Monday, May 26, 1997

 

Vol. 33, No. 21, ISSN: 0511-4187

 

Proclamation 7004 - World Trade Week, 1997.

 

 

� May 19, 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, theUnited 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.

 

 

� 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.

 

 

� William J. Clinton

 

 

� [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., May 21,

1997]

 

 

� NOTE: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press

Secretary on May 20, and it was published in the Federal Register on

May 22.