U.S. Chamber Leads Business Support for Asia Pacific Trade Talks

SAN FRANCISCO, CA-- U.S. Chamber of Commerce executives are in San Francisco this week for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations to voice the business community's support for the second round of trade talks between the eight countries negotiating the agreement. The Chamber will lead the call for the conclusion of a comprehensive, high-standard agreement before the 2011 APEC Summit in Honolulu.

This ambitious timeframe was declared today in a letter to Ambassador Ron Kirk, signed by nearly 100 companies and associations. "Negotiators must achieve an agreement that expands the ability of all U.S. companies to compete in the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region," the U.S. Business Coalition for TPP wrote. "While we recognize that these negotiations will be highly complex and challenging, we believe that the ultimate agreement should simplify and expand trade."

"As President Obama noted in his State of the Union, we cannot afford to wait on the sidelines while our trade competitors negotiate trade and investment deals to their benefit that exclude or ignore U.S. interests," the letter continued. The signatories went on to highlight that as our economic competitors - including the EU, Canada, India and China - are negotiating new trade agreements quickly among themselves, the United States is falling behind because it is not moving forward.

Christopher Wenk, senior director of International Policy, and Catherine Mellor, associate director of the Southeast Asia division, will be in San Francisco this week throughout the negotiations. Both executives can be reached at cwenk@uschamber.com and cmellor@uschamber.com.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.

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