place for businesses to locate, invest, grow, and create jobs.

Last week the AFL-CIO launched a campaign “to try and stop the pending trade deal between the United States and Colombia,” The Hill reported.

It turns out that the AFL-CIO isn’t just using out-of-date statistics in this campaign — even the photograph in their ad published last Wednesday is more than 13 years old.

Ireland Finance Minister Michael Noonan is making the rounds in Washington, meeting with acting IMF Director John Lipsky, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue. As noted in this Irish Times article, Noonan is unwavering in his opposition to raising Ireland’s corporate income tax rate. Here’s what he had to say during a CNBC interview:

The AFL-CIO is launching a campaign “to try and stop the pending trade deal between the United States and Colombia,” The Hill reports. But is the AFL-CIO accurately portraying the Colombia of today?

The AFL-CIO charges: “Colombia remains the deadliest country in the world for trade unionists struggling for economic freedom and the fundamental human right to organize.”

The Chamber is intensifying our push towards successful passage of the pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea with today’s unveiling of our new website TradeSupportsJobs.com.

by Greg Galdabini

While much of the talk about trade in Washington has focused on the pending trade agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama, they are not the only trade issue awaiting a long-overdue resolution. Take the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, which enables U.S. companies to import certain products from selected developing companies free of duty. A Chamber study showed that duty-free GSP imports support 82,000 American jobs.

by Bobby Maldonado

I recently had the opportunity to attend AIPAC’s annual conference, where I addressed hundreds of attendees about trends and opportunities in U.S.-Israel business. During my speech, I outlined a number of ways in which the U.S.-Israel relationship is expanding in sectors including bio-technology, energy, and ICT, and how our bilateral alliance is impacting world markets. A video, which also features Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and legendary investor Warren Buffet, opened the plenary session under

It’s a 10 day sprint across Africa, but not this kind of race.  I am leading the U.S. Chamber’s Africa Business Initiative (ABI) to South Africa today where we will begin a three-nation tour to help bridge the gap between U.S. businesses and the continent.  In the course of the next ten days, ABI will also be making stops in Tanzania and Zambia.  We’ll be doing more than just sightseeing…though the continent is beautiful! 

by John Murphy

Earlier this month, the Economic Policy Institute issued its latest “study” on how U.S. trade agreements supposedly cost the United States jobs. The Chamber pointed out a number of its errors earlier.

by Tami Overby

To ease the burden of frequent business travelers in Asia, the 21 economies of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) developed a Business Travel Card (ABTC), which gives pre-cleared APEC citizens shorter immigration lines at airports and visa-free access to some countries.  

Today, 25 governors sent a letter to President Obama and the Congressional Leadership in support of a robust trade agenda that includes passage of the pending trade agreements South Korea, Colombia and Panama and support for the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program. The letter also calls for the renewal of fast-track trade negotiation authority to the President.

The bi-partisan letter, which was led by Governors Terry Branstad (R-IA) and Governor Christine Gregoire (D-WA), states:

Chairman Connie Mack (R-FL) of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere is in the midst of a swing through Colombia and Panama leading a bipartisan delegation of Members of Congress to discuss the pending U.S. trade agreements with those two key allies.

While the British queen’s trip to Ireland this week has stirred up some controversy and mixed emotions there, Tom Donohue’s positive message of solidarity, praise, and encouragement was universally well received by Irish business and government leaders.

As the debate over the pending trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama heats up this year, some of the perennial arguments against trade agreements are being heard anew. Let’s look at the charges and the facts:

Myth 1: Free trade agreements (FTAs) add to the U.S. trade deficit.

False. The eight agreements in the latest generation of U.S. FTAs -- covering a total of 13 countries -- have either moved the U.S. bilateral trade relationship from deficit to surplus or added to the surplus in every instance but one (the recent FTA with Oman).

Travel is essential to the U.S. economy and the ability for international travelers to come to the U.S. is critical to American businesses.

Today, the U.S. Chamber joined the American Hotel and Lodging Association, National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation, and U.S. Travel Association in launching the Discover America Partnership, a broad coalition to advance visa and entry reforms for international travelers.

This morning, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk sent a letter to Congress indicating the administration is ready to engage in technical talks on the U.S.-Colombia Trade Agreement. The move confirms that the action plan clinched by President Obama and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos last month is being implemented effectively. The administration signaled it is ready to move to this next state on the Korea and Panama trade agreements in March and April, respectively.

Ok, so help me understand this: trade agreements help create jobs, Asia is the fastest growing region of the world, there are 70 trade agreements pending between Asia-Pacific countries… and the United States has negotiated exactly two agreements in the region?

That’s the number of American companies that currently export to Panama. A whopping 7,275 of those are small and medium-sized businesses.

Today the U.S. Chamber’s Iraq Business Initiative hosted Dr. Sinan Al-Shabibi, Iraq’s central bank governor for a briefing at which he discussed Iraq’s fiscal and economic stability and progress that has been made to strengthen the country’s financial sector since 2003.

After the administration signaled it’s ready to move forward on a trade agreement with Panama, all three pending FTAs are now ready for action on the Hill. This is a chance to level the global playing field for U.S.

The boss is wheels down in Japan this morning – at least for the next +/- 24 hours – for what can only be described as a whirlwind trip around the world to lend the Chamber’s support for one of the worst natural disasters in history.  Tom Donohue dropped into the Land of the Risi

Today, the U.S. Chamber hosted the Egyptian Minister of Planning & International Cooperation, Fayza Aboulnaga, and Egyptian Minister of Finance, Dr. Samir Radwan, to hear their take on how the Egyptian economy was impacted as a result of the recent political and social changes in the country.

With the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) announcing February’s U.S. export and import numbers today (U.S. exports reached  $165.1 billion and imports $210.9 billion), it’s worth calling attention to last week’s release of World Trade Organization (WTO) statistics that answer the perennial question: Who is the world’s largest exporter?

Bill Rhodes, Chair of the Chamber’s U.S. Korea Business Council penned an op-ed in The Hill today explaining the urgency of swift approval for the Korea-U.S. Free Trade agreement (KORUS). 

Today, the Chamber spearheaded a bipartisan letter signed by 27 former senior U.S. government officials calling for action on the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) as well as the trade agreements with Colombia and Panama.

Today’s announcement that the United States has reached an agreement with Colombia on labor and judicial reforms that will open the door for Congressional approval of the long-pending U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement is being embraced by U.S. small- and mid-size businesses trying gain additional customers.

The time is upon us. After more than four years of debate, a deal has been reached with the Colombia government on labor and judicial reforms that will open the door for Congressional approval of the long-pending U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.

After weeks of intense negotiations, I believe that Presidents Obama and Santos showed courage and pragmatism in striking this accord.  Passionate, bipartisan support in Congress for the trade agreement with Colombia was also critical to this breakthrough, as was the tireless work of Ambassador Kirk.

As White House Press Secretary Jay Carney promises movement on the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement “Sooner than later" (subscription required) , Senators John Kerry and Max Baucus write that Colombia is a “

There was a lot of action this week on the trade front, and the U.S.

Check out this great video from the U.S. Department of Commerce about how a major contract in Panama’s canal expansion saved a Chicago company hammered by the recession.

This morning, I had the opportunity to host a senior delegation from a cross section of South Africa’s government.  The delegation was led by current Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.

Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, will testify tomorrow before the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee on behalf of the Chamber.

The Chamber's trade grassroots tour moved north from Orlando today, Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owner

After making stops at the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Philadelphia, the

On Sunday, the Brazil-U.S. Business Council trade delegation wrapped up the second day of the mission with visit to Rio de Janeiro. Earlier in the day, the delegation met with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Assistant Secretary for Policy & International Affairs David Sandalow to discuss business opportunities in Brazil. The delegation expressed strong support for proactive policies to remove barriers to open more trade and investment opportunities in Brazil.

Yesterday in Brasilia, President Barack Obama addressed the U.S. – Brazil Business Summit, a historic event hosted by the Brazil-US Business Council in conjunction with the National Conference Industry and the American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil.

Tomorrow,  the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Brazil-U.S.

Today, the U.S. Chamber launched the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-China CEO and Former Senior Officials' Dialogue in China. 

As Steven Bipes, the Executive Director for the Brazil–U.S.

The drumbeat for action on trade continues this week with several hearings on Capitol Hill. I’m testifying today before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade hearing entitled “Made in America: Increasing Jobs through Exports and Trade.” Two other hearings are being held on pending trade agreements today and tomorrow as well.

With much of Washington, including the Chamber, focused on the pending FTAs with Colombia, Panama and Korea, it’s easy to forget how difficult it is to trade with partners who are ill-equipped to exchange goods and services.  Before departing for China tomorrow, Tom Donohue hosted Bob Zoellick, president of the World Bank, and Pascal Lamy, director-general of the WTO, today to examine the role of the WTO and the World Bank in “The Aid for Trade” initiative. 

by Tami Overby

In a week where she graces the cover of Newsweek, Secretary Clinton will be doing more than “shattering the glass ceiling” tomorrow as she begins opening a doorway through which American exporters can better access the booming markets of Asia.  

With the trade agenda condemned to legislative purgatory for the past several years, the new Congress is helping U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk find his way to Capitol Hill quite often in 2011.  A month after presenting the administration’s trade agenda to the House Ways and Means Committee, Kirk testifies before the Senate Finance Committee today.

The U.S. Department of Commerce recently released the full data for U.S. exports and imports of goods and services in 2010. The Chamber has prepared a handy overview of the official data. The charts are worth reviewing, but here are a few observations.

All the news was bad leading into today’s White House meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderón: escalating security concerns, U.S. agent killed, embarrassing leaked cables, Mexican anger spilling over about U.S. money and guns fueling the drug war.

Later this month, the Brazil-U.S. Business Council, an affiliate of the U.S.

Questions about where the House Republican Freshmen class stands on trade, or the tea party for that matter, should be immediately put to rest.

Today, House Freshmen Republicans sent an unequivocal message about their support for the pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.

In a letter to President Obama, signed by nearly 80 percent of the Republican Freshmen class, the members wrote:  

At their meeting in Paris on February 18-19, ministers of finance and central bank governors of  G20 major economies discussed their bread-and-butter issues related to the stressed monetary system and the interplay between public finances and private financial markets. In addition, they had to debate something that until recently was largely off their table – food, fuel and other down-to-earth inputs of the global economy.

Yesterday, the European Parliament voted by an overwhelming margin – 465-128, with 19 abstentions - in favor of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement which will enter into force on July 1. 

Today’s Roll Call article titled “‘Buy American Rules: Patriotic, but Not Pragmatic” highlights some of the same concerns with Buy American requirements that we have been saying for years.  It points out some examples of how people and companies are having difficulty navigating the Buy American requirements that were included in the Recovery Act and the costs associated with such requirements.   The article states that one practitioner said “the process can delay construction projects for months and add enormous cost

Yesterday the EU Parliament approved its FTA with Korea, shining a big bright light on the urgent need for Washington to act on the Korea-U.S.

After the success of last month's advocacy effort in support of the Korea US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) in Los Angeles, the Chambe

Yesterday, the Chamber's business delegation from the Latin America Trade Coalition had a constructive day of meetings in Bogota, Colombia. Our dozen member delegation met with business representatives (including AmCham Colombia), key Colombian Government officials and the U.S. Embassy among others. 

Today, the Chamber-led Latin America Trade Coalition (LATC) is leading a delegation of about a dozen companies and associations to Colombia

On February 18 Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner will join his counterparts from the G-20 countries in Paris to discuss the implementation of the ambitious global agenda that was last affirmed at the G-20 Summit in Seoul.

While deficits are rising and hiring is stagnant, Washington has a deficit-neutral way to spur job creation: passing the pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and Korea.  But only inside the Beltway could a wrench be thrown into the gears of moving these deals forward expeditiously.

President Obama yesterday outlined a strategy to create U.S. jobs by boosting exports.  Echoing State of the Union commitments in a speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the President pointed to an agreement with Korea as a model that could yield similar export opportunities in markets like Colombia and Panama.  Will unions support the President’s job creating efforts, or will they stand in the way?

