Tom
Doug Henwood wrote:
> THE WHITE HOUSE
>
> Office of the Press Secretary
> ________________________________________________________________________
> For Immediate Release May 20, 2000
>
> WORLD TRADE WEEK, 2000
>
> - - - - - - -
>
> BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
>
> A PROCLAMATION
>
> The prosperity the United States enjoys today is due, in no small
> part, to our strong trading relationships with other nations. The World
> Trade Organization, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and 270
> other agreements have helped us to open new markets for U.S. products
> and services, create thousands of new jobs, and keep our economy growing
> without inflation. The African Growth and Opportunity Act and the
> United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act that I signed into
> law this week will build on this progress by lowering trade barriers and
> strengthening our economic partnership with nations in sub-Saharan
> Africa and the Caribbean basin.
>
> The theme of World Trade Week this year, "Working the Web of
> Trade," reflects the particular importance of the Internet as a new and
> rapidly accelerating factor in world trade. The Internet holds enormous
> commercial potential and brings extraor-dinary opportunities directly
> into homes and workplaces across the United States and around the world.
> Linking businesses and consumers more quickly and directly than ever
> before, the worldwide web is a powerful tool, available 24 hours a day,
> 7 days a week, that allows even the smallest company to conduct business
> on a global scale.
>
> My Administration has worked hard to encourage America's businesses
> and workers to embrace this worldwide web of opportunity and its
> potential to enhance productivity at home and access to markets abroad.
> By investing in research and development, improving the quality of
> science and mathematics education in our schools, teaching workers new
> skills to fill jobs in the technology sector, and keeping e-commerce
> fair, safe, and competitive, we can stimulate our export industries,
> sustain this remarkable period of growth and prosperity, and ensure
> America's continued leadership in the global economy.
>
> This week, when the Congress takes up legislation to grant
> Permanent Normal Trade Relations status to the People's Republic of
> China, it will have an opportunity to further the progress we have made
> in building strong trading relationships. -PNTR for China will increase
> America's competitiveness in the global marketplace, reduce tariffs, and
> give American workers and farmers unprecedented access to China's more
> than one billion consumers.
>
> World trade, whether conducted in person, on paper, or on line,
> remains a cornerstone of American economic growth. But even more
> important, trade plays a vital role in improving opportunity and
> prosperity around the globe. Free and fair international trade is one
> of the most effective tools we have to bring people together, raise
> living standards in developed and developing nations alike, promote
> human dignity, and improve long-term prospects for democracy, stability,
> and world peace.
>
> NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United
> States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the
> Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 21
> through May 27, 2000, as World Trade Week. I invite the people of the
> United States to observe this week with events, trade shows, and
> educational programs that celebrate the benefits of international trade
> to our economy and our world.
>
> IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day
> of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of
> the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.
>
> WILLIAM J. CLINTON
>
> # # #