Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today welcomed the President’s State of the Union remarks on the importance of expanding trade relations with key nations, enhancing American innovation and enacting tax reform. The NFTC released the following statement:
“We commend the President for restating his continued commitment to boosting U.S. export growth through the National Export Initiative, and expanding global market access for U.S. goods and services through trade. We also welcome the President’s call for Congress to approve the KORUS FTA as soon as possible, and we were encouraged by the his remarks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement negotiations and the Colombia and Panama free trade agreements,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch.
“Regarding the Colombia and Panama agreements, we urge the President to turn his words of commitment into action by instructing his Administration to work vigorously and hand in hand with the Colombian and Panamanian governments to make those trade pacts a reality in the short term,” said NFTC Vice President for Regional Trade Issues Chuck Dittrich.
“We welcome President Obama’s focus on innovation, and he put his finger on some of the most important problems facing U.S. entrepreneurs and innovators. In order for America to remain an innovation leader, the Administration and Congress must reform immigration and visa policies to facilitate global mobility, ensure effective protection of American ideas in foreign markets, improve incentives for American students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math and drive innovative U.S. exports,” said NFTC Vice President for Global Trade Issues Jake Colvin. “We look forward to working to help address them through smart public policy.”
“We are pleased that the President pointed out that American worldwide companies face one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. That is far from a level playing field when we look at our competitors across the globe,” said NFTC Vice President for Tax Policy Cathy Schultz. “With the economy still in recovery, it is important that we stimulate U.S. competitiveness and job creation by enacting policies that will ensure U.S. multinational companies are able to compete globally. In that spirit, we urge the Administration and Congress and refrain from pursuing policies that unfairly saddle companies with what amount to tax hikes. Such policies will only hamper the ability of companies to create jobs and compete worldwide.”
“Overall, we were encouraged by the sense of bipartisanship in the President’s remarks and in the chamber itself. We hope that sentiment permeates what are likely to be contentious debates on all of these key issues affecting the American economy,” Reinsch concluded.
About NFTC
Advancing Global Commerce for Over 95 Years – 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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