[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 99 (Thursday, May 22, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 27927-27928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13678]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 99 / Thursday, May 22, 1997 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 27927]]
Proclamation 7004 of May 19, 1997
World Trade Week, 1997
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Two statistics sum up both the challenge and the
promise of today's dynamic global economy: 95 percent
of the world's consumers live outside the United
States, and U.S. exports generated more than $830
billion in sales in 1996. The theme of this year's
World Trade Week, ``Make Locally, Sell Globally,''
exhorts American businesses to take advantage of the
enormous commercial potential of the international
marketplace, and we are poised to do so.
Over the past 4 years, trade has spurred more than a
quarter of our overall domestic economic growth. During
this period, the United States under the leadership of
the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative signed more
than 200 new trade agreements and is once again the
world's leading exporter. In recent months, we have
concluded historic agreements in the World Trade
Organization that opened up the world
telecommunications services market to U.S. firms. We
also have negotiated a pact that will eliminate tariffs
on information technology products by the year 2000.
Together, these agreements offer American business
better access to markets representing more than $1
trillion in goods and services and are models for
further market-opening initiatives.
The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has not
only increased trade with our member partners to a
level of $425 billion annually, but also has provided
greater stability to the global economy. We are
committed to building on this success by achieving a
Free Trade Area of the Americas, and we look toward a
comprehensive trade agreement with Chile as the next
concrete step in this direction.
Selling globally also requires vigorous trade
enforcement efforts, such as those we initiated
recently by improving the protection of intellectual
property rights in China and some 20 other countries
around the world. Our ongoing efforts to eliminate
trade barriers in Asia have already paid dividends--for
example, U.S. exports to Japan have grown by more than
40 percent since 1993. We will also continue to
strictly enforce existing trade laws to ensure that
imported goods in U.S. markets do not enjoy an unfair
advantage over those produced by U.S. companies and
workers.
We are committed to helping all U.S. businesses
continue to succeed--not only by opening markets, but
also by assisting U.S. exporters. My Administration,
through the efforts of the Trade Promotion Coordinating
Committee, has developed a National Export Strategy to
help small- and medium-size companies sell globally to
realize their export potential. Our nationwide network
of U.S. Export Assistance Centers combines under one
roof the services of the Department of Commerce, the
Small Business Administration, the U.S. Export-Import
Bank, and other agencies to improve business access to
trade information and financing. Over the past 4 years,
this network has more than doubled the amount of export
sales it facilitates. Our finance agencies, the U.S.
Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation, and the Trade and Development Agency, also
help American businesses compete on a level playing
field in this increasingly competitive world economy.
[[Page 27928]]
We can be proud of this record of achievement, but we
must build on it. Fair trade and open markets create
stable economies in which democracy can take root and
flourish. The United States alone has the legacy, the
resources, and the responsibility to lead the world in
this endeavor, and we must continue to do so.
As we observe World Trade Week, 1997, I am confident
that, working together, we can sustain America's
leadership in the global economy, generate millions of
new jobs, and improve the quality of life for all our
people.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim May 18 through May 24, 1997,
as World Trade Week. I invite the people of the United
States to observe this week with ceremonies,
activities, and programs that celebrate the potential
of international trade.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
nineteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen
hundred and ninety-seven, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the two hundred and
twenty-first.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 97-13678
Filed 5-21-97; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
