Press Releases and Statements Archives - Page 46 of 107

NFTC Welcomes Launch of Environmental Goods Trade Negotiations

Posted on January 24, 2014October 7, 2022 by dcadmin

Washington, DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) welcomed today’s announcement that the United States and other World Trade Organization (WTO) members will launch negotiations for a plurilateral agreement to eliminate tariffs on environmental goods. NFTC Vice President for Global Trade Issues Jake Colvin released the following statement.

“We congratulate U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and his team and the other negotiating countries for embarking on this initiative to eliminate tariffs on environmental goods. The launch of these negotiations is not only a significant step toward addressing climate change, but is also important for building on the momentum generated by the recent Bali agreement to advance future trade negotiations under the umbrella of the WTO.

“With this agreement, we have a great opportunity to set a standard for ways trade policy can address pressing global challenges, including the environment.

“The NFTC has long been a supporter of trade liberalization for environmental goods at the WTO and APEC, and we look forward to working with negotiators to achieve an expeditious and ambitious outcome that includes a critical mass of trade of key environmental goods.”

About the NFTC
Serving America’s International Businesses Since 1914.- The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules- based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.

NFTC Welcomes Introduction of TPA Legislation

Posted on January 9, 2014 by dcadmin

Washington DC – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President Bill Reinsch today released the following statement on the introduction of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp.

“Trade Promotion Authority is a necessary tool to negotiate and implement trade agreements that support U.S. economic and export growth and job creation. We commend Sens. Baucus and Hatch and Rep. Camp for remaining steadfast in their commitment to advancing TPA legislation.

“Congress hasn’t had a substantive debate on trade in more than a decade, and TPA allows Congress to execute its constitutional authority to shape the U.S. trade agenda and set negotiating objectives.

“With a series of U.S. trade negotiations currently in progress – the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Trade in Services Agreement – we urge Congress to pass TPA as soon as possible to maximize the benefits of these and future trade deals.

“The NFTC will comment in greater detail on the bill that has been introduced once it has had an opportunity to review the text.”

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About the NFTC
Advancing Global Commerce for A Century- The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules- based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.

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USA*Engage and NFTC Statement on Introduction of New Iran Sanctions Legislation

Posted on December 19, 2013 by dcadmin

Washington, DC – USA*Engage and the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today released the following statement on the introduction of new Iran sanctions legislation.

“USA*Engage and the National Foreign Trade Council urge senators to oppose legislation introduced today by Senators Robert Menendez and Mark Kirk, and instead support the Administration’s effort to negotiate a comprehensive agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran to limit Iran’s nuclear development to peaceful uses under the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty.

“The interim agreement, in fact, gives the P5+1 and their Iranian counterparts diplomatic space and time for the effort. It also retains intact the unprecedented multilateral sanctions regime directed at Iran’s economy. The indubitably modest sanctions relief will be implemented only upon verification that Iran stops the activities enumerated in the interim agreement.

“Given the minimal risk and the possibility of real success, we dispute the argument that Congressional passage of further prospective sanctions now will add leverage against Iran in the negotiations. On the contrary, such an action would violate the stipulation that no new sanctions be enacted during the course of the negotiations. It strains credulity to assert that passing prospective sanctions now will increase the prospects for a successful negotiation, still less legislating any sine qua non standard for an agreement.

“The Senate will retain the ability to pass further sanctions expeditiously down the road if the current diplomatic effort fails. Exercising appropriate restraint in the present will insure that the United States, the members of the European Union and the other countries that have allied to limit Iran’s nuclear program to verifiable peaceful uses remain united in the effort.”

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About USA*Engage
USA*Engage (www.usaengage.org) is a coalition of small and large businesses, agriculture groups and trade associations working to seek alternatives to the proliferation of unilateral U.S. foreign policy sanctions and to promote the benefits of U.S. engagement abroad. Established in 1997 and organized under the National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org), USA*Engage leads a campaign to inform policymakers, opinion leaders, and the public about the counterproductive nature of unilateral sanctions, the importance of exports and overseas investment for American competitiveness and jobs, and the role of American companies in promoting human rights and democracy world wide.

NFTC Releases Cheat Sheet to the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement

Posted on December 13, 2013 by dcadmin

Washington DC – Today, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) released a cheat sheet on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement reached in Bali, Indonesia, on December 7, 2013. The guide outlines the agreement’s scope, implementation, potential impact, business community support and history.

Click here to read the cheat sheet.

Click here to read the NFTC’s statement on the outcome of the WTO’s Ninth Ministerial Conference.

NFTC Statement on Singapore Round of TPP Negotiations

Posted on December 10, 2013 by dcadmin

Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today released the following comments on the statement released by the Ministers and Heads of Delegation for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries.

“With the conclusion of negotiations in sight, the NFTC calls on negotiators from the 12 countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership to redouble their efforts to conclude a comprehensive high-standard agreement. This agreement – a historic undertaking – has the potential to stimulate jobs and economic progress in a vast free trade area comprising of almost half a billion people and close to 15 percent of global trade.

“At this critical juncture, NFTC and its members ask all parties to demonstrate leadership in opening markets, refrain from taking defensive positions and to increase ambition rather than seek to limit the scope of commitment.

“We commend Ambassador Froman and the U.S. negotiators for their tireless efforts in advancing this ambitious agreement and for recognizing its importance to the U.S. economy and American businesses and workers.”

NFTC Welcomes Introduction of Digital Trade Act of 2013

Posted on December 10, 2013 by dcadmin

Washington, DC – Bill Reinsch, President of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), issued the following statement in response to the introduction of the Digital Trade Act of 2013 by Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Ron Wyden (D-OR):

“NFTC applauds Senators Thune and Wyden for their leadership in emphasizing the importance of global access to Internet-enabled services and digital information. The kinds of provisions detailed in this bill would serve as an important complement to the recently concluded WTO trade facilitation agreement, giving a boost to the ability of entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes and across industries to participate in the global marketplace.