U.S. Chamber President Tom Donohue took a quick timeout from meetings Davos this week to chat with French 24 this afternoon. He repeated his message from the recent State of American Business address, that there are many unanswered questions that must be addressed before companies will start aggressively hiring.

The answer: Lots of people. The Chamber is delighted that the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is winning broad support; President Obama will reportedly speak about this important accord in tonight’s State of the Union address.

However, less attention has been given to the growing support for the two Latin FTAs. So here’s a quick summary, with an emphasis on Colombia, in honor of the visit to Washington (and to the Chamber) by Colombian Vice President Angelino Garzón this week.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Ambassador Han Duk-soo, Korean Ambassador to the United States, launched a nationwide, grassroots lobbying effort to promote the job-creating benefits of the Korea-U.S.

The Chamber’s Myron Brilliant, Senior Vice President, International Affairs, appeared on the PBS Newshour to discuss the U.S.-China economic relationship.

by JP Fielder

CNBC kicked off Chinese President Hu's state visit to Washington today by discussing with Myron Brilliant the opportunities and challenges of trade relations between our countries.

by Myron Brilliant

The always insightful Bernard Aronson, a former assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs, has a great op-ed in the Washington Post today which reads in part:

by Tami Overby

News this week out of Moscow is that the United States and Russia will cooperate more closely on civilian nuclear power.  The two countries entered into force Agreement for Cooperation in the field of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (or what is more commonly known as the “123 Agreement”)  The U.S. Chamber's Senior Vice President for International Affairs Myron Brilliant responded today with a statement:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is delighted to host today the launch of the U.S. Export-Import Bank’s new "Global Access for Small Business" program. This initiative is dedicated to dramatically increasing the number of American small businesses exporting goods and services.

This afternoon, our CEO, Tom Donohue, will host Ex-Im Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, National Association of Manufacturers Executive Vice President and incoming CEO Jay Timmons, and SBA Administrator Karen Mills to mark the occasion.

by John Murphy

U.S. Chamber President Tom Donohue issued the following statement regarding the administration's release of a proposal to resolve the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking dispute:

As the 112th Congress begins today, it’s important to remind lawmakers--notably the large freshmen class--that international trade and investment are critical to America’s prosperity. But don’t just take our word for it, look at the numbers. Here, with apologies to Letterman, are the top ten reasons why pro-growth trade and investment policies and agreements are good for America:

Interesting piece in the National Journal by Ron Brownstein about how some cities are finding renewal through exports.

Selling Christmas trees to Mexico--it seems like a perfect example of how nations can mutually benefit from trade. Mexico has a lot of people who celebrate Christmas, but not a lot of conifers; the U.S. has a great climate for growing conifers; the shipping distances are not very far; and we’ve got a free trade agreement. Sounds like a great way to bring in some holiday money for U.S. farmers, right?

by Pat Cleary

Yesterday, the Business Roundtable (BRT) issued its "Roadmap for Growth", a self-described "Plan to Drive Economic Prosperity in America." The plan focuses on 5 key "pillars":

Last week, the President reached a historic agreement with Korea on the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS).  Congress must now act to pass this important pact.  Failure to do so will lead to a decline of $35.1 billion in U.S. exports of goods and services to the world and U.S. national output failing to grow by $40.4 billion. That’s a total loss of 345,000 U.S. jobs if KORUS is not implemented.

by Kathleen McInerney

This week, during the annual Brazil-U.S. Business Council Plenary meeting - hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil - the Council unanimously elected John Faraci, chairman and CEO of the International Paper Company, as the new board chair.

by Pat Cleary

by Tami Overby

Today, President Obama and his economic team took a major step towards turning our economy around by reaching an agreement on the the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS). KORUS will create thousands of new jobs, advance our national goal of doubling exports in five years, and demonstrate that America is once again ready to lead on trade. 

by John Murphy

by John Murphy

Three years and a half years ago, the United States and Panama signed a bilateral trade agreement that promises jobs and opportunities for American workers and farmers. Unfortunately, the accord has been gathering dust ever since, and those jobs and opportunities have gone to other countries.

In the 1970s, Iraq was the most prosperous country in the Middle East, developing a robust infrastructure, well-performing education and health care systems, and taking advantage of its abundant natural and human resources. After decades of heavy conflict and economic uncertainty in Iraq, the recent formation of the central government and the drawdown of combat operations has allowed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to promote increased commercial engagement between American businesses and their Iraqi counterparts.

On Election Day, the American people gave their representatives marching orders: Create jobs and grow the economy, and do it on a bipartisan basis. A good place to start is with the Korea-U.S. (KORUS) free trade agreement.

The European Commission recently released a communication on its new trade strategy. It's a good effort, and makes a strong case for the benefits of trade and international engagement - generally as well as for the European Union. It's definitely worth a read, especially of the supporting documents (see below). 

The main sticking point - Not much is new.

by Tami Overby
 
Another day, another summit, as we moved from the Korea-US FTA negotiations and G-20 summit in Seoul and now are wheels down in Tokyo for the APEC negotiations.
 
The buzz remains about the future of the KORUS agreement and the question of "why can’t the U.S. ink an FTA deal with South Korea when others can?"

Tom Donohue had the answer on CNBC this morning:

by Tami Overby

"The darkest hour is right before the dawn" are the words of one great American, and this was my belief heading into a marathon week supporting the negotiators of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement in Seoul.

by Pat Cleary

Chamber CEO Tom Donohue is in South Korea in advance of the G-20 meeting to continue to lobby for the Korean-US free trade agreement, better known as KORUS. After a Congress unfriendly to free trade agreements, there is hope that the new leadership will bring new support for them. After all, they open markets to US goods and services. President Obama has renewed interest in them, too, as he tries to fulfill his promise to double exports in the next 5 years.

by Pat Cleary
 
It seems like the stars are aligning on the issue of trade these days. First the President made these comments in advance of his trip to India:

Tomorrow, the U.S. Chamber-affiliated U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) will host the "U.S.-India Business & Entrepreneurship Summit" featuring President Obama in Mumbai. This is an exciting moment for the USIBC and for the U.S.-India economic relationship.

Updated 10:00am November 3 with additional results--see below.

As the dust settles from Tuesday’s election, one conclusion is clear: the midterm election was not about trade.

Reuters today is handicapping the chances that the three waiting major trade deals will move in the new Congress:

Three long-delayed trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia could jump to the top of the U.S. congressional agenda if Republicans win control of the House of Representatives next week.

UPDATE: Watch an archived version of the webcast of the U.S.-Israel Business Initiative kick-off event today by clicking here. Learn more about the event here.

by Christopher Wenk

Good afternoon Washington.

by Christopher Wenk

As Washington was waking up, the U.S. Korea FTA Business Coalition delegation was wrapping up its second day in Seoul. What a day we had!! Today we saw up close the geopolitics and foreign policy imperative of the pending free trade agreement between the United States and South Korea.  Our delegation visited the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and got a briefing from General Walter (Skip) Sharp, Commander UNC/CFC/USFK.

by Christopher Wenk

This week, the U.S.-Korea FTA Business Coalition (which is spearheaded by the Chamber) brought a delegation of leading companies and associations to Seoul to help build momentum for finalizing the FTA when President Obama and President Lee meet here on the sidelines of the G-20 next month. I can tell you that the Koreans are taking hosting the G-20 very seriously as there are signs everywhere, including at the Incheon Airport.

With the signing Wednesday of a free trade agreement between Korea and the European Union, U.S.-Korea Business Council Chairman William Rhodes called on the White House to place new urgency in its discussions with the Korean government to address outstanding issues on the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). Rhodes, a senior advisor for Citi, said:

After months of delay, this week the House and Senate approved implementing legislation for the U.S.-United Kingdom and the U.S.-Australia Defense Trade Cooperation Treaties, followed by Senate ratification of the treaties themselves.

For over a year, the U.S. Chamber has urged that the treaties be approved, as in this July 21, 2009, letter from the Chamber’s Bruce Josten to Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry and Ranking Member Richard Lugar:

Today I spoke at the “Just Business 2010” conference in Harare, Zimbabwe. The conference is the fourth annual economic forum of its kind hosted by the American Business Association of Zimbabwe. This year’s program was focused on moving the economy of Zimbabwe from one of stability to one of growth. 

To most people, the notion that a country’s legal system should only decide cases regarding actions occurring in that country is common sense. After all, when an American tourist visiting Great Britain gets in trouble with the law, their case is handled by British courts, not American courts. Conversely, when a British tourist gets in trouble in the U.S., their case is handled by U.S, not British, courts.

A year ago this month, Chamber President Tom Donohue called for a national goal to double U.S. exports within five years in a major address to the Michigan Chamber of Commerce in East Lansing.  President Obama embraced this goal in his State of the Union address in January. 

From the Hartford Business Journal we get yet another reminder that a lack of movement on our trade agenda is stalling out job creation:

Doug Oberhelman, CEO of Caterpillar has a great piece in the Chicago Tribune:

Two of the core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy come together today with Greg Lebedev, chairman of the Center for International Private Enterprise and John Sweeney, chairman of the Solidarity Center, penning this important piece in the Wall Street Journal:

In an August 24 letter to House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman and Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the U.S. Chamber said, “For five decades, unilateral sanctions, including a ban on travel, have allowed the Cuban regime to blame its own economic mismanagement on Washington.”

Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch (GTW) has issued its latest trade "study," and as so often before, it takes on the Chamber. However, while everyone’s entitled to their own opinions, no one is entitled to their own statistics.

In one prominent claim, the report asserts that “as of 2009, the United States had a $54 billion trade deficit in goods, excluding oil, with the bloc of 17 U.S. FTA partners.”

For the naysayers who argue that American manufacturing is dead (it’s not!), let me suggest that they take a look at what’s happening in the aerospace industry. Despite the recent economic downturn, aerospace achieved $215 billion in sales last year, all while providing more than 644,000 good-paying jobs.

Last week, Human Rights Watch issued a report, A Strange Case: Violations of Workers’ Freedom of Association in the United States by European Multinational Corporations, alleging to detail “ways in which some European multinational firms have carried out aggressive campaigns to keep workers in the United States from organizing and bargaining, violating international labor standards and, often, US labor laws.”  In response to a story about the report, representatives from the U.S. Chamber and the U.S.

It’s not often that policymakers have a chance to boost U.S. economic competitiveness and national security at the same time, but the export control reforms announced by President Obama today will do just that.

The initiative’s four key steps will help create a flexible system to control the export of sensitive and commercially available items: a tiered list of products subject to controls that clearly differentiates between military and commercial items; a single set of licensing policies; an enforcement coordination agency; and a single IT system. 

National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones (ret.) writes in the Wall Street Journal:

Today ushered in a new era for the Kenyan people, the Kenyan government, and very likely the Kenyan economy as well. 

On August 4th the Kenyan people overwhelmingly voted to approve a proposed new Constitution, with nearly 68% of votes endorsing this new way forward.  Anticipation surrounding that day was extraordinarily high, as the last national elections held in Kenya in 2007 spiraled into violent chaos, leaving over 1000 Kenyans dead and hundreds of thousands displaced from their homes.

Pakistan is experiencing its deadliest floods in decades, with the loss of more than 1,500 lives and devastating infrastructure loses across the country. As government officials meet with the International Monetary Fund  (IMF) to assess the impact of the floods on the economy, the U.S. Chamber renewed its strong support for legislation to create Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) in Afghanistan and Pakistan that is pending on Capitol Hill.

Maria Medrano has an op/ed in The Hill on the need to get U.S.-Cuba policy right:

The Dallas Blog quotes Christopher Wenk regarding the fact that South Korea is preparing a free-trade deal with the European Union- "everybody is moving forward except for us right now." As the Washington Post pointed out yesterday, that's not a good thing:

Earlier this week the New York Times reported that the Obama administration plans to expand the scope of legal travel to Cuba.  Also this week, The Brookings Institution released a report on the importance of expanding cultural diplomacy in Cuba with the expectation that greater people-to-people contacts will help catalyze positive change on the island.  The Brookings report essentially recommends everything the Obama administration is expected to announce in the coming weeks:  plans to ease the reg

From the Washington Times:

Alan Beattie at the FT has an interesting piece on the opportunities and, in his view, perils of export promotion. He concurs that boosting exports can create jobs, and observes:

• Trade wrap from Scott Lincicome
• Johanns slams Dems' alternative to his 1099 repeal bill - Repeal Or Bust for small businesses.

