FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-1721
July 8, 1997
No. TR-13
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 the New Transatlantic Agenda (NTA). The hearing will take place on Wednesday, July 23, 1997, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from both invited and public witnesses. In addition, 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:
In December 1995, the United States and the European Union (EU) launched the NTA to initiate specific joint U.S.-EU actions which would address global economic, political, and humanitarian challenges more effectively, fight international crime, terrorism, and drug trafficking, support peacemakers around the world, and bring down barriers to commerce. The trade action plan includes efforts to reduce barriers to trade, enhance trade opportunities, resolve trade disputes, and facilitate customs cooperation. As part of the Agenda, the United States and the EU recently concluded a package of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA), which aims to reduce regulatory burdens by recognizing in six industry sectors the results of product testing or certification requirements set by both governments, thereby eliminating the need for duplicative inspection, testing, or certification requirements.
The NTA includes a commitment on the part of the United States and the EU to expand bilateral trade through an initiative called the New Transatlantic Marketplace. An important companion to the Marketplace initiative is the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD), a forum in which top American and European business leaders can meet to discuss ways to reduce barriers to U.S.-EU trade and investment. The major recommendations endorsed by the United States and European business communities since the inception of TABD include developing common standards, concluding MRA, eliminating tariffs in information technology products, adding to or accelerating some Uruguay Round tariff cuts, and implementing anti-bribery and corruption statutes in Europe.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Crane stated: "This hearing provides a good opportunity for us to study important developments in transatlantic commerce and prospects for further liberalization and facilitation of trade. The forum is unique because of the strong involvement of the business community as an official partner. The NTA has already been successful in removing barriers to trade between the United States and Europe through the Mutual Recognition Agreement."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The focus of the hearing is to examine the trade goals of the NTA, including the TABD. Witnesses should focus on the prospects for increased trade liberalization between the United States and the EU, including increased market access, reduced barriers to trade, the recently concluded package of Mutual Recognition Agreements, the impact of unilateral trade sanctions, and the role of Eastern Europe.
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, Wednesday, July 16, 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 an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text 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 Monday, July 21, 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) single-space legal-size copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text format only, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Wednesday, August 6, 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 an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text 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 202-226-3411 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.