FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-1721
July 14, 1998
No. TR-29
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 trade relations with Europe and the new Transatlantic Economic Partnership (TEP). The hearing will take place on Tuesday, July 28, 1998, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 11:00 a.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from both invited and public witnesses. Invited witnesses will include the Honorable Charlene Barshefsky, United States Trade Representative. 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:
The United States and the European Union (EU) share the largest two-way trade and investment relationship in the world. Although tariff barriers on most manufactured goods have been significantly reduced, many non-tariff barriers continue to impede bilateral trade. These include discriminatory regulations, standards, and testing procedures which restrict trade in a wide range of agricultural and manufactured products.
In December 1995, the United States and the EU launched the New Transatlantic Agenda to initiate specific joint U.S.-EU actions aimed at addressing 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.
At the May 18, 1998, U.S.-EU Summit, the two trading partners launched the TEP, a broad trade liberalization initiative. The TEP includes a common commitment to work cooperatively to strengthen the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other multilateral institutions and to increase the involvement of non-governmental entities in transatlantic relations. The two trading partners pledged to work cooperatively to achieve a Multilateral Agreement on Investment in the Organization for Cooperation and Development. In addition, the United States and Europe signed an Understanding on Expropriated Property to resolve longstanding disputes regarding the application of sanctions to European companies under the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (P.L. 104-114), often referred to as the "Helms-Burton" legislation, and the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (P.L. 104-172).
The TEP initiative builds directly on achievements of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD), a forum of top American and European business leaders established in 1995 to develop ways to reduce barriers to U.S.-EU trade and investment. The TABD has made recommendations covering such topics as: the development of common standards, concluding mutual recognition agreements, eliminating tariffs in information technology products, adding to or accelerating some Uruguay Round tariff cuts, and implementing anti-bribery and anti-corruption statutes in Europe.
Another important development in U.S.-E.U. trade relations is Europe's move toward full economic and monetary union, including adoption of the "euro" as the region's common currency. Although it is unclear what specific effects the European Monetary Union (EMU) will have on the U.S. economy, many have speculated that if the EMU is successful, the euro could eventually vie with the dollar as an international reserve and payments currency, putting some downward pressure on the value of the dollar over time.
Finally, both the agriculture trade negotiations in the WTO, set to begin in 1999, and ongoing WTO dispute settlement proceedings, remain central to achieving progress on the U.S.-EU trade agenda.
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. The TABD initiative has already made important contributions to our long-term goal of eliminating trade barriers and resolving conflicts between the United States and Europe. There is much more to be accomplished. I am particularly interested in several pending WTO dispute settlement cases, covering products such as bananas, beef produced with growth hormones, and computer equipment, as well as the reach of U.S. unilateral trade sanctions and the EU challenge to our foreign sales corporation tax structure."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The focus of the hearing is to examine current developments in trade relations between the United States and the EU, with emphasis on the bilateral agenda established under the TEP. Testimony is requested on any of the topics discussed above, including U.S. trade negotiating objectives with Europe, prospects for the 1999 agriculture negotiations, and the resolution of pending and future consultations and dispute settlement proceedings with the EU in the WTO.
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 22, 1998. 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, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, of their prepared statement 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, July 24, 1998. 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 six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Tuesday, August 11, 1998, 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 submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may 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.
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.