President Barack Obama signs the “United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act,” in the Oval Office, Oct. 21, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

As of March 15, 2012, the U.S.-Korea trade agreement – the most commercially significant U.S. trade agreement in nearly two decades -- is now in effect. The opportunities this agreement offers to American manufacturers, service providers, farmers, ranchers, and workers are key components of President Obama’s National Export Initiative, which aims to double American exports by the end of 2014 and support additional American jobs. 

President Obama insisted that we get this agreement right, working with Congress, stakeholders, and our Korean government counterparts to address outstanding issues and then seal the deal.  Now, greater export opportunities will make American businesses of all sizes more competitive in the global economy, and allow them to support more jobs for Americans in sectors ranging from automobile manufacturing to delivery services to agriculture of all kinds. Tariff cuts will increase exports of American goods alone by $10-11 billion, supporting an estimated 70,000 jobs across the country. Export opportunities will also grow as the agreement opens Korea’s $580 billion services market, streamlines customs procedures, reduces red tape, and better protects American intellectual property rights. 

As our economy continues to add new jobs, this agreement is just another example of how President Obama is doing everything possible to put America back to work and secure our economic future. For more information on how the U.S.-Korea trade agreement can benefit businesses and workers in your community, visit www.ustr.gov. 

Learn More:
Trade Agreements Will Help Create Export-Supported Jobs in America
A Trade Agreement That Works For American Businesses And Workers
Creating More Export Opportunities for American Small Businesses

Here in the United States, from Washington to Kansas to South Carolina, tens of thousands of Americans depend on Boeing and its suppliers for a job and a place to put their skills to work. Trade agreements that guarantee a level playing field for global competition help make it possible for Boeing to sell its airplanes around the world in support of jobs here at home.   

Boeing, like other American companies, knows from experience the importance of strong trade enforcement. For many years, the EU and its various member states provided Airbus, Boeing’s main global competitor, with more than $18 billion in subsidies. As a result, Boeing has been competing on an un-level playing field – losing market share and possible job-creating opportunities.  

Fortunately, last year the Obama Administration secured a victory against EU subsidies to Airbus. It was the largest verdict in the history of the World Trade Organization.  USTR is currently working to ensure that the EU implements the necessary changes and stops the illegal subsidies. Once implemented, this decision will lead to a more level playing field for Boeing and its many suppliers across America who support well-paying jobs for tens of thousands of hard-working Americans. 

Moving forward, Americans can be assured that the Obama Administration will keep standing up for U.S. businesses and workers with smart trade enforcement.  It’s our job to help protect yours. We’ve got a smart, strong, and dedicated team who work every day to make sure that countries are playing fairly, according to global trade rules. Because, as the President proudly said in his State of the Union address this year: “…American workers are the most productive on Earth, and ... if the playing field is level – America will always win.” 

Watch the President's Remarks at Boeing:

During the meeting I emphasized the milestone we reached with the signing of the recent trade agreements with Korea, Colombia,and Panama,as well as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.  Additionally, I highlighted the importance of the work with Congress that lies ahead to terminate the application of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to Russia now that it will be formally invited to join the World Trade Organization next month. 

Other senior officials joining me in today’s meeting were Commerce Secretary John Bryson, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Small Business Administrator Karen Mills, Chairman of the Export-Import Bank Fred Hochberg,and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Miriam Sapiro; along with White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley and Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett.  Today’s meeting was live streamed on obamawhitehouse.archives.gov.

The PEC was established in 1973 by President Richard Nixon.  The initial group consisted of 20 members, all of whom were business executives.  Six years later, in 1979, President Jimmy Carter reconstituted and expanded the PEC.  Council membership grew to the current roster of 48 members and was extended to include leaders of the labor and agriculture communities, members of Congress, and members of the executive branch.

President Barack Obama signs the “United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act,” in the Oval Office, Oct. 21, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

This morning, President Obama signed legislation implementing three job-supporting trade agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama. These trade agreements will help put Americans back to work and grow America’s economy.

At the same time, the President signed legislation renewing Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) that helps workers who have been hurt by increased global competition. He also signed legislation to renew trade preference programs that sustain the United States’ commitment to trade and economic development that lifts up some of the world’s poorest people.

