ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

Thomas Announces a Hearing on President Bush's Trade Agenda for 2002

Congressman Bill Thomas (R-CA), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on President Bush's trade agenda for 2002. The hearing will take place on Thursday, February 7, 2002, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from United States Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

From November 9-14, 2001, trade ministers representing 140 countries met at the Fourth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, where an agreement was reached to launch a new round of multilateral trade negotiations. A schedule for negotiations will be formulated shortly, and the United States and its trading partners will be tabling negotiating proposals. In addition, negotiations to establish the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) are reaching a critical stage with the approaching deadline of May 15, 2002, for initiating market-access talks.

Negotiations to establish bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with Singapore and Chile are scheduled to conclude later this year. All of these negotiations cover agriculture, services, industrial tariffs, and investment, to name a few of the sectors where the United States stands to gain new export opportunities.

At the same time, the Administration is considering other possible FTAs to improve U.S. access to foreign markets. On December 6, 2001, the House passed H.R. 3005, a bi-partisan bill to renew the President's authority to present legislation implementing trade agreements to Congress for approval without amendment (otherwise known as Trade Promotion Authority). This legislation contains extensive negotiating objectives and consultation requirements. H.R. 3005 was approved by the Senate Finance Committee, as amended, on December 18, 2001.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Thomas stated: "A tried and true medicine for a weakened economy is expanding trade, and the House has moved ahead to grant President Bush and Ambassador Zoellick the tools that need to open foreign markets to U.S. products and services. Right now, as we await Senate action, markets are being pried open in Latin America, Asia, and Europe, for the goods and services of our competitors. Our trading partners are signing new trade agreements monthly that leave the United States out. As the Senate considers H.R. 3005, the Committee will be engaged in close consultations with the Administration on priorities for the new round of WTO negotiations, the FTAA, and on additional negotiations to establish free trade agreements with close trading partners and allies. We will actively encourage the Senate to deliver tools needed by the Bush Administration to ensure that future trade agreements include, rather than exclude, the United States."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing is expected to examine current trade issues such as: (1) the President's trade agenda in light of House passage of H.R. 3005, (2) the success of the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Doha, (3) prospects for the FTAA, (4) H.R. 3009, a bill passed by the House to extend and expand the Andean Trade Preference Act, which is awaiting Senate action, (5) the functioning of the WTO dispute settlement system and cases that have been brought against the United States, including the challenge to the Foreign Sales Corporation and Extraterritorial Income Exclusion rules, (6) the steel safeguard determination due March 6, (7) progress in negotiations to establish trade agreements with Singapore and Chile, (8) other potential candidates for free trade agreement negotiations such as Australia, New Zealand, and Central American countries, and (9) the pending accession of Russia to the WTO and H.R. 3553, a bill to remove Russia from Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974, the so-called Jackson-Vanik amendment.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note: Due to the change in House mail policy, any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should send it electronically to "hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov", along with a fax copy to 202/225-2610 by the close of business, Thursday, February 21, 2002. Those filing written statements who wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing should deliver their 200 copies to the full Committee in room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, in an open and searchable package 48 hours before the hearing. The U.S. Capitol Police will refuse unopened and unsearchable deliveries to all House Office buildings.

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. Due to the change in House mail policy, all statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted electronically to "hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov", along with a fax copy to 202/225-2610, in Word Perfect or MS Word format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

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, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. 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.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

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 202-226-3411 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.