Press Releases and Statements Archives - Page 61 of 107

NFTC Submits Comments on DOT Proposal to Resolve U.S.-Mexico Cross-Border Trucking Issue

Posted on May 4, 2011 by dcadmin

Washington, DC – In response to a request by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today submitted comments in support of DOT’s proposal to initiate a “Pilot Program on NAFTA Long-Haul Trucking Provisions.” The NFTC believes that the proposal is a crucial step toward finally resolving the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking dispute.

In the comments submitted today, NFTC President Bill Reinsch wrote:

“The pilot program represents a critical step toward meeting the long-standing U.S. commitment to allow cross-border delivery of international cargo by Mexican-domiciled carriers from Mexico into the United States, access that is already provided to Canadian carriers. As a signatory of NAFTA, the United States is bound by the agreement’s articles which explicitly forbid the United States from favoring Canadian or domestic carriers over Mexican carriers…U.S. compliance with the agreement will help to restore trust in America’s international commitments. It will also help American farmers compete in the Mexican market. Mexico and the United States have agreed that upon the signing of an agreement on the Department of Transportation’s proposal, 50% of the retaliatory tariffs currently in place will be suspended. The remaining 50% of the added tariffs are to be suspended when the first Mexican carrier is authorized to operateunder the pilot program.

“We commend the effort of the Department to end this long-standing dispute with Mexico and empowerU.S. workers and farmers to become more globally competitive, including in the critical Mexico market. However, it is critical that this pilot lead quickly to a permanent solution to fully comply with U.S. NAFTA services commitments related to cross border long haul trucking. Doing so will restore the jobs lost by America’s farmers, workers and businesses as a result of this dispute, increase U.S. exports and enhance America’s position in a rules based global trading system.”

Click here to read the full text of the comments.

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About 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.
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U.S. Business Community Urges Congress and the Administration to Extend Trade Adjustment Assistance Program

Posted on May 3, 2011 by dcadmin

Washington, DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), in its role as a founding member of the Trade and American Competitiveness Coalition, and 17 other leading business associations sent a letter to President Obama and Congressional leadership, urging support for an extension of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, which expired February 12, 2011.

The groups wrote:

“The Trade and American Competitiveness Coalition brings together U.S. business and agriculture enterprises who support domestic and international policies that will enhance U.S. competitiveness to promote economic growth and new jobs and prosperity for America’s workers, farmers, consumers, communities and businesses. The Coalition reaffirms American business’ long standing support for TAA as a central part of America’s overall trade agenda.

“TAA is as vitally important today as it has been over the years. It helps American businesses get into exporting and is designed to give displaced workers the new skills and resources they need to re-enter the 21st century job market. Accordingly, in addition to moving on the pending trade agreements and trade preferences, we urge Congress and the Administration to find a way forward to ensure that the United States has in place an effective TAA program to support U.S. global economic engagement.”

“An effective TAA program for the 21st century is essential to ensuring that U.S. workers impacted by trade have access to health care, job retraining and the skills necessary to re-enter the workforce. The program is an essential element of our trade policy and helps to promote U.S. competitiveness and prosperity,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “We urge the Administration and Congress to make the U.S. trade agenda a priority and work together to renew TAA and other critical preference programs for eligible countries, as well as ratify the pending free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama, as soon as possible.”

To read the full text of the letter, please click here.

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Business Groups Joint Statement on the Status of the Doha Round

Posted on May 2, 2011 by dcadmin

Washington DC – The organizations listed below released the following statement today on the lack of progress in the Doha Round:

“We deeply regret that the WTO Doha Development Agenda trade round has not yet been able to achieve its intended objective of promoting world economic growth by expanding trade.

Since 2001, the United States and the U.S. manufacturing, services, and agriculture communities have been steadfast in their support for the Doha Round and of efforts by U.S. and other negotiators to try to break the negotiating deadlock by offering constructive alternatives in each negotiating area. We continue to seek an outcome that would open markets around the world, produce new trade flows, grow our economies and sustain and create jobs. But an agreement will not be possible unless all major economies make meaningful contributions.