With all the stories and speculation flying around the news these days, I know it’s hard to separate fact from fiction sometimes. So let me share three quick points that I hope will help you understand why this is good news for all American workers and families.

First, these agreements will increase U.S. exports and American jobs. The Korea agreement will support an estimated 70,000 U.S. jobs and increase U.S. GDP by at least $11 billion due to increased exports of goods alone. Chances are you’ll benefit from these agreements if you work for or with anyone who makes, grows, or provides goods and services to Korea, Colombia, or Panama. These agreements make it easier and more cost-effective to sell Made-in-the-USA products to consumers in each of these countries. In turn, increased exports of U.S. goods and services will support more and better jobs for farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, service providers, workers, and businesses all across the United States. And all three agreements have groundbreaking protections for labor rights, the environment, and intellectual property, so American workers and businesses will be able to compete on a level playing field.

Second, the President worked to improve these agreements when he came into office. All three faced significant opposition from Congress. But instead of surrendering to the status quo, the President told me to get to work. With Korea, he sent me back to the negotiating table to secure additional market access for U.S. automobile manufacturers. With Colombia, he stood firm on the principle that U.S. trade agreements must reflect American values, including respect for and protection of workers’ rights. And with Panama, he made sure that we addressed key concerns related to tax transparency and labor conditions. In each case, the President held out for a better, more balanced deal.

That brings me to the third and final point: President Obama also signed today legislation that strengthens and streamlines TAA, and renews key preference programs –- the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA). Both TAA and our preference programs are key elements of President Obama’s balanced approach to trade. TAA helps those workers whose jobs are displaced by trade by providing job re-training programs, lower health insurance premiums, and assistance that keeps families on their feet. And GSP and ATPA uphold our commitment to support trade and economic growth that lifts up some of the world’s poorest people while helping American businesses get inputs they need and American consumers.

It’s important to note that Congress approved these trade measures with significant support in record time. In fact, the Korea agreement received more recorded votes than any free trade agreement in history. I think that’s a good indication that the President’s principled and pragmatic leadership has created a more balanced trade policy –- one that holds the promise of open markets and a level playing field with increased U.S. exports and better American jobs for many years to come. And since President Obama has prioritized enforcement of America’s trade agreements since day one, Americans can also be assured that we’ll hold our trading partners accountable for their obligations moving forward.

President Obama’s historic action today is a big step forward on trade and jobs. We look forward to working with Congress and the American people to continue pursuing a balanced trade policy that keeps American producers competitive abroad and supports jobs for more hard-working Americans here at home.
 

As I mentioned last week, when the President sent the legislation to Congress, there have recently been questions about whether trade supports jobs, and how.  We have a saying at USTR: “more exports, more jobs.”  Because every $1 billion of exports of American goods is estimated to support more than 6,000 additional jobs here at home.  And every billion dollars of services exports is estimated to support more than 4,500 jobs.  Since these trade agreements are estimated to increase U.S. goods exports alone by a combined total of at least $12 billion, they will support tens of thousands of real jobs and put more money in the pockets of hard-working Americans across the country. 

Furthermore, the U.S.-Korea trade agreement will open Korea’s $580 billion services market to highly competitive American companies – creating additional jobs for American service providers in sectors from delivery and telecommunications services to distribution, and energy and environmental services.  The Colombia and Panama agreements open up services sectors to American companies selling into those markets as well.  

Of course, American manufacturers will benefit each of these agreements.  For example, more than 80 percent of American exports of industrial goods become immediately duty free upon implementation of the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement, including almost all products in agriculture and construction equipment, aircraft and parts, auto parts, fertilizers, agro-chemicals and information technology equipment.  

Let’s not forget about American ranchers and farmers who stand to gain significantly more sales opportunities from each of these agreements.  For example, Panama will immediately eliminate duties on high-quality beef, frozen turkeys, most oilseeds and products, almost all fruit and fruit products, wheat, and many processed products once the U.S.-Panama trade agreement is implemented. 

And let’s also remember, too, the many American companies that support jobs right here at home by taking what they import from these trading partners and using it to produce new, made-in-the-USA goods. 

