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Skriven 2005-05-17 23:33:08 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0505173) for Tue, 2005 May 17
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President Honors Ambassador Portman at Swearing-In Ceremony
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 17, 2005

President Honors Ambassador Portman at Swearing-In Ceremony
Presidential Hall
Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building

President's Remarks
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2:34 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. I'm pleased to congratulate a
distinguished public servant, Rob Portman, on becoming our new United
States Trade Representative.

It's an honor to be with Rob's dad, as well as Jane and Jed and Will and
Sally. Glad you all are here. It's always great when our Trade
Representative has teenagers in the house. (Laughter.) It helps him become
a skilled negotiator. (Laughter.) I appreciate the other members of the
Portman family who have joined us.

I thank members of my Cabinet who are here -- Josh Bolten, thank you for
coming. I appreciate Peter Allgeier, who is the Deputy U.S. Trade Minister.
Peter, good to see you, sir. I want to thank the members of Congress who
came -- David Camp from Michigan, Paul Ryan from Wisconsin -- and Janna. I
appreciate -- I'm not through yet. (Laughter.) And Melissa Hart. Rick
Lazio, former member, thank you for coming.

I want to thank the ambassadors who are here, Diplomatic Corps --
embajadores de Central America, as well as other ambassadors -- welcome.

Ambassador Portman will be carrying on the superb work done by Bob
Zoellick. Under Ambassador Zoellick's outstanding leadership, the U.S.
Trade Representative's Office has worked with Congress to pass trade
promotion authority. We've completed free trade agreements with twelve
nations on five continents. And those agreements will open a combined
market of 124 million consumers for America's farmers, small businesses and
manufacturers. I want to thank all the men and women at the USTR for the
good work they have done.

Ambassador Portman is the right man to carry on this important work. He has
a great record as a champion of free and fair trade. In his early days as
an attorney, he specialized in international trade law. Throughout his time
in Congress, he built a reputation as a steadfast proponent of the power of
open markets to spread hope and prosperity around the world. As an Ohioan,
Rob knows how much American farmers and workers depend on our export
markets and how the expansion of agreements around the world can contribute
to our economy here at home.

To advance our trade agenda, we have three priorities in the months ahead.
Our first trade priority is to pass the Central American and Dominican
Republic Free Trade Agreement, known as CAFTA. That is an important
priority of this administration, and it should be an important priority of
the United States Congress. Last week I met with the six Presidents from
the nations. We all share an interest in prosperity for our people and
peace in the region, and CAFTA gives us an historic opportunity to advance
these common goals.

The agreement does four key things: It will level the playing field for
American farmers and businesses. It will help our economy. It will make the
region more competitive with Asia. And it will strengthen democracy in our
backyard. At the moment, about 80 percent of imports from the region
already enter the United States duty-free. Our market is open to the goods
from CAFTA nations. CAFTA will open the region's markets of 44 million
consumers to our goods and our services and our crops. CAFTA will also
lower barriers in key segments like textiles. This would put CAFTA
countries and America in a better position to compete with low-cost
producers in Asia.

As it opens the Western Hemisphere markets, CAFTA will also bring the
stability and security that can only come from freedom. Today, a part of
the world that was once characterized by unrest and dictatorship now sees
its future in free elections and free trade, and we must not take these
gains for granted. These are small nations, but they are making big and
brave commitments, and America needs to continue to support them as they
walk down the road of openness and accountability. By transforming our
hemisphere into a powerful free trade area, we will promote democratic
governance and human rights and the economic liberty for everyone. CAFTA is
a really important piece of legislation.

Our second trade priority is to encourage the Doha Development Agenda now
being pursued by the World Trade Organization. This new framework is the
largest negotiation of its kind in history, and it would reduce and
eliminate tariffs in key industry sectors, and unfair agricultural
subsidies, and open the global market in services.

Finally, our third trade priority is to ensure that those who sign trade
agreements live up to their terms. China's membership in the World Trade
Organization has been a good thing for America. Our exports to China have
increased 81 percent since China's entry into the WTO. When it joined the
WTO, China also agreed to the rules of international trade, and it's in the
interest of both China and the United States for China to abide by them.

One reason I selected Ambassador Portman for this job is because I know
he'll work to see that our farmers and our workers and service providers
are treated fairly. Ambassador Portman will work to ensure that China stops
the piracy of U.S. intellectual property, lifts the barriers that are
keeping our goods and services out of China, and demonstrates its
commitment to transparency and distribution rights for our products.

America is a nation founded on the idea of open exchange, and free and fair
trade is a win-win for all sides. By opening new markets, we'll increase
prosperity for our small businesses and farmers and manufacturers, and
create jobs for American workers. By enforcing trade laws and agreements,
we will ensure a level playing field for America's workers. American
workers can compete with anybody, any time, anywhere when the rules are
fair.

Rob Portman is America's Trade Representative; he's also my friend. I know
his integrity and his wisdom and his dedication. And I know he's the right
man to carry out our bold agenda at this important moment for world trade.

I want to thank you all again for coming. Congratulations, Rob. (Applause.)

AMBASSADOR PORTMAN: Thank you all. And thank you, Mr. President, for those
remarks, and for the extraordinary opportunity that you've given me to be
able to make a positive difference in people's lives through promoting that
very ambitious trade agenda you just outlined. And I want to thank Andy
Card, my dear friend and the Chief of Staff, for being willing to swear me
in today. In the first Bush administration, I had the pleasure of working
under Mr. Card, and I now have the opportunity to work with him again, and
I look forward to it.

