| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Tita Freeman |
| December 5, 2005 |
(202) 496-3269 |
Castellani Says Continued Economic Growth
Hinges on Robust Outcome
Washington, DC - Business Roundtable President John J. Castellani
today urged World Trade Organization Ministers gathering in
Hong Kong next week not to pass up the economic opportunity
afforded by trade expansion:
"Trade creates unlimited possibilities to grow the economy
and opens up opportunities for workers and families, and a
successful Doha Round of trade talks is essential to this
growth. Taken as a whole, each round of global trade talks
has significantly boosted worldwide growth for developed and
developing countries.
"World Trade Organization Ministers meeting in Doha next
week have a choice: to avoid tough decisions and squander
the promise of Doha, or to demonstrate the leadership needed
to forge ahead with an ambitious plan. At a minimum, ministers
must achieve two objectives this year.
"First, they must make real progress in setting the negotiating
agenda in four key areas: agriculture, manufactured goods,
services and trade facilitation. Second, they must set out
a comprehensive work program to ensure that the Doha Round
is completed by the end of 2006, particularly with the expiration
of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in the U.S. in June of
2007.
"This is the straightforward but critical message Business
Roundtable is taking to Hong Kong next week."
Business Roundtable, representing 160 chief executive officers
of leading U.S. companies, will actively communicate this
message to trade ministers, world political leaders and other
business leaders next week in Hong Kong. Harold McGraw III,
Chairman, CEO and President of The McGraw-Hill Companies and
Chairman of the Roundtable's International Trade and Investment
Task Force will represent Roundtable CEOs in meetings and
press briefings throughout the week.
In addition, the Roundtable has created and is Secretariat
of the American Business Coalition for Doha (ABCDoha),
an umbrella group of service providers, manufacturers, agribusiness,
customs facilitators and many other stakeholders dedicated
to achieving an ambitious result from the Doha Round. ABCDoha
will hold daily press briefings with guest speakers including
Harold McGraw, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO
Thomas J. Donohue, and National Association of Manufacturers
President John Engler.
In September, the Roundtable also announced the formation
of World Business Leaders for Growth, an organization
made up of six of the world's leading CEO organizations including
Business Roundtable, the Business Council of Australia, the
Canadian Council of Chief Executives, the Consejo Mexicano
de Hombres de Negocios (Mexico), The European Round Table
of Industrialists, and Nippon Keidanren (Japan). In addition
to a strong presence in Hong Kong, the group visited WTO leaders
in Geneva in October, and met with leading officials in Washington,
DC in September, where they held a discussion with WTO Director
General Pascal Lamy.
"The Hong Kong Ministerial is an important milestone in ensuring
an ambitious outcome for the Doha Round in 2006," added Castellani.
"Business Roundtable and its counterparts will seize every
opportunity to communicate our message surrounding the meeting
next week."
# # #
Business Roundtable (www.businessroundtable.org)
is an association of chief executive officers of leading corporations
with a combined workforce of more than 10 million employees
and $4 trillion in annual revenues. The chief executives are
committed to advocating public policies that foster vigorous
economic growth, a dynamic global economy, and a well-trained
and productive U.S. workforce essential for future competitiveness.
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