By insisting on the renewal of strengthened TAA, the President made sure to keep faith with American workers facing increased global competition.  The Trade Adjustment Assistance legislation that President Obama fought for and Congress ultimately approved reflects many improvements made to TAA in 2009: it helps displaced workers in America’s services sector as well as in manufacturing with job re-training, lower health insurance premiums, and assistance that keeps families on their feet. 

Taken together, the trade agreements and TAA are the leading edge of a job-creating trade agenda that will open markets, level the playing field for U.S. businesses and workers, and champion America’s working families in an age of tough global competition.  The simultaneous passage by Congress of key preference programs – the Generalized System of Preferences and the Andean Trade Preference Act – upholds our commitment to partner with the world’s poorest countries for economic growth.  These bills deserved the historic and widespread support they received in Congress last night.  And at USTR, we’re continuing our work to meet President Obama’s goal of doubling American exports by the end of 2014, to support at least two million additional jobs for Americans whose work is tied to trade.

Yesterday, the President took another step to help create and preserve U.S. jobs when he sent Congress three trade agreements,with Korea, Colombia, and Panama. President Obama is calling on Congress to pass the trade agreements and at the same time to renew Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) that helps workers whose jobs are affected by global competition. All four of these items are important elements of the President’s balanced trade agenda to open markets for U.S. exporters and keep faith with workers here at home.

Together, these agreements are estimated to increase U.S. GDP by more than $12 billion and support tens of thousands of additional American jobs.  In fact, it is estimated that every $1 billion of goods and services we export supports approximately 5,500 jobs at home. That means the Korea trade agreement will support at least an estimated 70,000 U.S. jobs through increased goods exports alone. 

Naturally, the big job-building potential of these agreements has led many Americans to ask how increased trade translates into more U.S. jobs. The short answer is that trade agreements open overseas markets to significantly enhance opportunities for American businesses and workers to sell more innovative, high-quality products Made in America to customers all around the world. And as American exporters expand their businesses by increasing international sales into these newly-opened markets, they are likely to hire more workers to produce goods and provide services here at home.

These agreements will make it cheaper, faster, and easier for U.S. producers to sell more American goods and services in the growing markets of Korea, Colombia and Panama. They will put American businesses, workers, farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and service providers on a level playing field against foreign competitors. 

For example, today, there are plenty of Hyundais and Kias on American highways, because car customers here in the United States have the freedom to choose among many different brands and models at competitive prices. In contrast, there aren’t nearly as many Fords, Chevys, or Chryslers cruising the streets of Korea, in part because high tariff and non-tariff barriers currently put U.S. auto manufacturers at a disadvantage in the South Korean market. 

Seizing sales opportunities overseas can build jobs and businesses of all sizes throughout the American automotive supply chain here at home. That’s why, last year, President Obama sent a team back to the negotiating table to secure additional market access and a level playing field for U.S. auto manufacturers in Korea. Now there are more export opportunities – and more potential jobs – on the table in the U.S.-Korea trade agreement. Similarly, the Colombia and Panama trade agreements will enhance job-building export opportunities for U.S. producers.

President Obama wants to turn these trade opportunities into real jobs and more money for American working families. Now’s it’s up to Congress to act by passing the trade agreements and renewing TAA. By coming together to find common ground on a balanced approach to trade, we can get our economy moving full speed ahead with more jobs for hard-working Americans.

APEC is the premier forum for facilitating sustainable economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the region, and the Asia-Pacific region is the largest market in the world for U.S. exports.  In fact, APEC economies represent nine of the top 15 export markets for U.S. goods.  Over 60 percent of U.S. goods exports and 70 percent of U.S. agricultural exports in 2010 were to APEC economies. 

Tomorrow, my fellow ministers and I will meet with business leaders from the United States and other APEC economies to work on concrete, practical measures that will help to level the playing field across the region.  In particular, we will discuss ways to make it cheaper, faster, and easier for small businesses to trade around the region.  Because if we can make it easier for exporters to enter different markets throughout the Asia-Pacific, then those businesses can grow more quickly and hire more workers here at home.

