| Contacts: | Jennifer Pareti tel: 703-907-7079 e-mail: jpareti@CE.org |
Katie Hallen tel: (202) 679-2394 e-mail: |
USTR SUSAN SCHWAB AND CEA PRESIDENT & CEO GARY SHAPIRO AT INTERNATIONAL CES: TRADE IS VITAL TO U.S. ECONOMIC GROWTH AND JOBS
| Arlington, Virginia | 1/7/2008 |
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® President and CEO Gary Shapiro today held a policy briefing for media that focused on the importance of trade to U.S. economic growth and new jobs.
The briefing took place on the official opening of the International CES® in Las Vegas, an unrivaled gathering that focuses on the future
of consumer electronics. Also, today, CEA joined with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) to call on the congressional leadership to advocate a strong trade agenda during the remainder of the 110th Congressional Session.
"The United States is a major player both as an exporter and as an importer. Together, we are talking about $800 billion in U.S. exports and
imports combined in a sector with global trade of over three trillion dollars," Ambassador Schwab told reporters. "It is evident from the
participants [at CES] how incredibly important trade is, whether they are manufacturing here, manufacturing abroad, designing here, creating software, all
of it moves in and around international commerce, creating jobs, creating opportunities."
Asked about the free trade agreements pending before Congress, Mr. Shapiro said the issue is about whether the United States will choose to compete in a
global marketplace. "We are talking about the future of our country here. It's not just a matter of money and trade; it's about the soul, direction
and strategy that we employ as a country," said Mr. Shapiro told reporters. "We want to make sure we keep our strategy of being a free-trading
country that encourages imports and exports because that is what made us great, and a great country does not put up walls."
Mr. Shapiro cited trade statistics about the opportunities with free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. From 2000 to 2006, U.S.
consumer electronics exports increased 12 percent to Peru, 35 percent to Columbia and 44 percent to Panama.
Last fall the CEA launched a new trade initiative to focus Congress on the importance of trade to U.S. job creation in the electronics industry. CEA called on Congress to pursue a pro-growth trade policy that includes:
- Aggressively pursuing bilateral trade agreements. In the absence of an agreement in the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization, bilateral trade agreements offer the next best way to open foreign markets to U.S. small businesses. They create sales opportunities, reduce costs and diminish uncertainties. Through trade agreements we can implement intellectual property rights standards, establish substantive investment protections, and provide increase transparency to U.S. exporters.
- Reauthorize trade promotion authority. Without trade promotion authority our trading partners will be reluctant to negotiate trade pacts with the U.S. America's hands will be tied and the U.S. will fall behind other nations negotiating trade agreements at an unprecedented pace.
- Eliminate non-tariff barriers. These non-tariff barriers hinder trade and burden small companies with unnecessary compliance costs. Examples of these barriers include cumbersome customs regulations, corrupt government procurement processes, and most recently, a proliferation of divergent or non-harmonized approaches to environmental standards, among others.
- Uphold and enforce trade agreements. In addition to pursuing new agreements, the United States must commit to maintaining and enforcing those agreements already in place. The United States must take an aggressive stance to protect products already covered by the WTO's Information Technology Agreement (ITA). The ITA covers over 97 percent of the world trade in information technology products, and provides for the elimination of duties on those covered products. But as technology has evolved, many countries claim that the ITA does not apply to the next generation of covered products. It is crucial for the United States to uphold provisions of the ITA that allow for future developments of IT products and enable companies to enjoy the full scope of the agreements intended duty-free benefits.
For more information on the letter sent to Congress and the CEA trade initiative, please go to the CEA website at www.ce.org/freetrade.
About CEA:
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $161 billion U.S. consumer electronics
industry. More than 2,200 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education,
industry promotion and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES - Where Entertainment,
Technology and Business Converge. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA's industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org.
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USTR SUSAN SCHWAB AND CEA GARY SHAPIRO