I'm so glad that so many friends and family are able to be here today, Mr.
President. This is a neat opportunity for me to be able to say thank you to
so many of them. I'm particularly grateful, of course, to my family -- my
wife Jane, our three kids, Jed, Will and Sally. And per your comments about
negotiations, let me tell you, these three are superb negotiators.
(Laughter.) I just hope I'm half as good at negotiating access for U.S.
products as I am, and have become, on allowances and curfews. (Laughter.)
If I'm that good, I'll do a good job for you.

I'm grateful to my family because they have allowed me to pursue the
privilege of public service, despite the sacrifices, but even more grateful
that they've encouraged me and supported me in this. They've all given this
job their blessing. Will Portman has taken to calling me TROTUS -- Trade
Representative of the United States. (Laughter.) Jane has become the First
Lady of Trade. And I'm very, very proud of them.

I'm also glad my dad was able to be here today. He's also been very
encouraging of my work in public service even though he's a small business
guy. He started a business from scratch and taught us the values of hard
work and ethics. And I'm delighted he's here today. And, of course, the
same is true of my brother, Win, who's here, and my sister, Jenna, and
their wonderful families who have also joined us.

I also see I've got some constituents here from back home, Mr. President,
and it's great to have them here. My friends from Ohio who have gathered
for this special day are the people who gave me the opportunity to serve in
Congress, and gave me the opportunity now to be able to serve our nation in
this capacity. I will be forever grateful to them.

Finally, I want to acknowledge my congressional staff -- the most
incredible staff, the best on the Hill -- and my colleagues who are here. I
see these three colleagues that you mentioned earlier -- all three of them.
(Laughter.) And there are others who are going to join us at the reception.
They're from both Houses and both parties, and they are good friends. And I
will be seeing lots of them, because, as this last couple of weeks has
taught me, I'll be spending a lot of time on Capitol Hill, and I look
forward to that.

In the last two weeks, in fact, Mr. President, my team and I have been very
busy. In fact, the day after I was confirmed, you sent me on a plane for
Europe where I met with trade ministers from all around the world. And
there, I worked with our trade partners to rejuvenate the ongoing global
negotiations you just talked about, called the Doha Development Agenda. By
reducing barriers to trade across the board, Doha has the potential to
substantially expand U.S. exports and also to spread hope and opportunity
to the developing world. And when we were in Europe 10 days ago, we were
able to make a major breakthrough to be sure that that Doha Development
Agenda continues on track.

Doha talks are one part of a more comprehensive trade agenda that I will
pursue, as the President has laid out: First, to expand export
opportunities by opening markets around the world; second, to be sure that
we are enforcing our trade agreements and our trade laws; and third, to
spread economic and political freedom. By opening new markets for American
workers and farmers, we create more and better-paying jobs right here at
home. In fact, over 12 million American jobs now are supported by exports,
and those jobs pay about 15 percent higher than the average wage. One in
every three acres of American farmland is planted for export, and one in
every five manufacturing jobs in this country is dependent on the export of
our products.

Our first opportunity to open new markets is the Central American and
Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement. It's a classic win-win situation.
We have the opportunity here to open new markets for our workers, for our
farmers, for our service providers, while, at the same time, leveling the
playing field with a region that already enjoys mostly duty-free access to
the United States. At the same time, we can help lift people out of poverty
in Central America and the Dominican Republic, and we can help solidify
those fragile democracies and staunch allies.

This is a situation where the Congress should have an incentive to move,
and move quickly, to approve the agreement, because it's good for our
workers and farmers, service providers, and it's also good for those
countries. If we turn down this agreement, we are taking away opportunities
for our workers, and we are turning our backs on good neighbors who need
our help.

Opening new markets is critical, but we must also ensure that our trading
partners play by the rules. To ensure that, I will use all the tools
available to us. This includes consultation and negotiation, but, when
appropriate, it also means taking legal action to enforce our rights and to
defend American interests.

A top priority of mine will be China. The President already mentioned this
and I concur with him that China's entry into the WTO was, and remains, in
the best interests of the United States. It brought China into a
rules-based system, which is very important. It also allowed us to
significantly expand U.S. exports, good and services. But our trade
relationship with China also presents challenges. We face a trade deficit
that is too high, in part because the Chinese do not always play by the
rules. I have already begun a top-to-bottom review of China trade issues,
and I will work closely with Congress to see that American workers, farmers
and businesses are treated fairly.

Finally, Mr. President, as you articulate better than anyone, trade is
central to our freedom agenda. Freer trade means more open, transparent
markets, undercuts corruption and cronyism, promotes prosperity. In doing
so, it deepens the roots of democracy.

As a former congressman, I know that economic change and foreign
competition can be difficult for people. We cannot ignore these concerns.
But we also cannot retreat to economic isolationism. The evidence is
overwhelming that free and fair trade is in the best interest of our
economy and makes Americans better off. I believe the right way forward is
smart economic engagement, opening markets, tough enforcement, and using
trade as a powerful weapon to spread freedom.

Mr. President, you have a great team of dedicated professionals as USTR,
some of whom are here today, and I am very proud to follow my friend, Bob
Zoellick, in joining them to promote your ambitious agenda.

I thank you for the trust you've show in me and for this opportunity to
serve. I will give you and the American people my very best. Thank you.

END 2:49 P.M. EDT

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