U.S. Chamber Welcomes Final Trade Bill Vote

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Chamber of Commerce welcomed the news of a final trade promotion authority (TPA) bill to grant President Bush the authority to negotiate trade agreements with other countries as a significant victory for American businesses and workers.

"Reaching an agreement on TPA was easy compared to the hard work ahead of us," said Thomas Donohue, Chamber president and CEO. "Now U.S. negotiators must create the kind of trade deals that promote our products, spur economic recovery and create prosperity around the world.

"There are 190 trade deals in force and only three include the U.S. We moved the numbers in Congress and now we will move that number as well," said Donohue.

Trade promotion authority will give the administration the negotiating power to forge trade deals with other nations that cannot be changed by the U.S. Congress — they can only be voted up or down. The Chamber had focused attention and built support for passage of TPA through a variety of efforts, including lobbying, grassroots activity, trade education events, plant tours, issue ads, and broad-based communication efforts.

Today's expected vote on the final bill has been identified as a "Key Vote" by the Chamber, and may be included in the Chamber's annual "How They Voted" rankings.

"A vote for TPA is a vote for American small businesses' access to foreign markets and enhanced job security for American workers," said Donohue. "At last, lawmakers are moving to restore America's leadership role in the world trading system."

Exports support 12 million U.S. jobs — one-in-five manufacturing jobs — and account for almost one-third of real U.S. economic growth over the past decade. Over the past five years, the number of small businesses involved in exporting has doubled to more than 200,000 — and small businesses now account for 30% of all U.S. exports by dollar value.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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