IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Areaka McFadden, 202-482-4883
or Patrick Kirwan/Curt Cultice, 202-482-3809
January 16, 2000
New
President's Export Council Report:
Much
has been Accomplished in Trade, but Many Challenges Remain
Washington, D.C. - A final report released today by the
President's Export Council (PEC) highlights its accomplishments
in helping expand market opportunities for U.S. businesses during
the Clinton Presidency, and assesses the challenges in international
trade that will face the incoming administration.
Secretary of Commerce Norman Y. Mineta, accepting the report
on behalf of President Clinton and the Administration, thanked
the PEC members for their "tirelesss advice and grass-roots efforts
in helping to create an environment in which trade can flourish,
and expanding export and economic opportunity for the working
people of America."
Citing the 71-page report: Building a National Consensus on
Trade for the Twenty-First Century, Mineta noted that the
PEC has provided leadership on issues that were subsequently adopted
including, conforming to the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) Anti-Bribery Convention; funding the U.S.
share of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); and liberalization
of export regulations on encryption products.
PEC Chairman C. Michael Armstrong, CEO of AT&T, pointed to
the PEC's record in promoting trade education as one of its greatest
achievements. He also emphasized the continuing need to build
a national consensus on trade, as stakeholders and policymakers
address ongoing challenges for the United States: Obtaining trade
negotiating authority for the President; addressing issues of
unilateral and sub-federal trade sanctions; linking labor and
human rights and environmental protection with international trade;
and increasing international trade education.
Reporting to the President of the United States through the Secretary
of Commerce, the President's Export Council (PEC) is the premier
national advisory committee on international trade. The Council
advises the President of government policies and programs that
affect U.S. trade performance; promotes export expansion; and
provides a forum for discussing and resolving trade-related problems
among the business, industrial, agricultural, labor, and government
sectors. The 28 private-sector members of the PEC represent industry,
labor and agriculture. Ten members of Congress and the heads of
nine Federal agencies are also members of the PEC.
The final PEC Report and a companion report: "Best Practices"
in Trade Education, a compendium of private-sector education
initiatives regarding the benefits of international trade, are
available in summary form:
Copies of the full report are available by calling 202-482-1124.
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