Last Friday, in the New York Times, Edmund Phelps took a look a look at the notion that a lack of demand is the only thing holding back the economy:

The worst effect of focusing on supposedly deficient demand is that it lulls us into failing to “think structural” in dealing with long-term problems. To achieve a full recovery, we have to understand the framework on which our broad prosperity has always been based.

Tomorrow, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe will leave office, and his successor, Juan Manuel Santos, will be inaugurated. Santos was elected on June 20 with an astonishing 69% of the popular vote, not least because the former defense minister has pledged to continue many of Uribe's policies.

U.S. Chamber President Tom Donohue had this to say in the Latin Business Chronicle: "President Uribe is one of history's great men. He saved his country. It's that simple."

Addressing the AFL-CIO today, President Obama said: “For generations, manufacturing was the ticket to a better life for the American worker.

NAM celebrates the fifth birthday of the Central-American Free Trade Agreement:

Third Way has a new report out on How Export Barriers Cost America Jobs, with a specific focus on “non-tariff barriers.” It’s a thoughtful report, and it echoes many points the Chamber made last May in our State of World Trade. Here is their section on trade agreements:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly supports yesterday’s announcement from the Ex-Im Bank Board of Directors to offer short and medium-term support for U.S. exporters to Iraq. Ex-Im Bank’s willingness to offer export credit insurance, loan guarantees and direct loans for creditworthy export sales to Iraq should, if implemented quickly and aggressively, start to level the playing field for U.S. exporters competing to sell good s and services to Iraq.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) today issued its World Trade Report 2010, an annual publication that offers definitive statistics on international trade.  In recent months, media reports have widely described China as the world’s largest exporter, but today’s report indicates that the United States remained the world’s largest exporter of goods and services through 2009. China has indeed overtaken the United States and Germany to become the world’s largest exporter of merchandise.

Last week, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) released a study of the trade barriers faced by America’s smaller companies, dubbed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and how European governments wrestle with the same challenges.

One finding: Not enough small companies in the United States are exporting. and the rest of the world isn’t waiting for us to catch up.

by Christopher Wenk

Why does the United States levy tariffs on imported goods that U.S. manufacturers and consumers need...but that aren't even produced domestically?

The Chamber's Doha Trade Delegation just concluded our visit to Geneva, which followed our stop earlier this week in Brussels. Of course, Geneva is the home of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This month marks the 2 year (forgettable) anniversary of the failed ministerial. I was at that ministerial, the longest ever WTO ministerial, representing the Chamber. Everyone remembers the dramatic collapse and blame game that followed. 2 years later, things have changed and yet stayed the same. On substance, we have a ways to go but Doha's death has been greatly exaggerated many times before.

CNN's Jill Dougherty talks with Myron Brilliant about the decades-old travel ban to Cuba.

The Chamber's Doha Trade Delegation just wrapped up two days of meetings in Brussels, Belgium with key EU trade officials and EU business groups to discuss ways to unlock the long-stalled Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. I am here with senior company officials, and key Chamber members, to demonstrate our strong desire to see an ambitious and successful outcome to the talks.

As the President’s Export Council meets today, officials are reporting that the United States is on track to meet President Obama’s goal of doubling U.S. exports within five years. 

by Brad Peck

by Patrick Kilbride

When the status quo is unacceptable, work for change.

A six-decades-old U.S. embargo on Cuba has failed to produce results. It's time for a change.

The oppressive Cuban regime continues to find ways to prop itself up, first with support from the Soviet Union and now from Venezuela. It's time for a change.

The House Agriculture Committee bill to end the U.S. ban on travel and trade to Cuba is expected to clear committee and be sent to the full House.  A report written by Reuters and picked up by The New York Times quotes the Chamber's Bruce Josten saying, “Enabling Americans to travel to Cuba and expand already legal export operations is an important first step to reforming U.S. policy toward Cuba.”

In his State of the Union address last January, President Obama set the goal of doubling U.S. exports within five years. The Chamber applauded this goal because, in our estimation, boosting exports is one of the best avenues to creating the 20 million jobs Americans will need over the next decade.

// 20 July 2010 update here.

Here's an interesting question: Why does the United States levy tariffs on imported goods that U.S. manufacturers and consumers need...but that aren't even produced domestically? It may not make sense, but it happens all the time:

A few dozen CEOs  and owners of major American and Russian companies got together yesterday at the Chamber’s storied Hall of Flags to do something that they usually don’t do -- sincerely praise their respective governments.

Richard Trumka is "deeply troubled." So declares the president of the AFL-CIO in a statement issued today on the "U.S.-Columbia [sic] Free Trade Agreement." As readers of these columns know, this accord would create good American jobs, bolster an important ally, and confirm that America is unwilling to cede its leadership in trade.

The U.S. Section of the Brazil-U.S. Business Council, through a broad coalition of industries it formed in late 2009 – the Brazil Trade Action Coalition (BRAZTAC) – and through steps taken before then, has been communicating to the Brazilian and U.S. governments the importance of reaching a permanent solution to their WTO cotton dispute. The council applauds the efforts by the Brazilian and U.S.

by John Murphy

Dartmouth economist Douglas Irwin, one of the country’s leading historians of trade, has a great piece in the Wall Street Journal today on “How ‘Protectionist’ Became An Insult.”  Irwin notes June 17 was the 80th anniversary of the Smoot-Hawley tariff, which

In the run up to the meeting of the G20 Heads of State in Toronto on June 26, Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and France’s President, Nicolas Sarkozy agreed to send a joint letter to the chair, Prime Minister of Canada Steven Harper, to request that G-20 produces a study of a global banking levy and a financial transaction tax.

The SF Chronicle has an excellent editorial today on the benefits of trade and the TPP talks:

by Christopher Wenk

Earlier today, I jumped on the BART with some colleagues at the Powell Street Station in San Francisco, down the street from where the TPP negotiations are taking place, and got off at West Oakland. There we got picked up by some nice folks from the Port of Oakland who took us for a driving tour of the Port.

Yesterday, BusinessWeek reports, Canadian lawmakers in the House of Commons approved a free trade agreement with Colombia. Soon, the Canadian Senate will follow suit, and U.S. producers will find themselves at a distinct disadvantage to their Canadian competitors in this growing market.

The Chamber's Christopher Wenk, in San Francisco for a week-long trade meeting on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, talks with KGO-TV at the :58 mark:

My colleague Catherine Mellor and I are out in San Fran representing the Chamber and the business community during the 2nd Round of the Trans Pacific Partnership talks between the US, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam. We are supporting the negotiation of a robust, comprehensive agreement.

Very interesting article from the NY Times yesterday:

The previously unknown deposits -- including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium -- are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.

The Atlas Network nails it:

U.S. Wheat Associates has released a new study showing that trade agreements directly increase U.S. agricultural exports, farm gate prices, and job growth. However, the study also underscores that U.S. farmers risk losing out in foreign markets while Washington hems and haws over pending trade agreements. In fact, for many American farmers, these agreements could mean the difference between profit and loss:

In his videotaped remarks at the Korea Society’s Annual Dinner on June 2, President Obama called for strengthening the 60-year bilateral alliance between the United States and South Korea, particularly in light of the sinking of Cheonan, a South Korean naval vessel that was allegedly attacked by a North Korean torpedo:

Over the past few months there has been an entertaining exchange in The Hill between Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch and Frank Vargo, NAM's VP of International Economic Affairs.

Take a moment to read:

It’s time to quit indulging the labor unions’ international trade fantasy. Jobs are at stake.

A recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce study shows that 14 million U.S. jobs depend on trade with NAFTA partners Canada and Mexico alone. That’s 14 million out of a total of 140 million working Americans. One in 10.

And by "logical" of course I mean "illogical."

In a week where reporters, in media both old and new, have been dinged for selectively editing their way to a narrative it is only fitting to take a quick look at this entry on the Huffington Post:

Ron Kirk, U.S. Trade Rep, Calls Chamber Of Commerce 'Part Of The Problem' For Opposing Reform

With the European Union concluding agreements with Panama and Colombia, here is a good reminder from Ana Guevara in the Miami Herald:

Beginning in 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), led to the elimination of import taxes on U.S. products entering Mexico. Agricultural products deemed sensitive were some of the last to enjoy the benefits of tariff elimination, with final tariff phase-outs lasting more than a decade. Consequently, U.S. farmers have only recently been able to enjoy the full benefits of open access to Mexico’s markets, but already their market share is threatened.

Americans pride themselves on being good neighbors.  From our earliest days of nationhood, through community libraries, volunteer fire departments, and public universities, Benjamin Franklin fostered the understanding that when neighbors work together everyone benefits.  The tradition has endured as a central part of the American psyche. What is true for our communities is also true for our nation. From Canada and Mexico, to Central America and the Caribbean islands, our relationships with our closest neighbors are critical to both their welfare and our own.

In a speech at the National Press Club last Friday Chamber president and CEO Tom Donohue unveiled an economic impact study of Free Trade Agreements entitled “Opening Markets, Creating Jobs.” It found that 17.7 million American jobs depend on trade with 14 countries with which we have FTAs. Of this total, 5.4 million jobs are supported by the increase in trade generated by the FTAs.

To show the benefits of America's trade agreements for U.S. workers, the U.S.

On CNBC, US Chamber president and CEO Tom Donohue discusses what the country needs to do to improve trade and sell US products abroad:

The Washington Post asks:

"Can the United States do anything now that is both in its self-interest and in the interest of a strong South Korea?"

and answers:

Great News. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk is in my home state of Wisconsin today.

The Chamber's Ron Somers, president of the U.S. India Business Council, has a good piece in The Hill today:

Fourteen months ago at the behest of the labor unions Congress brought to a halt the cross-border trucking pilot program with Mexico. The pilot program itself represented only partial fulfillment of a fifteen-year old U.S. commitment. Since then, American companies and their workers have paid with lost sales and lost jobs.
 

LETTER FROM BRUSSELS

Vice President Joe Biden underlined the importance of the transatlantic relationship in a special address to the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels last week. It is the first such US high level visit to the EP since President Ronald Reagan addressed the forum in 1985.

As the global economy comes out of the most devastating crisis in 70 years, the United States and the European Union need to show that, together, they can help to get growth back on track, create jobs, and stimulate trade. They should also demonstrate that they are their doing their utmost to ensure that no crisis of this proportion visits the world any time soon. In other words, it’s time they get strategic.

On April 28-29, 2010 the presidents of the most representative business associations from major economies met in Ottawa to exchange views about the direction of public policies across G20 countries.

As Stefanie noted yesterday "one in three acres on American farms is planted for hungry consumers overseas."  And there is room to, if you will pardon the pun, grow -- let's have a look:

The U.S. Chamber is once again leading national efforts to promote “World Trade Month” to honor of the 288,747 American businesses that sell their products overseas. Throughout the month, the Chamber will drive home the message that trade is an indispensable part of American prosperity.

Health Care

I have been a successful business owner for 30 years, and I can tell you without doubt that this bill will kill businesses, which will kill jobs, which will kill your big-money people who you are relying on to pay for a huge portion of this bill, etc., etc. It will be a chain reaction that will ultimately bankrupt the country— it’s basic economics and Mathematics 101.
—Mike Kelsey, Northridge, CA

Yesterday I posted on World IP Day 2010 and the activities of a few of our AmChams in promoting a culture of innovation. Here are two more reports:

Anne McKinney - AmCham Colombia, Bogotá

Earlier today I posted on World IP Day 2010 and the great job that AACCLA's network of 23 AmChams does in promoting a culture of innovation that has linked the Americas. Here are some of their efforts today:

Gerry McCulloch - AmCham Paraguay

Reforming Attitudes Regarding the Purchase of Counterfeit and Pirated Products in Paraguay

This year, the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA) Intellectual Property Task Force marks the beginning of its intellectual property (IP) 2010 agenda on this, the tenth anniversary of World IP Day.

