U.S. Chamber's Donohue Issues Pledge, Challenge to APEC Leaders

"Expanding Free Trade across the Pacific Will Drive Recovery, Jobs"

SINGAPORE—On the eve of the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue today urged leaders to expand free trade across the region and to vigorously fight trade isolationism "not only with their words but with their deeds."

"Expanding free trade across the Pacific can drive the global economic recovery, create badly needed jobs, and advance economic and social progress in developing and developed countries alike," Donohue said in an address to the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Singapore (complete text available online).

While challenging APEC leaders to act, Donohue underscored the responsibilities of the private sector, pledging to "put the full weight and influence of the U.S. Chamber behind an expanded effort to fight protectionism at home and ensure that America is engaged in shaping the Asia-Pacific region's new trade architecture."

"You can't lead and stand on the sidelines at the same time," Donohue remarked, noting that some 168 free trade agreements are in force in Asia today while important U.S. pacts with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama have been languishing in Washington.

"It's time for U.S. leaders to understand that nothing concerns the American people more than creating jobs, ending the recession, and bringing our massive deficits under control," he said. "Expanding exports is our best ticket to achieving those goals."

In his speech, Donohue also identified reforms that America's Asian trading partners should take "both for their own benefit and to address the imbalances that exist in their commerce with the United States." At the top of Donohue's list: strengthening intellectual property protections; ensuring national treatment for U.S. investors; opening markets to U.S. services and distribution companies; improving the rule of law and regulatory transparency; moving towards market based currency exchange; and expanding domestic consumption and imports.

The U.S. Chamber president applauded recent steps within Asia to foster economic integration and cooperation, but asserted that "continued U.S. leadership and commercial engagement remain vital to peace, security, and prosperity throughout this region and across the globe."

"Strong American leadership in the APEC community need not come at the expense of any other nation's economic aspirations," Donohue said. "By the same token, few would suggest that the region would be better off with a diminished U.S. role.

"No serious business or economy can ignore the extraordinary opportunities of commercial engagement with the $14 trillion American economy - the largest, most open market in the world," he said.

In addition to his AmCham Singapore address, Donohue and U.S. Chamber Chairman Bob Milligan will meet with senior ministers and heads of state from leading APEC economies as well as participate in talks with U.S. officials attending the APEC CEO Summit.

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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