U.S. Chamber Urges Greater Support for Trade Reforms

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce, joined by more than 100 other business organizations from throughout the Americas, today issued a declaration urging bold steps to cut the red tape that often holds back international trade and hampers economic prosperity.

"In an evolving and competitive global marketplace, it becomes increasingly important to lower barriers to trade," said John Murphy, Chamber vice president for Western Hemisphere affairs, who will also serve as Regional Coordinator for North America at the Summit of the Americas business forum later this week. "This declaration urges reforms that will enhance competitiveness, spur broader economic growth and boost job creation throughout the hemisphere."

The Chamber organized an ad hoc coalition of leading business groups from throughout the Western Hemisphere to issue the declaration, which calls on governments in the region to implement a package of reforms agreed upon in 1999 and to adopt an ambitious posture in the global Doha Development Agenda negotiations on trade facilitation. Included in the recommendations are reforms to make customs and ports more efficient through better administration, smarter regulations and e-business usage.

In addition to the Chamber, the other signatory organizations in the coalition include Brazil's National Confederation of Industry, Chile's Confederation for Production and Commerce, the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Also prominent in the group are organizations that specialize in global trade such as the hemisphere's 24 American Chambers of Commerce, the Mexican Council for Foreign Trade and the Latin American Association of Express Delivery Companies.

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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Editor's note: The Chamber's report on measures to facilitate trade in the Western Hemisphere is available online.