The United States is working in our APEC host year to build toward a seamless regional economy in the Asia-Pacific.  To this end, we’ll discuss ways to strengthen regional economic integration and expand trade, promote green growth, and advance regulatory cooperation and convergence.  Successful efforts in these areas will enhance export opportunities for U.S. businesses of all sizes in support of American jobs.

During the meetings, USTR.gov will be updated in real time to keep you fully abreast of our work.  So be sure to visit our APEC 2011 pageand follow us on Twitter to get the most up-to-date information on the progress of APEC meetings in Montana. 

Ambassador Ron Kirk is the United States Trade Representative

In fact, the U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that both direct and indirect exports by small firms which supply inputs or services to larger companies supported four million jobs in the United States in 2007.  That is why President Obama launched the National Export Initiative, with the goal of doubling U.S. exports and supporting millions of additional U.S. jobs by the end of 2014.

Most U.S. small businesses which export begin by selling to our neighboring partners, Canada and Mexico.  However, the United States has negotiated trade agreements with a total of 17 countries.  It can be easier, cheaper, and faster for businesses to sell globally in partner countries due to the reduced tariffs at the border.

To help even more small companies the Administration recently launched a new free online tariff tool.  U.S. exporters now have an online resource that streamlines tariff information for goods going to 20 foreign markets with which the U.S. has negotiated trade agreements.  This information has never before been available free of charge in one searchable database.  This new tool makes it easier for small businesses to grow and prosper through exports.

We are moving forward with a robust trade agenda to create even more opportunities for small businesses to thrive in the global economy.  For instance, the pending U.S.-South Korea trade agreement presents significant new export opportunities for small businesses.  South Korea is the eighth largest market worldwide for American small business goods exports.  In 2009, almost 18,000 U.S. small and medium companies exported $8.4 billion in merchandise to South Korea.

As part of my small business outreach around the country, I recently met the CEO of Princeton Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia.  Princeton Healthcare is a small business exporter of medical technology products such as electrocardiographs and anesthesia machines to hospitals.  They currently employ 10 workers.  Princeton Healthcare has exported to South Korea in the past, and is looking for additional opportunities in the South Korean market.

The trade agreement will help Princeton Healthcare better compete in a competitive technologies and services market.  By opening up South Korea’s $580 billion services market, Princeton Healthcare can better connect U.S. manufacturers with customers in South Korea.

This year the President and I hope that thousands more small businesses will take advantage of trade agreements, and join the Obama Administration in the work of the National Export Initiative.

Ambassador Ron Kirk is the United States Trade Representative.

In December, President Obama announced that the United States and South Korea have finalized an historic trade deal that will increase U.S. exports to Korea by $11 billion annually while supporting 70,000 American jobs. The news has been met with high praise from a wide range of groups, including the United Auto Workers, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, the U.S. Chamber and the American Farm Bureau Federation, to name a few stakeholders. They know the positive impact this agreement will have on U.S. businesses and families, from auto workers to cattle ranchers to high-tech manufacturers and service providers.

The U.S.-Korea trade agreement would eliminate tariffs on more than 95 percent of industrial and consumer goods within five years, creating a more open and fair Korean market for U.S. auto companies and workers, and new opportunities for U.S. manufacturers, farmers and ranchers. In real terms, U.S. beef producers could expect to save $90 million annually with the progressive elimination of Korea’s existing tariff.

With this landmark deal struck, it is now Congress’ turn to ratify it quickly – especially important since South Korea’s trade agreement with the EU takes effect on July 1. 

Trade agreements with Panama and Colombia can also be key boosters of American exports.  At the President’s direction, we are working hard to resolve outstanding issues related to these agreements as soon as possible this year, so that we can move them to Congress for consideration immediately thereafter.

The Administration’s hard work is encouraging significant labor reforms and greater tax transparency in Panama. Last month, I met with Vice President Varela, and our teams have met subsequently and agreed upon actions that, when taken by Panama, will ready that agreement for Congressional consideration. 

We also are dedicated to resolving issues regarding Colombia so that agreement can move forward as well. We are working without delay to address concerns from members of Congress and other stakeholders involving labor rights protections and violence against labor leaders. In the past month alone, the Administration sent a team to Bogota and held several productive meetings with Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committee staff and other stakeholders. This week, the President’s team met with high-ranking Colombian officials to continue our work to ensure a level playing field for American workers and to make certain that our trade agreements reflect core American values on labor rights around the world.