A trade round is about opening markets and setting the rules for world trade for decades so it must address the reality that all major developed and advanced developing WTO Members that have benefitted from past rounds enormously have a responsibility to the world trading system to undertake significant market opening measures. It is clear that this is not happening.

We believe that what is currently on the table in Geneva lacks balance and ambition. According to the participants in the negotiations, the gaps in services, agriculture and manufactured goods appear to be unbridgeable under current circumstances. Real change in the substantive direction of the negotiations is the way the Round will produce meaningful results, an objective we continue to strongly support.

We continue to maintain strong confidence in the WTO as an institution, its system of rules, and its role as a bulwark for open trade and against protectionism as proven by the recent financial crisis. We encourage the United States and all WTO Members to devote their energy to finding a productive, trade-expanding direction for the Doha Round and the multilateral trading system. We remain ready to contribute our ideas to such an effort.”

American Farm Bureau Federation
Business Roundtable
Coalition of Service Industries
Emergency Committee for American Trade
National Association of Manufacturers
National Foreign Trade Council
United States Chamber of Commerce

NFTC Welcomes Administration’s Announcement on Panama FTA

Posted on April 18, 2011 by dcadmin

Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today welcomed U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk’s announcement that the Panamanian government has fulfilled all steps necessary for the Administration to submit the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement to Congress for approval.

“We commend the Administration for working together with the Panamanian government to outline a pathway for approval of the agreement. In the same vein, we applaud Panama for fulfilling its commitments and taking quick action to ensure no further delay in consideration of the trade pact,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “The Panamanian parliament’s approval last week of the bilateral Tax Information Exchange Agreement, coupled with recent reforms in the nation’s labor laws, helped to pave the way for today’s announcement.”

“The trade agreement will help expand and cement our already strong economic ties with Panama, and stands to boost U.S. exports to the benefit of American workers and industry – from large worldwide American companies to small- and medium-sized businesses and our nation’s farmers and ranchers.”

“Panama is an important export market for the United States, and our proximity to the Canal makes Panama not only a destination for U.S. goods and services, but a vital link to other markets in the hemisphere,” said NFTC Vice President for Regional Trade Issues Chuck Dittrich. “With the FTA in place, our equipment manufacturers and logistics companies, among others, will also have a competitive advantage in selling their products and services to Panama as the nation enters the next phases of the Canal expansion project slated for completion in 2014.”

“Great progress has been made on the Panama and Colombia FTAs in the past few weeks, and we applaud the Administration for ramping up outreach to the respective governments to resolve outstanding issues on both trade pacts. We urge the Administration to submit to Congress implementing legislation for all three pending trade agreements as soon as possible to ensure their approval before the July 4 recess.”

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About 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.
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NFTC Welcomes Administration’s Announcement on U.S.-Colombia FTA

Posted on April 6, 2011 by dcadmin

Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today welcomed the Obama Administration’s announcement on the resolution of labor-related issues standing in the way of approval of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The “Action Plan Related to Labor Rights,” which was agreed upon by both governments, will pave the way for Congressional consideration of the FTA in the coming months.

“We applaud U.S. and Colombian negotiators for working together to resolve these outstanding issues over the past many weeks. This agreement was inked more than four years ago, and we welcome today’s announcement of a clear path and timeline toward approval,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “Colombia has long been a vitally important strategic ally in the region and a key export market for U.S. companies and agricultural producers. Implementation of the Colombia FTA will further strengthen our longstanding bilateral economic ties and help to promote export growth and job creation.”