Today’s release of the ACTA text marks a major stride towards greater transparency, and will help enhance support for this important agreement.  Publication of the negotiating text will show that many of the claims made by ACTA critics and anti-IP activists to stop this agreement were false.  ACTA promises to improve cooperation and enhance the collective efforts of nearly forty countries against the growing scourge of counterfeiting and piracy—in both the online and physical environments—that is killing

A story in parts:

While no one would wish a crisis like the one Greece is enduring on any country, it has served at least one useful purpose: to reveal different strands of thinking on how the euro zone and its component economies should function as the world tries to throw off the recession and return to a sustainable growth path.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce commends USTR and the other negotiating partners for this major step forward, and the progress they are making to complete a comprehensive ACTA this year. We particularly laud their decision to release the draft text. This announcement should address many of the erroneous claims of anti-ACTA critics and get us refocused on the substantive components of this important agreement.

As Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Congressman Howard Berman has been a dedicated advocate for the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights—a crucial component of our economic growth and jobs creation. Today, Chairman Berman and Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen sent a letter to the U.S.

Some reports from Tom Donohue's visit to India:

As reported in this morning's Playbook U.S. Chamber President Thomas Donohue is speaking before the Confederation of Indian Industry today to "highlight opportunities for U.S. businesses to expand and create jobs by targeting India’s emerging economy, notably the $1 trillion infrastructure build out they have scheduled over the next decade. The prepared remarks are here.  From the intro:

Fred Hiatt sat down with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak last Wednesday and published this report today, some clips:

In a world of dangerously failed states and willful challengers to American leadership, South Korea is an astoundingly successful democracy that wants to be friends. But will America say yes?

The Trade and American Competitiveness Coalition sent this message to Congress today:

Millions of American Jobs Depend on Exports

A Wall Street Journal editorial contrasts President Obama's rhetoric on the need to double exports with the administration’s inaction on trade and the resulting harm to American exports.

It was announced that Tim Geithner will visit Beijing on Thursday for talks with the Chinese vice premier for economic affairs. No details have been made available but the decision suggests a move toward settling the Chinese currency dispute.

by Steven Bipes

Earlier today the Chamber hosted a breakfast event in New York to highlight the economic benefits and opportunities for U.S. businesses, farmers, and workers that the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) would create. This FTA could be the most commercially significant U.S. trade deal in a decade, at a time when we desperately need to create jobs. Passing the U.S.-Korea FTA now would be a major step toward the Obama administration's stated goal of doubling U.S. exports over the next five years.

Philip Levy writes:

Those urging a more aggressive approach toward China have tried to outdo each other in holding Beijing culpable for American job loss. It has come to sound a bit like a bidding war. Who will open the bidding?

On March 20th Governor Bob Riley outlined:

Delivering the quid for this quo Sen.

Progress on Trade Pledge Is Slow

Robert S. Milligan
Chairman of the Board
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

The Hill reported yesterday on U.S. Chamber's efforts to get some movement on the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement.  It notes:

Chris Buckley, writing for Reuters, had a great talk with Myron Brilliant about China and trade:

China's yuan stance is just part of a tide of assertive policies from Beijing that have unsettled American companies and risk stoking tensions, said the senior executive of a major U.S. business group.

On March 23, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) issued a study entitled “Unfair China Trade Costs Local Jobs.” As in the past, EPI has employed a flawed approach that equates exports with job gains and imports with job losses.

In short, the world isn’t that simple. Reflecting a zero-sum game mentality, EPI’s study assumes a widget imported from China is one less widget made by a U.S. producer. In this view, China’s sale is America’s loss.

This article, in the Washington Post today with the rather distressing headline “Obama’s export plan won’t necessarily create jobs,” opens with:

The Obama administration’s effort to boost employment by promoting U.S. exports may be undercut as business owners find ways to increase production without new hiring and as trade disputes threaten to crimp American sales abroad.

It is that time of year again – March Madness, when "bracketology" reigns and lots of average joes and janes become small time gamblers. As with prior years, I will fill out a bracket for my son's pool and pick Pitt (my alma mater) to win the whole thing. Also, as with prior years, I will most likely win nothing at all.

Last year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce joined several leading U.S. trade associations, free trade supporters all, in an extraordinary step: urging the U.S. Congress to think twice before renewing U.S. trade preferences for Ecuador. The reason? A continuing pattern of disregard for the rights of foreign investors.

Last week the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative hosted a US-Kazakh Investment forum, chaired by Mike Delaney, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, and moderated by Eric Stewart, the U.S. Chamber’s Senior Advisor for Europe & Eurasia. The two featured speakers were Kazakhstan Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Umarov and Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake. Umarov stressed that Kazakhstan has come a long way in the last decade, and that the Kazakhs are eager to diversify their economy.

John Murphy, coming in at the 4:32 mark in the CNBC clip below, talks about our plan for doubling exports. And yes, we can do this.

As the Obama Administration concludes its review of the U.S. Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), today’s Manhattan federal court decision by Judge Leonard Sand in a case between Chevron and the government of Ecuador is welcome news. Moreover, it has broad implications for the business community and the protections afforded to international investors.

by Christopher Wenk

The Chamber, and the U.S. business community, supports the objectives of the Administration and Congress to address ongoing challenges with Iran. However, portions of the proposed Iran sanctions legislation pending on Capitol Hill (H.R. 2194 and S. 2799) are far too broad in their application and unnecessarily restrict U.S. business transactions wholly unrelated to Iran. Tens of billions of dollars of U.S. commerce that has nothing to do with Iran could be disrupted.

For example:

Here is our plan to double exports in the next five years and here is a spot on commentary from James Bacchus, intro and three clips:

President Obama has promised to create 2 million new jobs by doubling exports from $1 trillion to $2 trillion during the next five years.

More on the one year anniversary of an abrupt halt to jobs, this time from the Wall Street Journal:

Tomorrow, March 10, marks the first anniversary of the vote in Congress that brought the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking pilot project to an abrupt halt. In response to Congress’s action a year ago, Mexico imposed tariffs on 90 U.S. manufactured and agricultural products, largely shutting out $2.4 billion in U.S. exports. Mexico is the second largest U.S. export market partner by far, and the price paid by U.S. workers, farmers and ranchers has already been too high.

As the U.S. Congress lumbers through various proposals for the financial sector reform, on the other side of the Atlantic, the turmoil around Greek and other sovereign debt is spurring the European Parliament to debate policy actions on "efficient, safe and sound derivates market".

One of the issues that has never been too far in the background during the current concerns over Greece’s ability to bring down its budget deficit and finance its sovereign debt is a potential role for the International Monetary Fund. The IMF’s specialty, after all, is to make loans to governments who are fiscally overextended in return for a commitment to engage in tough reform and austerity measures.

Last week we posted on potatoes and grumbled about grapes, but beyond the ongoing problems with not keeping our word with Mexico and its effect on jobs famous trade blogger

The battle for Olympic hockey gold may be over, but the battle for Yukon Golds still rages and unfortunately we may see another Canadian victory. We will be talking more about this next week, but I just want to draw your attention to this item from CongressDaily:

Earlier today, in his testimony before the Senate Finance Committee on President Obama's 2010 Trade Policy Agenda, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk stated that opening new markets and bolstering enforcement tools will be the main focus of his efforts this year. This agenda, he said, will support the President's goal of doubling U.S. exports in the next five years to support two million American jobs. We look forward to working with the Administration to achieve this goal and we applaud the USTR for setting forward an agenda that will spur job creation and economic growth.

So I was knee deep in health care stuff yesterday when someone forwards me this gem of an email from Public Citizen:

There is much concern in the financial and political circles about the difficulties with Euro due to the deficits in Greece, Spain, Portugal and several other members of the Euro-zone. While governments are talking brave about tightening their belts, it was interesting to hear President of the Spanish Government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero who, speaking at the U.S. Chamber recently, pointed out that one area where the Spanish government will not cut is in its support for innovation.

By William R. Rhodes

As published in the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Asia

In his State of the Union address on Jan. 27, President Obama announced a new goal of doubling American exports over the next five years as part of his strategy for creating U.S. jobs. To achieve this goal, the president pledged to "seek new markets aggressively" and to strengthen the United States' trade relations in Asia with key partners, including South Korea.

by J.P. Fielder

On the one year anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today released a report highlighting the consequences of Buy American provisions. The Chamber's executive vice president of Government Affairs Bruce Josten had this to say:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Africa Business Initiative welcomes the announcement that negotiators from the U.S. and East Africa are discussing the way forward for implementation of the United States - East African Community (EAC) Trade and Investment Framework agreement (TIFA). Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda are the five member states of the EAC.

The Chamber recently had the honor of hosting Spanish President José Luis Zapatero, who was in Washington in early February to join President Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast, where Zapatero delivered remarks.

C. Fred Bergsten from the Peterson Institute for International Economics writes on trade in the Washington Post. His four points of focus include: "the exchange rate of the dollar, trade agreements, our own export controls and tax policy." More on the second:

Tom Donohue is in Davos this week at the World Economic Forum, along with many other business and political leaders.  His message? Jobs. Jobs. Jobs.  More from CNBC:

Today the Chamber-affiliated Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA) is hosting its annual Miami Meeting, with representatives of the hemispheric business community flying in to discuss next steps for our pro-jobs, pro-growth business agenda for the Americas.

Reforming export controls was the topic at an important Capitol Hill breakfast meeting today. The Washington Times reports that those present included "senior House and Senate leaders as well as the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate foreign affairs, armed services and banking committees" alongside Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, White House National Security Adviser James L. Jones, Commerce Secretary Gary F.

// Scratch this one. Yet another useless hoax site.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations were launched in 2006. ACTA is a new plurilateral treaty to help fight counterfeiting and piracy through enhanced international cooperation and more effective international standards for enforcing intellectual property (IP) rights. It will build upon existing international rules, in particular the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS), to address a number of enforcement areas where countries have identified the need to strengthen the current international legal framework.

In his weekly DealBook column, Andrew Ross Sorkin looks back at Davos two years ago – just weeks before Bear Stearns’ collapse – when there were calls for a "global sheriff." Today we are no closer to any sort of global financial regulator, let alone serious cooperation among countries about reform. While the Obama administration is focused on Wall Street and hatching new measures by the week, these efforts are colliding with reforms in other parts of the world.

The Africa Business Initiative (ABI) team recently returned from a trade mission to West Africa. Accra, Ghana was the first stop on the trip. The Mills Administration and the people of Ghana firmly believe that the recent oil finds in the gulf of Guinea will be the springboard to a great influx of FDI into the country, and Ghana is positioning itself as a starting point for FDI into West Africa. Working in Ghana's favor is a history of democratic governance and peaceful transition between political parties.

In the same year it began implementing a high-standard, comprehensive free trade agreement with the United States, Peru was the only major Latin American economy to see FDI growth in 2009, according to a Latin Business Chronicle analysis of foreign direct investment statistics from the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Chronicle reports:

The U.S. Chamber and other associations leading the Coalition for Security and Competitiveness (CSC) recently submitted a letter to President Obama, urging him to consider our comprehensive set of recommendations for reform of the U.S.

Multiple news outlets are reporting that China overtook Germany to become the world’s largest exporter in 2009.  However, several of those reports fail to indicate they’re talking about merchandise trade, which is mostly manufactured goods but also includes petroleum, raw materials, and so on.  These numbers do not cover exports of commercial services, an area of great strength for the United States, but an area where data are made available less rapidly.

We need jobs and we can create jobs by doubling U.S. exports in five years. This is an ambitious yet achievable goal. But to get there, we need a bold and aggressive trade policy—something we don’t have today. The rest of the world is not waiting around for the United States. Countries are busy making their own arrangements with each other and leaving us in the dust. We all know about the political pressure against trade coming from some of our unions. But that’s no excuse when America’s global leadership is at stake.

