FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 25, 1997
No. TR-3
Congressman Philip M. Crane (R-IL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on U.S. trade policy objectives and initiatives. The 21st century starts January 1, 2001. That's four years away. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, March 18, 1997, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Oral testimony will be heard from both invited and public witnesses.
Invited witnesses will include United States Trade Representative-Designate Charlene Barshefsky, who will discuss the President's trade policy agenda for his second term. Any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee or for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND
With U.S. exports and imports of goods and service accounting for over 30 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, the international character of the United States economy is more pronounced than ever. Trade barriers facing U.S. exporters have a direct negative impact on the ability of the United States to generate economic growth and create new jobs. At the same time, many countries with formerly closed economies in Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe are replacing long-standing policies of State control with free market reforms and liberalized trade regimes. Developing countries, many of which are entering periods of high economic growth, will create new demand for American products and services, if the markets of these countries are opened to foreign imports, and the United States more actively promotes its exports.
Possessing only four percent of the world's population and a relatively mature economy, the United States must have a trade policy which aims to capitalize on its strengths: a skilled workforce, high levels of innovation and productivity growth, a vigorous service sector, and a superior educational system. However, maintaining the competitiveness of U.S. firms in world markets will be achieved only if the United States is well-positioned to react quickly to a continually changing global environment. As the importance of removing a new generation of sophisticated trade barriers, including prohibitions on providing financial services, opaque procurement practices, unfair subsidies, arbitrary sanitary and phytosanitary standards, and investment restrictions grows, so does the need to exercise U.S. trade policy leadership where the gains for U.S. firms and workers are judged to be the most substantial.
The 103rd Congress approved legislation implementing the results of two major trade negotiations, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Uruguay Round Trade Agreements, which established the World Trade Organization. Implementation of both agreements should be monitored to ensure that the intended benefits are fully realized. Several trade initiatives, including those aimed at establishing a Free Trade Agreement of the Americas and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Group, are ongoing but have shown recent signs of stalling. Other important undertakings, such as bringing Chile and Caribbean Basin countries into NAFTA and the Transatlantic Agenda announced by President Clinton and European leaders at the December 1995 Madrid Summit, offer the possibility of further eliminating barriers to trade and investment in these important markets.
FOCUS OF THE HEARING
The Subcommittee requests that witnesses address: (1) appropriate trade negotiating objectives in a post-Uruguay Round environment and priorities for future trade liberalization initiatives; (2) the potential economic impact of new trade agreements; (3) consequences for the U.S. economy if trade liberalization in the world economy wanes; (4) implications for the U.S. economy of expanded trade arrangements, especially in the Western Hemisphere, to which the United States is not a party; and (5) whether the United States is ceding economic opportunities and world leadership to other nations if it were not to pursue additional market opportunities for U.S. firms and workers though various multilateral, regional, and sectoral negotiations.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD
Requests to be heard at the hearing must be made by telephone to Traci Altman or Bradley Schreiber at (202) 225-1721 no later than the close of business, Tuesday, March 11, 1997. The telephone request should be followed by a formal written request to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. The staff of the Subcommittee on Trade will notify by telephone those scheduled to appear as soon as possible after the filing deadline. Any questions concerning a scheduled appearance should be directed to the Subcommittee on Trade staff at (202) 225-6649.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, the Subcommittee may not be able to accommodate all requests to be heard. Those persons and organizations not scheduled for an oral appearance are encouraged to submit written statements for the record of the hearing. All persons requesting to be heard, whether they are scheduled for oral testimony or not, will be notified as soon as possible after the filing deadline.
Witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony are required to summarize briefly their written statements in no more than five minutes. THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The full written statement of each witness will be included in the printed record, in accordance with House Rules. In order to assure the most productive use of the limited amount of time available to question witnesses, all witnesses scheduled to appear before the Subcommittee are required to submit 200 copies of their prepared statement and a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format, for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, no later than close of business, Friday, March 14, 1997. Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.
WRITTEN STATEMENTS IN LIEU OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) copies of their statement and a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format, with their address and date of hearing noted, by the close of business on Tuesday, April 1, 1997, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-225-1904 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.