Business Roundtable Praises Finance Committee Passage of U.S-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement

Business Roundtable today praised the Senate Finance Committee's bipartisan passage of the Peru trade promotion agreement (PTPA) as major step forward in making the Peru agreement a reality.

"Leading members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have stepped forward to support the Peru agreement," said John J. Castellani, president of Business Roundtable. "When Democrats and Republicans stand together on trade, it shows the world that we are serious about maintaining America's leadership in the international economy."

"We commend the members of the Senate Finance Committee, especially Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Grassley, for bringing this pact one step closer to fruition," Castellani said.

Castellani pointed out that more than one in five U.S. jobs are now tied to the global marketplace. Just 15 years ago, before a rise in bipartisan trade deals, only one in ten jobs were linked to imports and exports.

Passage of the Peru TPA will be a shot in the arm for the business community. The PTPA will expand opportunities for U.S. companies as barriers to exports fall. Peruvian exports to the U.S. currently face few hurdles, while our exports to Peru encounter stiff barriers.

Castellani urged continued bipartisan support to secure passage of the remaining pending pacts with Korea, Colombia and Panama.

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Business Roundtable (www.businessroundtable.org) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with $4.5 trillion in annual revenues and more than 10 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock markets and represent over 40 percent of all corporate income taxes paid. Collectively, they returned $112 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy in 2005.

Roundtable companies give more than $7 billion a year in combined charitable contributions, representing nearly 60 percent of total corporate giving. They are technology innovation leaders, with $90 billion in annual research and development spending - nearly half of the total private R&D spending in the U.S.

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