Daniel Griswold in the Naples Daily News, via Cato:

One of John Murphy's favorite lines from Secretary of State Cordell Hull is:

"Where trade crosses borders, armies do not."

• In Defense of GDP - as a measuring tool
• Higher Debt May Stunt Economic Growth - government debt that is
• Tax Carnival #62: Happy New Tax Year! - sigh

Chairman Sander Levin according to a Congress Daily article said that the "Buy American" provisions included in the Jobs Bill were "simply a restating of current law dating back to 1979 and should not be cause for concern." We beg to differ. There are two "Buy American" sections included in the Jobs Bill: Sections 2013 and 4002. Neither change dates back to 1979 though.

The Energy Institute’s Steve Eule has been representing the Chamber in Copenhagen, and tonight he checks in with some troubling news about the prospects for strong intellectual property rights in an international climate agreement. Steve’s latest blog entry on Politico details the latest turn of events.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a small trade agreement with the promise of becoming a big player in global trade policy. Yesterday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notified Congress of its intent to join Australia, Peru, and Vietnam in negotiating entry to the TPP, currently composed of Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk today notified Congress that the United States will enter negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, a new trade accord with a number of Asia-Pacific economies that could greatly benefit American workers, farmers, and companies. The U.S. Chamber has applauded the initiative, which has the goal of reaching a high-standard, broad-based regional pact. As Chamber President Tom Donohue commented:

Recently, anti-intellectual property rights activists have misstated the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s position on access to copyrighted materials for the visually impaired and other persons with disabilities.

The Chamber supports increased copyright access for the visually-impaired, including measures currently practiced under U.S. law that have proven effective in providing access, and promoting results-oriented solutions to the needs of blind and visually-impaired persons.

Bruce Josten just sent sent this letter to Senators Landrieu and Snowe applauding their introduction of S. 2862, the "Small Business Export Enhancement and International Trade Act of 2009." From the letter:

Intellectual property (IP)—those "creations of the mind" that result in new inventions and works of art, for example-- continues to be recognized as a job creator and a pivotal component of our economy. The latest example of this can be found in the Omnibus Appropriations Conference report—the means by which the Congress funds the government and its programs—that was just recently filed in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Let’s see if I’ve got this right. James Hoffa of the Teamsters writes in the Detroit News that "America built the biggest, strongest economy ever behind a wall of protectionism. We nurtured infant industries through tariffs and subsidies. We need to be doing that again."

Let’s look at the largest single employer of Teamsters, UPS. UPS is the nation’s second-largest private employer with more than 400,000 people.  About half of them are Teamsters.

Yesterday, President Obama gave a speech at the Brookings Institution outlining his strategy to promote job growth. The President highlighted three new proposals.  First, he called for additional infrastructure investment. Second, he proposed a fresh round of tax cuts and incentives to help small businesses and get them to start hiring again. And third, he urged Congress to create new financial incentives for homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient.

As the world gathers over the next two weeks in Copenhagen to reach consensus on how to address our climate change challenges, a bevy of "other" issues – all related in some way to climate change – will be taken up. Among those will be intellectual property (IP) rights, and how they relate to the development and diffusion of new technologies that will help us reduce CO2 emissions and adapt to changes in our environment.

I’ll be heading off to Copenhagen later this week, but before I go I wanted to take some time to explain what it is the U.S. Chamber and its Institute for 21st Century Energy would like to see coming out of Copenhagen. It’s appearing more and more likely that in two weeks’ time, we’ll get a political deal that will set the stage for further rounds of negotiations leading up to Mexico City in December 2010 where countries will sign off on a new post-2012 agreement. As always, the devil will be in the details.

In a Politico Ideas piece, Karen Harbert lists facts, fiction about Chamber's involvement in climate change talks:

Today, the Chamber's Europe & Eurasia team hosted Hungarian Prime Minister, Gordon Bajnai for a discussion on economic policies in post-Lisbon EU from a Hungarian perspective.

While the current political situation in Hungary is tumultuous, the Prime Minister was very optimistic that Hungary’s economy will keep growing.  The reforms his government has undertaken in the short amount of time he’s been in office, such as pension reform and tax reform, will help Hungary out of its current economic crisis.

As I board a plane in Geneva, I know you all want a debrief and final thoughts on the last 3 days. Pull up your chair.

The 7th WTO Ministerial Conference concluded successfully yesterday without a hitch. The closing ceremony was about an hour (shorter than expected), but once again I blinked too soon. I hear that a handful of protestors snuck into the complex of the Ministerial with candles and signs that said: "Doha is dead." If Doha was dead, I would not be coming to Geneva as much as I do -- twice within the last month and thrice since May.

The 7th WTO Ministerial in Geneva is rapidly coming to a close. Drama free, conflict free, breakdown free. Just to show how easy this Ministerial went off, they are even ending it a few hours earlier than expected. They ran out of Trade Ministers to take up the 3 minute time slots during the plenary and working sessions. I offered to speak myself, but I didn’t have the right badge! The closing session is expected to start here very shortly, which will be accompanied by various reports/summaries of what went on over the past few days.

The highlight at day two of the Ministerial in Geneva was the "non-protest by farmers" that I missed – as did countless of the Ministerial attendees.  Three tractors and some signs: "Doha is dead" and "Pascal is a pig" were some of the reported ones. I understand that the Geneva police escorts far outnumbered the protestors. Sorry to disappoint, next time I will try not to blink.

Lots of hustle at bustle at day 2 of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 7th Ministerial Conference. Trade Ministers have two different soap boxes provided to them today to give their speel on all topics WTO and trade-related. There are plenary sessions, which provide Trade Ministers an opportunity to make prepared statements. 3 minute rule applies. Also, there are working sessions that Ministers can take part in. Today's working session topic: "Review of WTO activities, including the Doha Work programme." Ditto on 3 minute rule.

by Patrick Kilbride
 
‘Tis the season. No, not that one. The silly season. The one when many leaders in Washington respond to painfully high unemployment with big talk about jobs, while shunning the policy measures most likely to create them. Yes, I mean trade.

The President knows that U.S. exports have a big role to play in achieving economic recovery and creating jobs. He said on his recent trip to Asia:

The 7th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference got underway this afternoon, with opening addresses from key people including WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, USTR Ambassador Ron Kirk, outgoing EU Trade Commissioner (and soon to be EU Foreign Policy Chief: Kissinger will be happy to get that phone number) Catherine Ashton, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean among others.

Along with several of my colleagues from the U.S. business community, I am attending the Seventh Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, which takes place from today through Wednesday (December 2). I am attending the Ministerial on behalf of the U.S. Chamber, which has been a stalwart advocate of the rules-based trading system and the on-going Doha Round of WTO negotiations.

A decade ago, Colombia was in turmoil, and today no doubt many Americans still see it as the lawless, wild west-style country portrayed in the Harrison Ford thriller, Clear and Present Danger. These common perceptions make it easy for anti-trade activists to argue against the U.S.-Colombia FTA - signed three years ago, but still not approved by the U.S. Congress - on the basis that the Colombian government has not done enough to stem violence, particularly politically-motivated violence against union members. The facts dispel this damaging myth.

Will the United States trade or fade?  The choice is ours. We need to bring the Colombia FTA to a vote.  Three years is too long to wait – let’s level the playing field for U.S. exporters and create jobs here at home.

On the heels of the three year anniversary of the signing of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, today 34 House members, led by Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA), sent a letter sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her to allow an up or down vote on the pending agreement without further delay. As the letter states:

It’s the protectionist mantra: "Fair Trade, not Free Trade!" A cute slogan, but one that ignores the reality that free trade agreements are the surest path to fair trade.

As we mark on the 3rd anniversary of the signing of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, it is very worthwhile to revisit the dozens and dozens of positive editorials that have been issued on this agreement from newspapers across the country. Support is far and wide and spans across the ideological spectrum.

A few in particular to remember:

Following up on Patrick's post from earlier, here is James Roberts on Human Events:

Yesterday, November 22, marked the third anniversary of the signing of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Three years ago Colombia agreed to fully open up its markets to U.S. products. Yet today U.S. products sold in Colombia are still taxed at the same high rates. Since November 22, 2006, an estimated $2.4 billion in unnecessary import tariffs have been assessed against U.S. exports to Colombia (see the Colombia Tariff Ticker).

On November 18, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment Eni FH Faleomavaega and the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Armed Services Howard P.

As the Washington Post recently pointed out "Trade is big in Asia" and trade can play an even bigger role in the U.S. economic recovery; which is why the U.S. Chamber applauds the first ever U.S. summit with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held recently in Singapore and the agreement to enhance the Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) between the U.S. and the region.

From Mike Allen's Playbook:

That's the second part of the subhead of a Washington Post editorial today, the first part states a fact "Trade is big in Asia" and the headline itself some advice "Deal with it."  Now some from the body:

As President Obama and other leaders gather for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit this week in Singapore, America’s failure to advance a trade agenda that is pro-growth and pro-jobs is attracting new attention.

When the first APEC leaders' meeting was held in 1993, the United States, Europe, and Japan represented the commanding heights of the world economy. Since then, there has been a tremendous shift to the East. More than half of the world economy is now centered in the Asia-Pacific region. These developments are not only reshaping global economics, but they are altering geopolitics.

A few folks have expressed the concern that our November 3rd letter to the Senate regarding climate change represented a change in the Chamber's position on carbon tariffs. While the letter notes that we agree with "a great deal" of what Senators Kerry and Graham presented in a recent op-ed, and we "commend" them for writing it.

This week, U.S. officials and representatives from our key trading partners are meeting in Seoul, Korea to further negotiations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The Global IP Center (GIPC) is encouraged to see these efforts moving forward, as we believe an ambitious ACTA will set a high bar for IP protection and enforcement around the world. While the GIPC supports the administration’s efforts to conclude a robust and comprehensive ACTA, we also note that a successful agreement should do the following:

by Christopher Wenk
 
As I blogged from Europe last week as part of the Chamber’s Doha Trade Delegation, people in Geneva have been looking for more signals from the Obama Administration on the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. I think it safe to that yesterday’s confirmation hearing at the Senate Finance Committee for two key Obama trade nominees did the trick.

This week in Washington should become part of the European lore. The Obama Administration’s first US-EU Summit on November 3 took place at the same time as the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel became the first Chancellor to address both chambers of the U.S. Congress in 50 years.

Reuters has this piece on President Obama speaking out on trade:

Recognizing the importance of intellectual property to their economies, China and the United States appear to have made some progress on the protection and enforcement front at the 20th session of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in Hangzhou, China.

The Chamber's Doha business delegation had a very interesting set of meetings today in Geneva, Switzerland -- hometown of the World Trade Organization (WTO) among other international multilateral organizations. We met with key WTO officials and key WTO Ambassadors.

The U.S. Chamber Doha Business delegation just finished a productive day of meetings in Brussels with EU Trade Officials from DG-Trade and the European Commission. We also met with European Business Groups-AmCham EU and Business Europe.

After spending a day in Berlin to meet with German Government Officials and German Business Groups on Tuesday, the Chamber's Doha Business Delegation is in Brussels today with the same aim: Take the pulse of the almost eight year old Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations.

Philip Levy posted the below to AEI's blog a few weeks ago:

Think you know where everyone stands on climate change legislation? Test your knowledge of where everyone stands on the proposal to impose tariffs on imports from countries that the United States says aren't limiting their own carbon emissions. Such provisions were included in the House-approved Waxman-Markey bill and may be included in a Senate bill as well.

For more than fifteen years, free trade has been my business and my inspiration, based on the belief that economic freedom is fundamental to individual liberty.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the "U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed for the first time in four months in August, with exports rising to their highest level of the year and imports easing despite higher oil prices."

Given how trade skeptics often argue that job loss can be ascribed directly to the trade deficit, this might be a good moment to reflect on the relationship between the trade deficit and jobs.