While we continue to achieve real progress on outstanding issues with Panama and Colombia, the significant U.S.-Korea trade agreement is ready to move.  Our goal is the passage of three good agreements, with outstanding issues resolved, so that we can realize the jobs and economic growth that come to the American people through responsible trade policy.

As United States Trade Representative, I am a member of President Obama's Cabinet and serve as the President's principal trade advisor, negotiator and spokesperson on trade issues.  In this role, I have led the office in developing trade policies that are proactive, responsible, and more responsive to American families' interests – recognizing that trade can be a job-creating pillar of economic recovery in the United States and around the world.

My story begins in the south –the segregated south, to be specific. I was born in 1954, the year of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, in Austin, Texas – an otherwise progressive city, but still a city that was segregated and lived by the rules of Jim Crow.  When I was born, my parents were denied their right to vote.   Like so many other black families throughout the south at the time, they were faced with literacy tests for “colored people.”

Nonetheless, my mother and father made sure that my brother and sister and I attended church, recited our Bible verses, studied hard and made good grades, because they knew that education would be essential to our success.  Thanks to my parents’ efforts to ensure I had educational opportunities, I was able to attend college, to obtain a law degree, to launch and build a successful legal career, and eventually, to have the privilege of serving as Texas Secretary of State, under Governor Ann Richards, in the same state that once forced my mother and father to endure a literacy test. 

I went on to become the first African-American mayor of the City of Dallas, Texas.  I was elected twice with support from communities of every size, shape, and color.  And today I am the first African-American United States Trade Representative, appointed to serve in the Cabinet of the first African-American President of the United States. To say the least, I feel extraordinarily blessed.
This month, as we reflect on how far we have come, the best way to honor the leaders who sacrificed to get us here is to redouble our efforts to do more with what we have today.  We should focus on the power of families, and consider what each of us can do as parents, neighbors, teachers, mentors, and friends to help support and enrich our youth.  Right now we can control our own destinies if we seize the opportunity to educate our children better and prepare them more fully for the jobs of the 21st century.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama told Americans that the future is ours to win – but only if we rise to the challenge.  Because countries like China and India have started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science.  They’re investing in research and new technologies in an effort to get a head start on the next big thing.  So if Americans are to compete for and win the jobs and industries of the future, we need to out-smart, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world.

This international challenge is especially significant for the African-American community, because in educational attainment we are not even keeping pace with our peers in the United States.  African-American students trail not only almost every other developed nation abroad, but they also badly trail their white classmates here at home.  That achievement gap is widening the income gap between black and white Americans, and between rich and poor.

Everywhere I’ve had the privilege to travel as U.S. Trade Representative, I’ve seen first-hand families in places like Africa and Asia and India making extraordinary sacrifices so they can invest in their children’s future and give them a better life through education.  They are reading, writing, and speaking English at the earliest possible age in addition to one or more of their native languages.  They are studying science and math and engineering.  And now they have access to all of the world’s information at the click of a mouse.  

Yet I have confidence that we can rise to meet all of these challenges and win the future as President Obama has challenged us to do.  In all of my travels people I’ve met still regard the United States as an absolute beacon for the universal aspirations of the human spirit.  We are a symbol of freedom and liberty around the world.  At the same time, I truly believe ‘Made in America’ is still the most powerful brand in the world, and the United States remains the best place in the world to do business, by far.  President Obama and I believe America’s best days are ahead of us, and that’s why we are moving forward, working hard every day to open new markets, increase exports, and ensure a level playing field for American producers to sell “Made in America” goods and services around the world in support of jobs here at home.

Ambassador Ron Kirk is the United States Trade Representative.

The tariff cuts alone in the  U.S. – Korea trade agreement will increase exports of American goods and services by $10 to $11 billion.  We expect this agreement to create 70,000-plus jobs for American workers in a wide range of economic sectors from autos and manufacturing to agriculture.

