Donohue to Advance U.S. Commercial Ties in Asia

Will Seek to Maximize Benefits of KORUS, Encourage China to Invest in America, and Urge Japan to Open Markets and Join TPP on Week-Long Trip

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue will travel to South Korea, China, and Japan beginning Saturday to meet with the top leaders and business communities of these three critically important U.S. commercial partners who lead the fastest-growing region of the world. 

“American interests in Asia run deep,” said Donohue. “We’re taking this trip to highlight our commitment to economic cooperation with key partners across the region and to deepen the alliances that are so vital to our future.”

Beginning in Seoul, Donohue will deliver a major speech to AmCham Korea and other business organizations on the challenges and opportunities of implementing the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement; meet with President Lee and other top officials; and sign an MOU with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to promote the SMEs of both countries.

Donohue will then visit Beijing to meet with senior Chinese leaders; participate in an investment conference cosponsored by the U.S. Chamber designed to attract job-creating Chinese investment to the United States, as well as unveil a new Chamber publication, Faces of Chinese Investment in the United States. He will also reconvene and cochair an ongoing private dialogue organized by the Chamber and Chinese partners that brings together CEOs and former cabinet-level officials from both countries to discuss challenges and opportunities facing the U.S.-China relationship.

Concluding the week in Tokyo, Donohue will meet with senior government and business leaders to urge Japan to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations on the same strong terms adopted by other participants. He will also meet with AmCham Japan and the U.S.-Japan Business Council, which has recently integrated its activities and management into the U.S. Chamber's International Division.

“Strengthening our commercial ties in Asia is an imperative for the U.S. business community and the American economy,” said Donohue. “Increased trade can help boost our faltering recovery and create American jobs. Asia generates a third of global GDP and purchases a quarter of U.S. exports. U.S. trade with East Asia alone reached nearly $1 trillion in 2010.”

“Yet, there are plenty of opportunities—if we seize them,” Donohue continued. “Some 2 billion Asians have joined a middle class that accounts for more half of the continent’s population. They are anxious to buy American products and services. We need to do everything within our power to make that happen.”

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.