Sorry if you missed it!  This week, a provocative, political discussion of Latin American populism, Brazil’s geo-political rise, drug cartels, and presidential term limits, among other hot topics got the Forecast on Latin America and Caribbean conference (FOLAC) off to a feisty start at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  Of course the issue that pulls all the rest together - the Honduran crisis that has clearly become the lightning rod for the region’s democratic and political insecurities crisis - was front and center..

Labor union's arguments against FTAs and BITs don’t square with the facts, but are they at least representing fairly the seven and a half percent of private sector workers who are their members? Let’s look at a few unions.

// See this and this for background on labor and the American trade agenda.

What exactly are labor's arguments against FTAs and bilateral investment treaties, known as BITs? In testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee last May, Thea Lee described U.S. free trade agreements in this way:

As Bloomberg reports:

On Thursday I posted on the Irish referendum to approve the so-called Lisbon Treaty of the European Union -- the results are in:

Background here but in short, Labor's position is to allow foreign workers free access to our markets but oppose helping American workers by lowering tariffs on a reciprocal basis. Most U.S. labor unions have opposed nearly every trade agreement that has come down the pike since NAFTA -- whether negotiated by Democrats or Republicans.

Today  the Irish voters are holding a referendum on the so-called Lisbon Treaty of the European Union that would mark the next step in European integration. After a period of substantial enlargement and consolidation of the single market of half a billion people, the European Union is getting ready to step up to the plate globally as a more coherent, efficient and steady partner.

A complicated topic to be sure, for a little context it’s important to first ask: What should the U.S. trade agenda be?

A New Vision for U.S. Global Leadership

By Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

There are many ingredients for restoring and sustaining a job-rich, free enterprise economy in America. Among the most critical are being open and engaging with the world in trade, capital, people, and ideas-and rejecting the false promises of isolationism and defeatism. 

At this week’s G-20 summit, world leaders have gathered to discuss how to restore economic growth around the world. Among this group is South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, whose country will chair the G-20 in 2010. Throughout the global economic crisis President Lee has been strong and steadfast in urging major economies to remain committed to open markets and in cautioning against protectionism. He has followed word with deed.

Today in San Antonio I have the honor of presenting the TradeRoots International Leadership Award to Free Trade Alliance President and CEO Kyle Burns.
 

Lost in the noise of the health care debate this past month has been another reengineering of a major portion of our economy – this one on energy policy and addressing global climate change. With the UN Climate Negotiations scheduled for December in Copenhagen the issue is inching back into the spotlight so we thought it might be useful to review the current state of play.

Historically, economic summits have been exercises at window dressing that have allowed World leaders to fulfill domestic politics agendas and carry on the air of a statesman or stateswoman. The usual result was a communiqué that was forgotten almost in the same length of time that it took to write it.

That perception has changed and with it the stakes have risen.

If you are going to read one book this year, make it Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. It is a an extraordinarily clear and comprehensive statement of the costs – economic, social and moral – of the oppression and mistreatment of women around the world.

On Tuesday we released a study that looked at the effect of three trade actions/inactions by the Administration on American workers -- in short: employment losses could total as much as 585,800 jobs.

Tom Donohue on trade from East Lansing on Tuesday:

John Murphy talks about the Chinese tire case and the larger risk of "Trade Action – or Inaction: The Cost for American Workers and Companies"

by Tom Donohue
 

Recently the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming held a hearing titled Roadmap for Copenhagen — Driving towards Success.

by Tom Donohue
 
Anyone who doubts that trade creates jobs should consider that 57 million American workers are already employed by firms that benefit from exports. One in five factory jobs depends on exports, and one in three acres on American farms is planted for hungry consumers overseas. U.S. services companies and their 90 million workers--the most competitive in the world--export $550 billion in services annually, with a $140 billion surplus.

by Tom Donohue
 
Whether we are talking about a single industry or the nation as a whole, the timeless values of free enterprise can overcome any economic challenge thrown in our path. History proves it. We must now reaffirm these values and put them to work in creating jobs and opportunities for all our citizens.
 

We have released a new study today which looks at the cost in jobs of poor trade policy decisions.  From the summary:

Continuing our focus on trade today, the Wall Street Journal looks at the dangers of abandoning trade:

Tom Donohue starts off our focus on trade today with a piece in The Detroit News today -- have a look:

In the 2009-2010 Global Competitiveness Report, released on Tuesday by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the United States regrettably lost its crown as the world’s most competitive economy due to its current financial instability.  Interestingly enough, the report emphasized the importance of innovation and creativity to individual nation’s economies by ranking intellectual property (IP) as a key part in a country’s global competitiveness.

Yesterday, the German Marshall Fund published a new interesting study, Transatlantic Trends: Key Findings 2009. You may access the study here: www.transatlantictrends.org/trends/

A new poll suggests why a radical overhaul of the health care system may not be in the cards…a Thomson Reuters survey found that fewer Americans are afraid that they will be unable to pay for health care services and fewer expect to postpone medical treatments due to costs.

Today, America faces a choice—to reach out and seize the benefits of international engagement or retreat into isolationism. This choice is central to the competitiveness of the U.S. economy and to the hopes of hardworking citizens pursuing the American Dream.

The Coalition for Healthy India, sponsored by the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) today conducted the Indian launch of its report on "The Value of Incremental Pharmaceutical Innovation: Benefits for Indian Patients and Indian Business". As you may know, currently India’s patent law discriminates against a large portion of valuable pharmaceutical innovation. This report focuses on the impact of restrictive policies in India with respect to medical and pharmaceutical innovation.

While some evidence is emerging that the economic downturn is easing, the global trading system is under great stress. The U.S. Census Bureau's most recent reporting of trade data through June 2009 indicates a sharp decline in global trade over the past year.

Of America's 46 customs districts, "11 registered one-month decreases in excess of 40 percent. Honolulu's decline in June was even more severe, at 53.52 percent, while the U.S. Virgin Islands suffered a 61.75 percent decrease," according to Ken Roberts at WorldCity, who regularly analyzes trade data.

As all across U.S and Europe government intervention has sent clunkers on their way to the scrap yards, the consumers would surely appreciate more focus on the next generation of transport technology.

On August 10, President Obama met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who pressed him yet again to soften the regulations implementing the "Buy American" rules in last February’s economic stimulus package, known as the Recovery Act.

The president responded: "We have not seen some sweeping steps toward protectionism. This has in no way endangered the billions of dollars of trade taking place between" Canada and the United States.

While the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 has caused great confusion here at home the end of August brings a valuable contribution by the U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) to transatlantic regulatory cooperation.

A few weeks ago I posted on the one year anniversary of the hostilities between Russia and Georgia, which generated some good comments. A common theme was the suggestion that the Russian economy, and the companies doing business there would benefit from regional economic integration around specific projects: regional water management, electric grids and transportation routes.

One thousand days. One million four hundred forty thousand minutes. Eighty-six million four hundred thousand seconds. Have passed since the signing of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement on November 22, 2006.

Since that time, U.S. manufactures and farm products sold to Colombia have been penalized an estimated $2 million per day by import tariffs that would have been eliminated if the agreement had been in force. The total so far: more than $2.1 billion. (See the Colombia TPA Tariff Ticker).

by Danielle Walker

As I reflect on the conversations Scott and I had with the American business leaders, government officials, and U.S. Embassy staff in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, I’m struck by the polar impressions I’ve gotten of the three countries.

On Wednesday, the World Trade Organization (WTO) rightly ruled against China's illegal practice of forcing U.S. owners of copyrighted materials to deal only with state-controlled distribution companies, an onerous requirement that drove up costs, hurt marketing, and created logistical nightmares for American filmmakers, musicians, and others who depend on intellectual property (IP) protections.

With UNFCCC climate change treaty negotiations scheduled to conclude this December in Copenhagen, the Obama Administration should be commended for its support of intellectual property (IP) rights at the ongoing talks. During this week's working group meeting in Bonn, the U.S. established its position on IP clearly and firmly, stating that no treaty will be agreed upon that undermines or weakens intellectual property rights.

Even as the United States sits on a free trade agreement signed almost three years ago, Colombia continues to pay a steep price for its friendship with the United States.

The United States recently announced plans to shift some anti-narcotics efforts to Colombia from Ecuador due to the closure of the U.S. military base there. The United States has no military bases in Colombia, but a small number of U.S. troops are there (limited by mutual agreement to 800 or less), working cooperatively with their Colombian counterparts on joint efforts to fight narcotics trafficking.

by Patrick Kilbride
 

This morning President Obama attends the North American Leaders Summit in Guadalajara, Mexico with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Front and center on the agenda, among other things, are two key U.S. Chamber issues, "Buy American" and cross-border trucking with Mexico.

// Gary Litman responds to comments here.

// Second ABI report from its trade mission to Africa, see the post from South Africa

Essentially, the Buy American clause could destroy our business. The end result of Buy American would, at a minimum, add significant costs to our products in the U.S. marketplace if we could find a way to supply them. And it would virtually eliminate our ability to ship U.S. products into the Canadian marketplace.

We are extremely concerned that the Buy American provision is resulting in project delays, limited competition, increased costs, and reduced quality.

The Chamber’s Africa Business Initiative is on the road for the next two weeks travelling through South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia. Along the way, we are meeting with American companies doing business in Africa, our AmCham leadership, African companies, and government leaders.

For the next two days, ABI is in South Africa. Instant takeaways from day one:

On Wednesday Patrick Kilbride gave some examples of Ecuador rather shaky commitment to the rule of law and concluded:

Back in December I posted on an Economist article which asked:

...have Americans benefited from the creation of iPods?

The World Trade Organization (WTO) issued its World Trade Report 2009 yesterday, so we finally have the globally comparable data for 2008 to answer the question. It shows the United States remains the world’s largest exporter:

2008 Exports (in billions)

Last month, the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced the extension of benefits for Ecuador under the Andean Trade Preference Act through the end of 2009. ATPA provides one-way, preferential (read, almost entirely duty-free) access to the U.S. market. Nevertheless, in its report, USTR highlighted concerns about political interference in the Ecuadorian judiciary and emphasized the importance of Ecuador’s commitment to principles such as international arbitration.

Yesterday, the U.S. Chamber and the Brazil-U.S. Business Council co-hosted a press conference to brief media on issues discussed during the 4th U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum meeting, which took place on July 20/21 here in Washington, DC.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber, in collaboration with members, Chambers, and 47 Canadian and U.S. associations, have come together to collect specific, near-term and practical recommendations on what can be done to reduce border-related costs while strengthening security (read the report).

India said thanks, but no thanks, to Secretary Clinton's invitation for them to essentially impose caps on their greenhouse gas emissions.  Jairam Ramesh, India's environment minister said: "There is simply no case for the pressure that we face to actually reduce emissions.

The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted United States Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner for a breakfast policy discussion at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi on July 14th. The meeting attracted a dozen leaders from the U.A.E.'s business and education sectors, including the U.A.E. Minister of Foreign Trade, H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, and Chairman of the Masdar Initiative, H.E. Ahmed Al Sayegh. H.E. Sheikha Lubna introduced Secretary Geithner to the assembled private and public sector officials.

Yesterday Leslie Schweitzer addressed the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce's Economic Summit: "Unprecedented Times for the Country...for Kentucky." Given today's economic environment, companies of all sizes and sectors need to focus on expanding into the global marketplace to stay in the race. “It means jobs and prosperity,” said Schweitzer.

Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt announced yesterday that Korea and the European Union have tentatively concluded free trade negotiations. While the text of the EU-Korea FTA has not been released publicly, the Korea International Trade Association has said that under the agreement Korea will phase out tariffs on 96% of EU goods over a three-year period.

by Mark Esper

A short while ago here in Geneva, at the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Conference on IP and Public Policy Issues, the U.S. Chamber joined other partners in a press event to launch the Coalition on Innovation, Employment and Development. The Chamber joined this coalition, which has over sixty members, in May.

Ambassador Kirk's recent decision to resume negotiations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is welcome news for our economy and intellectual property rights. This decision will hopefully lead towards the crafting of an agreement that strengthens enforcement and protects IP as a key driver of innovation, job creation, and economic growth.