Among other key aspects, this agreement works to support American auto jobs at home by improving our market access in Korea and giving American companies time to build their business there.  And for non-automotive manufacturing workers, improved access to the Korean market will continue to support export-related manufacturing jobs at companies like Ellicott Dredges, the world’s oldest and largest supplier of medium-sized cutter suction dredges. Based in Maryland, Ellicott will be able to expand their Korean sales of dredges and spare parts and hire more workers once this agreement is implemented.   

Similarly, American agricultural producers stand to gain from the U.S. – Korea trade agreement. Many farmers across the country already rely on Korean shoppers to purchase their Grown in America products. Just last year, Koreans spent almost $4 billion on American agriculture. The U.S. – Korea trade agreement will likely increase those sales because it eliminates duties on items such as wheat, corn, cotton, cherries, pistachios and more. For example, Koreans will soon be able to enjoy almonds from California at a more competitive price.

There’s a lot more to this landmark agreement than just autos, manufacturing, and agriculture.  Our team worked hard to get a good deal for American businesses and workers – one that’s a win-win for the United States and our valued trading partner, Korea – and I’m looking forward to talking more in the coming months about how this deal will benefit you.

• Fact Sheet: Overview of the U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement
• Fact Sheet: Economic Value of the U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement
• Fact Sheet: Increasing U.S. Auto Exports and Growing U.S. Jobs Through the U.S. Korea Trade Agreement

Ambassador Kirk speaks with Bangor State Fair Director Mike Dyer and USDA Rural Development State Director for Maine Virginia Manuel. August 5, 2010.

Ambassador Kirk with Matt Davis of Davis Farms and his first-place award-winning cow. August 5, 2010.

I had the opportunity to join Bangor State Fair Director Mike Dyer and USDA Rural Development State Director for Maine Virginia Manuel. With the help of Penobscott County 4-H students, I was able to see first-hand a wide selection of the great American farm products that are sold around the world. I met high school student Matt Davis and his best in show winning dairy cow.  I also saw goats and chickens. College students Majorie Hardy and Haley Emery gave me a tour of the 4-H students' project area where I was able to talk with students about the importance of growing locally and selling globally.

These products help to demonstrate why exports are an important and consistent part of the President’s economic recovery plan.  In fact, U.S. exports contributed over one percentage point to GDP growth (at an annual rate) in each of the last four quarters of recovery and have contributed over 1.5 percentage points to growth in the last year. This was a larger contribution than consumption or fixed investment. And U.S. agricultural exports have continued to expand, more than doubling from about $50 billion in fiscal year 2000 to a projected $105 billion for fiscal year 2010.  Last year, America exported $97 billion in agricultural products, supporting a $23 billion agricultural trade surplus.

At USTR, we’re working to find more market opportunities for American agriculture through agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the U.S.-Korea trade agreement – already our fifth largest agricultural export market.  In Maine, almost 75 percent of all exports are sent to the Asia-Pacific Region.

We’re also developing new tools to aid enforcement of farmers’ and ranchers’ trade rights.  In March, we published the first USTR reports focused specifically on unjustified technical barriers to trade and on non-science based sanitary and phytosanitary standards that unfairly keep our agricultural products out of foreign markets. We are using this information to expand exports of safe, high-quality U.S. agricultural products.

USTR is taking every opportunity to make sure that smart trade policy works for every American. Because when markets are open and American businesses and farmers have a level-playing field to compete on, no one can beat us, and that means we can keep creating good jobs in Maine and all across America.

Ambassador Ron Kirk is the United States Trade Representative

Over the past year, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has stepped up enforcement of our trade agreements using a range of options from negotiation to taking disputes to the World Trade Organization.  These enforcement actions have helped workers in sectors ranging from agriculture to auto parts, from aluminum and steel manufacturing to aerospace construction. 

Because President Obama took action to stem the tide of imported Chinese tires flooding the U.S. market, moms and dads are bringing home paychecks from tire factories in North Carolina and Arkansas.  Because USTR successfully challenged Chinese industrial policy that pushed American auto parts suppliers to move production facilities offshore, men and women in Ohio and Michigan are still working on assembly lines.  And because we took the European Union to court and won, the jobs of thousands of U.S. aerospace engineers and electricians in Washington State, Kansas, and South Carolina are more secure.   And more American workers, from welders to widget-makers, will have a chance at future jobs on a more level playing field.