“Global flows of information and Internet-powered services promote more inclusive growth around the world, increasingly enabling anyone with an Internet connection to tap into trade; yet barriers are beginning to surface that would inhibit this gateway to the global economy. It is important to examine how best to address emerging cases of digital protectionism as this bill seeks to do.

“It is also important to recognize that the kinds of provisions contemplated in this legislation would build upon a series of international obligations relevant to the digital economy to which countries are already bound.

“We look forward to working with the Senate Finance Committee and others to advance these provisions in appropriate bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral forums – noting that not all of these provisions will be pursued through traditional trade channels. We also look forward to emphasizing the importance of a number of these principles – most urgently, preventing barriers to the movement of electronic information across borders and prohibiting measures that condition market access or other commercial benefits on localization of data, infrastructure, or investment – in legislation to grant the President Trade Promotion Authority.”

NFTC included suggestions for provisions on the global digital economy in its draft “Trade Negotiating Authority” legislation, which the Council released earlier this year and joined other business associations and companies in supporting a similarly-aligned set of “principles to promote cross-border data flows” in 2011.

NFTC Statement on Bali Ministerial Outcome

Posted on December 6, 2013 by dcadmin

Washington, D.C. –From Bali, NFTC Vice President for Global Trade Issues Jake Colvin released the following statement in response to the agreement that was reached at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Ninth Ministerial Conference:

“This deal is good news for the global trading system.

“The Bali package is significant, particularly given the promise of trade facilitation to improve access to the global marketplace for small businesses, create jobs, and spur more inclusive growth in the United States and around the world.

“It is also a welcome signal, after more than a decade of frustration, that the WTO can serve as a negotiating forum among its broad membership.

“Yet Bali also illustrated the challenges of negotiating an agreement that requires sign off from the WTO’s diverse membership, and the dynamics that made a deal so elusive in the run-up to Bali won’t change dramatically in its wake.

“To build on the success of Bali, it will be critical to find creative ways of modernizing trade rules under or near the WTO umbrella to address a very different world than the one that existed the last time a comprehensive work program was laid out more than a decade ago.

“Companies are multilateralists at heart, and hope the WTO can continue to deliver.

“A variety of delegations deserve credit for the outcome, and for emphasizing that this deal enjoyed strong and deep support from developed and developing countries. NFTC would especially like to congratulate U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Michael Punke and their colleagues for their tireless and innovative efforts to support the global trading system.”

USA*Engage and NFTC Statement on Interim Agreement with Iran

Posted on November 25, 2013 by dcadmin

Washington, DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) and USA*Engage released the following statement on the interim agreement negotiated between the P5+1 and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“USA*Engage and the NFTC support the interim agreement negotiated between the P5+1 and the Islamic Republic of Iran in Geneva. As the text makes clear, it is essentially an agreement to negotiate under the discipline that nothing is decided until everything is decided. As the interim agreement also specifies, the veritable financial blockade of Iran’s economy remains structurally intact,” said Bill Reinsch, President of the NFTC. “We urge Members of Congress to permit the Administration the means to pursue a comprehensive solution with Iran.”

“USA*Engage notes the targeted, contingent nature of sanctions relief contained in the interim agreement. In particular, we welcome the explicit commitment to establish a financial channel for fully lawful humanitarian trade in food, agricultural products, medicine and medical devices, as well as medical expenses incurred abroad. We trust the U.S. Treasury will implement this measure unambiguously and with dispatch. We note that all Congressionally legislated sanctions have included exceptions for such trade as settled U.S. policy,” said Richard Sawaya, Director of USA*Engage.

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NFTC Statement on Chairman Baucus’ International Tax Reform Proposals

Posted on November 20, 2013 by dcadmin

Washington, D.C. – In response to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus’ international tax reform staff discussion draft, National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Vice President for Tax Policy Cathy Schultz released the following statement:

“To maximize the global competitiveness of American companies and to attract increased inbound investment, the U.S. international tax system must be reformed. The NFTC welcomes the opportunity to continue the discussion on how best to advance pro-growth, pro-jobs reform. Unfortunately, the discussion draft released by Chairman Baucus appears to move us in the opposite direction by proposing to penalize multinational companies and making it more difficult for them to compete globally.

“We are disappointed in the draft and look forward to a robust discussion with the Senate Finance Committee as the tax reform process continues.”

The NFTC has long advocated reforming U.S. international and corporate tax policies, and is a leading member of the business community’s Promote America’s Competitive Edge (PACE) Coalition.

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About the NFTC
Advancing Global Commerce for Nearly A Century- The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules- based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.

New Congressional TPP Caucus ‘Comes At Just the Right Time,’ Says Reinsch

Posted on October 29, 2013 by dcadmin

Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today applauded the launch of the bipartisan Friends of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Caucus and commended Reps. Charles Boustany (R-LA), Ron Kind (D-WI), Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and Dave Reichert (R-WA) for their leadership on the Caucus.

NFTC President Bill Reinsch released the following statement:

“With the TPP negotiators working diligently to conclude the talks in the near term, the launch of the Friends of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Caucus comes at just the right time. This agreement has the potential to be a historic, landmark agreement for the United States and our trading partners in the Asia-Pacific region. By significantly increasing U.S. economic engagement with the 11 other countries and expanding market access for U.S. businesses and workers, the agreement will promote growth and support job creation. We need Congressional champions on the Hill to help advance this ambitious agreement, and we commend Reps. Boustany, Kind, Meeks and Reichert for their leadership and recognizing the importance of TPP to the U.S. economy.”