The Chamber joined twenty nine other unions, associations and business groups in a letter commending Ambassador Kirk on this decision.

President Obama’s upcoming trip to Ghana is a good step in the direction towards recalibrating the United States relationship with Africa and showing both the U.S. business community and African governments that America is seriously interested in expanding its relationship with Africa.

by Danny Sebright

Just imagine that in 2020 the United States is known as a critical energy exporter, a reliable supplier of carbon-neutral electricity technologies and a corporate innovator with planned projects worldwide.

While "Buy American" rules may sound attractive, these mandates generate red tape that delays "shovel ready" projects and risks triggering retaliation by our trading partners. In most cases, "Buy American" rules aren't creating American jobs -- they're destroying them and delaying our recovery.

As leaders of G8 are gathering for their 2009 Summit in L’Aquila on 8th July under the Italian Presidency,  the largest and most representative G8 Business associations urge renewed attention to three major issues: the response to the financial and economic crisis, free trade and investment and the need to tackle climate change.

President Obama met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week. The Chancellor expressed her strong belief that in times of economic crisis transatlantic regulatory cooperation can set more efficient rules for the capital markets and reduce the costs of bureaucratic burden in the "real" economy.

We posted yesterday on the factually-challenged protest against Colombian President Uribe's visit to the U.S. It is good to see that truth carried the day, here is President Obama:

The email comes in, "...there is a protest on 16th and H and the DC Metro police have closed the area to vehicle traffic The group protesting and the issue under protest are not clear..."  I

The U.S.-India Business Council's 34th Anniversary Summit in Washington D.C. attracted record attention from industry, senior government officials and members of the press.

// Update: 25 June 2009 Letter to the House

Below are key points (and lots of them) from Bruce Josten's letter to the House today on the Waxman-Markey bill, the full letter is here.

Yesterday morning, the Chamber co-hosted a breakfast featuring Her Excellency Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile, with the Business Council for International Understanding and the Chilean American Chamber of Commerce.  President Bachelet’s remarks

On Monday the U.S. Chamber submitted, via comments, a proposed compromise to the OMB as they are preparing the final rules on how to implement Buy American.  More from the FT:

We get emails. In this one Susan writes: "What do you have to say now that Beijing has ordered 'Buy China'? Anything?"

First some background, courtesy of the FT last week:

The AFL-CIO's blog yesterday took a shot at the U.S. Chamber in a post titled Chamber of Commerce Sides with Foreign Embassies Against Buy American.  "There they go again," goes their lament. "Those running the show at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are attacking again the Buy American provision in the economic stimulus package."

Yesterday the Chamber and its affiliated U.S.-Korea Business Council held a CEO roundtable with Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who visited Washington this week for meetings with President Obama, senior administration officials, and members of Congress. While th

The European Union (EU) and Norway are increasing cooperation to commercialize carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology by handing out upward of 140 million Euros to support European CCS projects and exploring the possibility of storing CO2 in the North Sea.

by Kelly Smith 

Yesterday the Chamber held a press conference to highlight the problems with the Buy American requirements in the Recovery Act. We will continue to get the word out with regard to the problem U.S. companies are having with this requirement and how it is holding up projects from getting started.

Over 222,000 Pennsylvania jobs are linked to manufactured exports, or 8.1% of state employment. However, many people don’t understand the immense benefits in jobs and business activity that trade provides to the state of Pennsylvania. Longshoreman Terry Baker, an employee of the Port of Philadelphia, credits free and fair trade for the creation of well paying jobs across the state of Pennsylvania.

As a new administration begins to unveil new policies and organizational structures, we are finding new opportunities for growth and new appointees for leaderships.  As we still wait for the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation and Administrator for USAID to be named the State Department has recently named Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, Special Representative for Global Partnerships at the US Department of State.  This position is a new post in the State Department and reflects their commitment to work with private sector partners to push forward on an innovative aid agenda. 

We concur wholeheartedly with today's New York Times editorial on the hidden perils of the "Buy American" requirements in the Economic Recovery Act.

From the AP, as noted by Carter Wood:

Mexican truckers have filed a lawsuit against the United States seeking $6 billion in compensation for losses they claim to have suffered since Washington banned them from crossing the border in violation of a trade pact, an attorney said Tuesday.”

This morning, U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas Donohue met with Colombian President Alvarez Uribe at the Presidential Palace in Colombia. It has been two-and-a-half years since the signing of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement in November 2006. The Colombian Congress has long since ratified the agreement, but the U.S. Congress has yet to bring it up for consideration. Supporters in Colombia, a long-time ally of the United States, are understandably frustrated. 

Today Tom Donohue arrived in Colombia where he had a chance to touch base with U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield; make a speech at an event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce of Colombia; and visit with several key Colombian companies as well as American companies that are well established in the country. We will conclude our visit tomorrow with a meeting with President Uribe and members of his administration.

We have just concluded a successful trip to Brasilia, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro where Tom Donohue met with senior government officials and business leaders, including the Minister of Health; the Minister of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade; the Vice Minister of Foreign Relations; the National Confederation of Industries (CNI); the Governor of the State of São Paulo; the Federation of Industries of São Paulo (FIESP); and our affiliated AmChams in São Paulo in Rio.

by Brad Peck

Idaho may be leery of Cap-and-Trade, but on international trade they are very gung-ho.  Here is Governor Otter after a trade mission to Mexico:

The Miami Herald takes a look at the economy:

This week Tom Donohue is in Brasilia, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro to meet with senior government officials and business leaders, including the Minister of Health; the National Confederation of Industries (CNI); the Governor of the State of São Paulo; the Federation of Industries of São Paulo (FIESP); and our affiliated AmChams in São Paulo and Rio.

In celebration of World Trade Month I give you today's trade hero, State Sen. Chip Rogers from Georgia:

The U.S.-U.A.E. Civil Nuclear Agreement is deeply beneficial to American companies because it could generate billions of dollars in contracts, create thousands of jobs, increase trade, and comply with the highest standards of safety.

From an editorial today in the New York Times:

Yesterday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce welcomed the Senate Finance Committee’s hearing on the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement, calling it a critical step in efforts to spur economic growth at home and abroad.  The fact that we don’t already have a trade agreement in place with Panama only puts American workers, farmers, and companies at a disadvantage. It’s time to for Congress to fix that.

Here is a great two minute segment from the Tax Foundation explaining tax deferral:

Market access is very important to agriculture and to our nation's economy in general. Ninety-five percent of the world's population lives outside the United States. Without good trade agreements, that give us free access to the world market place, we cannot prosper in agriculture or any other business that depends so much on exports. - Senator Thad Cochran

Today Leslie Schweitzer kicked off TradeRoots Pennsylvania. The headline event at the Philly Port featured speakers from the AFL-CIO Longshoreman branch, as well as local and state chambers. This is what Terry Baker, ILA member, had to say:

President Obama has proclaimed May 17 - 23, 2009, as World Trade Week.

People who think the world trade agenda is on its last leg need not worry—there are plenty of items to discuss, according to panelists at today's "Next Steps for the American Trade Agenda" conference at Chamber headquarters - webcast here.

Chamber Senior Vice President Myron Brilliant moderated the final panel of the day and quizzed former administration official Mickey Kantor, former Congressman James Bacchus and Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) on the trade agenda for 2009 and beyond.

After speaking with reporters this morning Myron Brilliant had the honor of introducing U.S.

United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk just finished his speech before our trade event today, post coming soon.

Including trade: "CAFTA will open new business opportunities and broaden our scope of product selection," maintains Luis Padilla, president of Mamá Lycha Foods. Based in Houston, Mamá Lycha employs 19 Texas workers who import and distribute food products for the U.S. and Canadian markets, primarily from the Central American region.

"International markets are at the heart of our entire business," says Mamá Lycha's vice president, Maria Padilla. "We would not exist without it and 100% of our workers' jobs depend on trade."

...well some of us were saying so

by Sean Heather
 
Leaving aside the merits of the Intel case, the Chamber's press release on the EU Commission's Intel decision called the huge fine part of troubling pattern in EU competition cases.  The sheer size of the fine begs questions that strike to the heart of procedural fairness and the method in which fines in the EU are calculated. 

Monday’s formal withdrawal of last year’s Section 2 report was just that – formal.  Or to put it another way, it was predictable.  Varney during her confirmation process earlier this year telegraphed the move by essentially praising the work that went into the report, acknowledging it as credible contribution to the debate on single-firm conduct, but also clearly stating she disagreed with its conclusions. 

As the world’s leading exporter it doesn’t make any sense for the U.S. to add fuel to the protectionist fire. At least that was our argument during the debate over the “Buy American” provisions in the stimulus package. A version of those provisions made it in and we are beginning to see the damage:

Is this what the first trade war of the global economic crisis looks like?

Today, the Chamber's Europe & Eurasia team hosted Swedish Ambassador Jonas Hafström for a discussion of the priorities of the Swedish EU Presidency, which begins July 1st, and the implications for transatlantic business relations.

Project HOPE, in close collaboration with China’s Ministry of Health, officially launched the China Rehabilitation Medicine Program in Beijing on Tuesday (post here). This comprehensive three–year program is addressing the need of rehabilitative services for those recovering from injuries suffered during last year’s earthquake.  At t

Without question, USTR Ambassador Ron Kirk's first trip to Geneva was a success. While it was clear he did not come to Geneva to lecture WTO member countries about substance, he won big points for style and charisma. His presence in Geneva was very well received.

Onto the breakout sessions, this one on the opportunities for small businesses in doing business internationally. Moderated by Leslie Schweitzer, Senior Trade Advosor, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the panel discussion and Q&A session highlighted the fact that, while there are challenges in expanding globally, the results can be well worth the effort.

May 12, 2008 will never be forgotten by the Chinese people.

After making the rounds with various WTO country Ambassadors ranging from Brazil, EU, China to WTO officials Monday in Geneva, one theme was constant throughout the day. While Geneva stakeholders understand that the Administration is still undertaking their review of Doha, they all stressed that USTR Ambassador Ron Kirk's first visit to Geneva was significant in itself. People are very happy that he is here to meet firsthand with the Ambassador's who have been working on the Round for several years.

In recent years Ohio has gotten a bad wrap being labeled as "The Rust Belt" as it had traditionally been very heavily involved with the steel industry and other heavy machinery, but the times are changing for Ohio. Research and Development, agricultural research and services are just a few of the industries thriving and growing in the state. Ohio is however, still producing a lot of manufactured goods, and exported over $42 billion of goods in 2007.

by Christopher Wenk

The News-Star in Monroe Louisiana has a good op/ed this morning highlighting the benefits, as we have, of more open relations with Cuba:

In his testimony on the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative ("WHTI") before the House Committee on Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism today Angelo Amador concluded:

"Many of our companies want to enter to global marketplace, but lack either the capacity or the expertise to do so. If we can support their efforts to reach these markets, we can dramatically increase our share of international trade, attract new foreign investment to Pennsylvania, and build upon the tremendous global network already developing in our colleges and universities." -Governor Edward Rendell

In a clip apropos for Trade Month, Bob Wilson from York Wire & Cable, York, Pennsylvania talks about the importance of trade and trade agreements.

Born and raised in Wisconsin, I was surrounded by the ‘spirit of enterprise’ as my family and community worked hard to build and sustain businesses and farms.  It is that spirit in the Badger State that drives the 25 million mostly small businesses that represent the true engine of growth and opportunity in our country. 

Trade agreements and increased exports are vital to U.S. businesses, workers and farmers.  Through expanded trade, the state of Minnesota realizes the gains from open world markets as new opportunities to sell products and services abroad increases.

In 2008, Minnesota’s export shipments of merchandise in totaled $19.2 billion, up over 6% from the previous year.  The Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metropolitan area ranks as the tenth largest export market in the United States.

With trade under attack these days, Utah is staying proactive by promoting its exports and opportunities for investment. In 2007 Utah exported nearly $8 billion of manufactured goods to the world. 85% of those goods were co-incidentally produced by small and medium sized companies. There are in fact nearly 2,300 of those companies operating throughout the state.