We are taking these actions because our trade agreements affirm the rights of American workers and businesses to compete in a system of rules that applies equally to all of our trading partners.

We insist on fair play because we are confident that American workers and businesses can compete – and win – in a global market. As the President has said, “When the playing field is even, nobody can beat us.”  And we can’t afford to leave any jobs on the table.

Today I’m looking forward to speaking with manufacturing workers in Pennsylvania about how USTR’s trade enforcement efforts can help them succeed.  This morning I will speak at Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI), a specialty metals manufacturer that uses innovative technologies and systems to supply customers around the world with state-of-the-art industrial materials. 

My speech will provide an update on how this Administration is using every option available in the trade enforcement playbook to help sustain jobs here in America.  I will also discuss how the Obama Administration combines tough trade enforcement and smart trade expansion, contributing to President Obama’s National Export Initiative and helping the overall economic recovery. And you can watch it live here.

At USTR and across the Obama Administration, we’re fighting every day to restore the American people’s trust in the fact that when it’s done right, trade can work for you. 

Ambassador Ron Kirk is the United States Trade Representative

Throughout the past week, we have made strides toward our goal of strengthening U.S. leadership and economic competitiveness in the region and making progress on issues that matter to the American people and leveraging that progress into job creation at home.

From a trade perspective, the steps we’ve taken in Asia will benefit businesses and workers across the American economy – ranchers, farmers, manufacturers, and creative industries all have a future in U.S. trade with Asia.

As companies across the spectrum look for a way forward out of these difficult economic times, we’re asking them to take a second look at trade.  Because engaging new customers abroad can create jobs at home.

President Obama began his trip to Asia by making an announcement in Tokyo that the United States will engage with the Trans-Pacific Partnership. This will be done in close consultation with the United States Congress and with stakeholders at home. This is an exciting opportunity for the United States to engage with some of the fastest growing economies in the world as well as providing the opportunity to address gaps in our current agreements, and to set the standard for 21st-century trade agreements going forward.

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Singapore, the APEC nations pledged to increase trade by simplifying customs procedures and improving the movement of goods across and within borders. They also announced an action plan designed to make it 25 percent cheaper, easier and faster to conduct business in the region by 2015 by cutting costs and streamlining processes associated with starting and operating business in APEC economies. President Obama pledged to the 21 APEC members that the United States will remain an active partner. The United States looks forward to hosting  APEC in President Obama’s home state of Hawaii in 2011.

Our past few days in Beijing have given us the opportunity to further engage our Chinese counterparts and build upon the good work we started at the 2009 U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, which I co-chaired with Secretary Locke October 28 – 29th in Hangzhou, China. At the JCCT, China agreed to improve market access for American energy companies, reopen its market to U.S. pork, and clamp down on Internet piracy. 

This past week has laid a very good foundation for the strong and healthy engagement of America with nations throughout Asia.  As President Obama’s point person on trade, I come away from our time in Asia inspired by our shared commitment to a future of even greater economic growth and opportunity for our people.

Ambassador Ron Kirk is the U.S. Trade Representative

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk speaks to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit on behalf of President Obama. November 14, 2009.

I talked about the progress made at this week’s APEC ministerial meeting on increasing services trade within APEC, promoting trade in cutting-edge environmental goods and services, and making it easier for businesses and entrepreneurs across the Asia-Pacific to take advantage of market opportunities.
 
I echoed the President’s call for the United States and its trading partners to work toward economic growth that is both balanced and sustainable.  And I spoke of the opportunities presented to American workers, farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and service providers by the United States’ engagement in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, announced by President Obama on Saturday morning.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and other officials from across the Asia-Pacific region meet at the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Singapore. November 12, 2009.

Engagement in the Asia-Pacific region is vital to America’s trading future.  If we want to create the jobs Americans need, we must gain further access to Asia-Pacific markets.   As I told hundreds of business leaders in Singapore on Saturday, we must work together to bring home the benefits of trade.

Ron Kirk is the United States Trade Representative