“Colombia is a crucial market for U.S. goods and services, and today’s announcement brings us one step closer to ensuring that the United States will remain competitive there,” said NFTC Vice President for Regional Trade Initiatives Chuck Dittrich. “With other countries, namely Canada, working to implement agreements with Colombia over the next few months, we are encouraged that the Administration has taken the necessary steps to move the FTA forward as soon as possible this year. Achieving today’s milestone is a significant accomplishment for both nations and symbolizes the importance of our economic and diplomatic relationship.”

“As the Administration works with the Colombian Government to achieve the goals laid out in the Action Plan, and to submit the implementing legislation in the coming months, we look forward to working with Congress to ratify the FTA as soon as possible,” Reinsch concluded.

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NFTC Deplores Impasse in the Doha Round Negotiations

Posted on March 28, 2011 by dcadmin

Washington DC – In light of recent developments in the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today released the following statement:

“While the World Trade Organization (WTO) performed a major service for the global economy by preventing backsliding during the deepest economic recession in modern times, attempts to further expand trade have been stalled for nearly a decade. Last week, several key delegations, particularly from emerging economic powers, dug in even deeper in positions that will prevent the conclusion of a deal.

“The Doha Round was initiated shortly after 9/11, amid hope that new trade flows could further stimulate worldwide economic growth. Economic summits of heads of state have since that time repeatedly called for making this giant multilateral trade negotiation a success. At the beginning of this year there was a new sense of optimism among negotiators in Geneva. That sense of sense of optimism is now quickly fading away.

“Unless there is personal engagement from heads of state in capitals around the world, it is unlikely that the Round will progress toward the successful and ambitious conclusion the U.S. business community advocates and which would kick-start the global economy.

“After nearly a decade of talks, it is past time for world leaders to get personally involved and work together to deliver the political will to reach a strong positive result on the tough issues that are stalling the negotiations. If political leaders cannot make progress towards an agreement, alternative approaches to trade liberalization outside of the WTO are likely to accelerate, which have the potential to weaken the multilateral trading system. A continued impasse would also call into question the viability of the Doha Round as it currently stands.”

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About 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.
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USA*Engage Welcomes U.N. Security Council Resolution Aimed at Protecting Libyan Citizens

Posted on March 18, 2011 by dcadmin

Washington DC – USA*Engage today welcomed a resolution adopted late yesterday by the United Nations Security Council, authorizing member states to take “all necessary measures” to protect the people of Libya from the Qadhafi regime. The association released the following statement.

“For a month now, the Qadhafi regime has used extreme force, violence and fear to repress Libyan civilians who have risen in opposition to what has been the status quo for more than four decades. We applaud the UN Security Council for approving a resolution that will allow member states to use all tools at their disposal to protect the Libyan people.

“The resolution is a bold statement from world leaders demonstrating that the community of nations are united in their horror and disgust with the regime’s repressive tactics. It should also send a powerful message to Colonel Qadhafi that the international community will do everything in its power, including the use of force, if necessary, to protect Libyan civilians.

“We believe that this multilateral response to the situation in Libya will have the most meaningful impact on the Qadhafi regime and help the people of Libya.”

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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 policy-makers, 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 Says the Time is Now for Action on All Components of the U.S. Trade Agenda

Posted on March 9, 2011 by dcadmin

Washington DC – In response to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk’s remarks on the U.S. trade agenda before the Senate Finance Committee this morning, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) released the following statement.

“We are encouraged by Ambassador Kirk’s remarks regarding ongoing discussions between the U.S., Colombian and Panamanian governments to resolve issues standing in the way of approval of both pending trade deals. At the same time, however, we urge the Administration to move as quickly as possible to prevent the further erosion of U.S. market share,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “We are pleased that Ambassador Kirk on Monday announced his intention to submit the Korea agreement to Congress for consideration and approval shortly. We also echo the call made by several members of the committee today for the Administration to move past the verbal commitment to advance the Colombia and Panama agreements, and set an aggressive timeline to get them done as soon as possible this year. It’s past time to move forward. Action is needed now.”