Tomorrow I will join House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel and other House leaders today in backing moves to ease restrictions on trade and travel to Cuba while outlining several reasons the Chamber is calling for a complete lifting of the embargo.

In the midst of a severe financial crisis, states like Indiana rely on open markets and the global economy to sustain their economy.  Exports have made the difference between slow growth and a sharp recession for the U.S. economy over the past year.  In fact, Indiana’s export shipments reached over $26 billion in 2008, up 60% in the last five years!  Trade works.  

The global economic slowdown has taken a hit on industry around the world and the state of Michigan has felt the impact. While the auto industry and housing industries are working to regain stability, exports continue to be one of the bright spots in our economy.

Michigan exports $44.8 billion in goods to the world a year and despite the sharp export decline at the end of last year, Michigan exported more in 2008 than 2007. 

As a native from upstate New York, I have been a close part of the changing face of international business and the impacts it has on communities. My whole family has worked for Kodak, Xerox, and Johnson and Johnson at some point in their lives. The varying business models and plans impacted my family dramatically, and in some cases these companies were resistant to change and did not get involved internationally fast enough. In others, they embraced the change, adapted products and re-trained workers to develop different skill sets.

The stage has been set, and the business community is poised for Tennessee to be a major global player. With TN exporting over $22 billion in manufactured goods to the rest of the world in 2007, continuing to find new international customers is part of Tennessee’s business development plan. Governor Bredesen continues to lead trade missions for the Chamber and business community throughout the state to places like China where unlimited business is possible.

As Americans we are resilient, unless ill with the H1N1 flu virus we will go about our normal lives despite what Joe Biden says -- I kid, Mr. Vice-President, thank the President for the shout out -- and continue to fly on planes, take public transportation and eat our BLTs!  Below is some recent news about the H1N1 virus.

To some people, Iowa is just a place in the mid-west, surrounded by a bunch of other states that might be hard to name, and you hear about them from time to time during football season. But I would beg to differ. Not only is Iowa ranked as one of the top 10 business friendly states in the country, it has begun to embrace the global economy in an exciting way.

//All H1N1 update posts

Encourage your Employees to Plan

by Lucy McGovern

With more than 97,000 people now sickened by the cholera epidemic plaguing Zimbabwe, the partnership between UPS and Oxfam, an international relief and development organization, to deliver portable water filters couldn’t have come at a better time.  As part of its effort to slow the spread of the deadly, waterborne disease, Oxfam purchased 450 of the filters, and in early April UPS shipped them to the southern African country for free!

The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council has just published a paper by Professor Michael O. Moore, Director of the Elliott School's Institute for International Economic Policy, entitled, "The U.S.-U.A.E. Trade and Investment Relationship: 2009 Update." The research chronicles the growing importance of this economic relationship in the commercial heart of the Middle East.

Looking into the future to determine what challenges the U.S.-E.U. relationship will face, Tom Donohue today sat down with a delegation of European chamber executives to discuss shared challenges and concerns.  In their conversation it was clear that the concerns we share are far more similar than different, and that the solutions to our challenges will have to be reached through dialogue and consensus.  Among the challenges discussed, the group noted taxation, protectionism, isolationism, demographic change, and the future of international capital markets.

by Ann Beauchesne

//All H1N1 update posts

Border Restrictions: Not an Effective Means of Preventing the Spread of Swine Flu

//All H1N1 update posts

As the H1N1 virus continues to cause harm and concern here are the quick four tips from the CDC to stay healthy:

by JP Fielder
 

Later today Adrean Rothkopf, Vice President for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the Chamber, will be testifying before the Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection on Examining the Status of U.S. Trade with Cuba and its Impact on Economic Growth.

Collective action is the next-generation way for business to achieve real impact against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.  It can help you get visibility of grand proportions for your CSR efforts.  And it can help you to attract new co-financing partners that will improve your ROI.  By sharing costs, and blending the competencies and resources of multiple companies, multilaterals, governments and community organizations into a single, coordinated effort, we can save the lives of more people and more communities.

This afternoon, the Chamber's Europe & Eurasia team hosted Mehmet Simsek, State Minister in Charge of the Economy for Turkey. This proved to be a great opportunity for our members and us to learn more about recent developments in the Turkish economy, the role Turkey is playing in the region more broadly, and U.S.-Turkish relations in general.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking at NAFTA, SYMBOL AND SYSTEM: A Look at NAFTA, the U.S. Trade Debate, and The Future of the North American Economy, a Global Business Dialogue  event.  It was a crowd who truly understood that the relationship between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico is of critical importance to each of our countries.

Today's Washington Post has an editorial ringing the alarm about "small signs of protectionism … popping up around the globe."

Yesterday, the Chamber's Europe & Eurasia team had the pleasure of hosting a luncheon for Mary Coughlan, T.D., Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment of Ireland. The purpose of the luncheon was to learn more about Ireland's role in the global economy, discuss transatlantic issues in general, and promote economic relations between our two countries.

For years, labor leaders and activists calling for major changes in U.S. trade policy have fingered the trade deficit as the culprit behind job losses, particularly in the U.S. manufacturing sector.

President Barack Obama will visit Mexico on April 16-17, on his way to the Fifth Summit of the Americas.  Topping the agenda will be the security situation and President Calderón’s efforts to fight lawlessness and corruption spurred by the drug trade. While our two countries have already taken important steps together to develop a comprehensive bilateral approach that limits the reach of organized crime, cooperation can still be improved.

On April 17-19, 2009 the 34 democratically elected leaders of the hemisphere will come together at the fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago to try to address the many challenges facing the region.

Two significant recent events—the G-20 leaders’ summit on April 2 and North Korea’s launch of a long-range missile on April 5—have brought into focus the importance of the U.S.-Korea partnership in maintaining regional security and promoting economic prosperity.

Trade agreements and increased exports are vital to U.S. businesses, workers and farmers, as 96 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States. In this economy it is more important than ever to open world markets for America's businesses to sell products and services abroad. The mission of the U.S.

The U.S. trade deficit shrank 28% in February, narrowing to its smallest in more than nine years, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Commerce Department reported today that U.S. exports climbed in February by 1.6% from the previous month, reaching $127 billion. Imports fell by 5.1%. A sharp global recession is restraining demand for U.S. goods and services in key overseas markets.

The powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck Italy’s Abruzzo region east of Rome yesterday has left at least 179 people dead, 1,500 injured, and thousands homeless. Rescue operations continue today and the death toll is expected to mount.

• G-20 Leaders Pledge Action; Financial Stability Board to Replace FSF - I love the word communique
• Remainders: G-20 - Ben Smith's reading list
• Figuring Your Federal Income Tax Circa 1913

As world leaders officially launched the G20 summit this morning, the head of the IMF warned they must act more decisively to clean up the toxic assets poisoning the global banking system or they risk prolonging the worst global recession in generations.

While the President is facing a big test in Europe from various international leaders about how to jumpstart the global economy, the "major" takeaways from the G-20 summit could be lesser, arcane diplomatic agreements. While much has been discussed about agreements on international banking regulations and tax-haven sanctions, restarting strategic arms-control-reduction talks and funding the IMF will likely be the headlines when the event wraps tomorrow.

The U.S. relationship with Cuba is about to begin a long-overdue thaw. With Fidel Castro now on the sidelines and his elderly brother likely assuming the leadership for only a brief period, the Obama Administration and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are beginning to show signs that they are willing, gradually, to embrace changes in U.S. policy.   And with some luck, that might one day lead to undoing a 50-year old policy that will almost certainly be remembered as one of the least effective in American history.

As representatives from the world’s leading economies gather for the G20 Summit on April 2, it’s worth remembering the last time London hosted a summit with the aim of reviving a slumping global economy and collapsing trade flows. As the BBC reminds us, "In June 1933, delegates from 66 countries gathered in London to try and agree plans to revive the world economy in the midst of the Great Depression."

The cover of today’s Washington Post looks at the renewed momentum in Washington for reexamining the severe limitations on economic exchanges between the U.S. and Cuba.  The article mentions the Chamber’s efforts to loosen the travel restrictions, which Obama is expected to do by the time he goes to the Summit of the Americas in mid-April.  Here is our letter to Congress supporting H.R.

The President will spend his week juggling plans to address the domestic auto crisis and global financial meltdown. Things started off with a bang yesterday when administration used the threat of withholding more bailout money to force out GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner and offered some harsh medicine for Chrysler. In addition to pushing out Wagoner, the President’s Auto Task Force is in the process of replacing the majority of GM’s directors.

In the past two weeks, I have described examples of the private sector, in partnership with public and nonprofit sectors, working together to address challenges in global development.

Earlier this week Liz Reilly posted on her testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. In it she urged for expanding initiatives that help small businesses tap overseas customers. Here is a very quick clip explaining why. Her complete testimony can be read here.

Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk was confirmed by the Senate today to be the 16th United States Trade Representative.  There was no drama — his supporters won the vote by the lopsided margin of 92 to five.  As Chamber President Tom Donohue said when his nomination was announced in December:

In my post last week, I gave just a few examples on how partnerships with private corporations have been key to achieving

In preparation for the G20 summit in the UK on April 2, G20 finance gurus (Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors) met in Horsham, England on March 14th.  With the world economy in crisis, dramatic cuts in exports by China, Japan and Germany and a massive loss of job opportunities in the West, the need for a dramatic stimulus to world demand is the center-piece at the talks.

The AIG bonuses story continues to have legs in the media, with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announcing yesterday that AIG paid bonuses of $1 million or more to 73 employees, including 11 who no longer work for the company. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats were preparing legislation that would levy up to a 91% excise tax on those bonuses.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, also known as MDR-TB, is a form of tuberculosis (TB) that develops as a result of resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid, the two strongest treatments for TB.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated half a million new cases of MDR-TB are diagnosed every year, and in 2008 the rate of MDR-TB was the highest ever recorded. 

Today I had the pleasure of speaking on small businesses and trade before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. Investing in the export potential of America’s small and medium-sized businesses could bring dramatic gains and stimulate the economy. The overwhelming majority of Americans derive great benefits from trade; if more U.S. small businesses were able to seize export opportunities, the gains could be immense.

The magnitude of the efforts required to return to economic growth has focused the minds of policy-makers.

As President Obama prepares to meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tomorrow in Washington, the Brazil-U.S. Business Council is urging the two leaders --as reflected in this coalition letter to President Obama-- to commit to strengthening the trade and investment relationship by concluding a bilateral tax treaty (BTT).

by Taryn Bird

In a meeting held on March 11th in Washington, DC, acting CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Rodney Bent, discussed the MCC agenda for FY 2009 and the longer-term role the agency has in the Obama Administration.

In April, members of the U.S.

10 Mar 2009 - The IEA welcomed senior executives from over 25 energy companies and a number of industry associations to the first meeting of the IEA Energy Business Council (EBC). The purpose of the gathering was to create a forum for representatives from business to participate in and contribute to discussions of current energy-related challenges. (International Energy Agency)

In a speech to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce today, President Obama will lay out his "cradle to career" plan for education, which will include: extending a merit pay program for teachers to an additional 150 school districts; new incentives for states to boost quality in their preschool programs; higher standards for student achievement; a reduction in the high school drop-out rate; more financial aid for college students; and a call for more parental responsibility.

While the Senate has yet to confirm his nominees for U.S. Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce, President Obama faced a statutory obligation to issue his 2009 "Trade Policy Agenda" this month, and he has done so.  This roadmap makes it clear the administration intends to advance a strong and positive trade agenda despite the economic crisis.

As part of the National Chamber Foundation's Leadership Series Scott Davis, Chairman and CEO of UPS, spoke yesterday and had some good words on trade:

At our TradeRoots event Monday in New York we caught up with Congressman Gregory Meeks who talked about the importance of trade with Colombia:

Every minute $2 million dollars is lost by American businesses as we wait for Congress to act on a free trade agreement with Colombia.  Despite promises to stimulate the economy, U.S. workers and employers are being denied lucrative opportunities in Colombia, Panama, and South Korea due to inaction on the trade agenda.