“We are hopeful that there is truly a very intensive effort under way to engage with the Colombian and Panamanian governments to ready these trade agreements as soon as possible this year,” said NFTC Vice President for Regional Trade Initiatives Chuck Dittrich. “Both markets are critical to our goal to double exports and support job creation, and we do our exporters and their employees no favors by allowing these agreements to languish any further.”

“We applaud Ambassador Kirk for calling for the restoration of three key trade preference programs – the Generalized System of Preferences, the Andean Trade Preference Act and the Trade Adjustment Assistance program. All three are essential elements of our trade policy, and we urge Congress to approve legislation extending each of them, on their own merits, as soon as possible,” said Dittrich.

“With respect to the Doha Round, there is substantive dialogue taking place in Geneva among negotiators, and we sense a heightened level of engagement by all partners. We believe that this is the year for action toward a successful and ambitious outcome to the Round, but it will be critical for the United States to play a key leadership role to advance the talks further,” said NFTC Vice President for Global Trade Issues Jake Colvin.

About 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.
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NFTC Welcomes Resolution of U.S.-Mexico Cross-Border Trucking Dispute

Posted on March 3, 2011 by dcadmin

Washington, DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today welcomed President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s announcement of a path forward to resolve the longstanding bilateral dispute on the cross-border trucking issue.

“We applaud today’s announcement and both governments for working together to reach a mutually agreed upon solution,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “Not only was the stalemate on cross-border trucking a thorn in the side of our relationship with Mexico, the retaliatory tariffs put in place by the Mexican government because of our failure to abide by our NAFTA obligations have resulted in billions of dollars in lost trade for American exporters.”

“Mexico is one of the United States’ top five trading partners, and our commercial relationship is critical to increasing U.S. economic growth and exports, and supporting jobs through trade,” said NFTC Vice President for Regional Trade Initiatives Chuck Dittrich. “Given the importance of the Mexican market to our companies and agricultural exporters, we are very pleased that the two governments were able to reach an agreed path forward that will both allow the United States to fulfill our trading obligations and that will phase out the Mexican tariffs that have put a stranglehold on bilateral trade.”

NFTC Welcomes New Chairman Ambassador Alan Wolff

Posted on March 1, 2011October 7, 2022 by dcadmin

Washington, DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today announced the appointment of its new Chairman – Ambassador Alan Wolff, Co-Chair of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s International Trade Practice Group. Wolff assumes the position effective today, March 1, 2011.

“For many years, we have been honored to work with Alan in his capacity as a member of the NFTC Board. On countless occasions Alan’s trade expertise and counsel have helped to guide our work in several areas, from the promotion of bilateral and multilateral trade initiatives to shedding light on tariff and non-tariff trade barriers around the world to understanding how the trading system is changing,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “Alan’s contributions to the NFTC and our member companies have been invaluable, and he will continue to provide thoughtful leadership in his new role as Chairman.”

Prior to heading up Dewey & LeBoeuf’s international trade practice, from 1991 through September 2007, Wolff served as managing partner of Dewey Ballentine’s Washington, DC office, prior to the firm’s merger with LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae. Wolff’s extensive experience in international trade relations includes serving as U.S. Deputy Special Representative for Trade Negotiations in the Carter Administration between 1977-1979. In that position he held the rank of ambassador and played a key role in several U.S. international trade negotiations. He also served as General Counsel of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative during the Nixon and Ford Administrations, and prior to that provided counsel on international monetary, trade and development policy issues at the Treasury Department.

“There could not be a better time than the present for expanding trade with major benefits for America. Not only are the free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama pending approval by the Congress, but near-term progress is surely to be made this year on a Trans-Pacific Partnership, embracing many of America’s long time and closest trading partners as well as Vietnam and potentially Japan,” said Wolff. “WTO accession of Russia is also a real possibility. It has been well over a decade since the United States successfully led major trade initiatives and 2011 marks a new beginning. The Council will be taking a strong role in all of these great enterprises.”