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February 13, 2001
The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
Toward the end of last year, the U.S. and Singapore began intensive negotiations on a
proposed bilateral Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA). The American business community
encourages you and your administration, in consultation with Congress, to make the
successful conclusion of these negotiations and passage of the USSFTA a top trade priority
for 2001. To this end, we respectfully ask that USTR call for formal talks to resume in
the first quarter of this year. We further request that the scope of any trade promotion
authority provide for its application to the USSFTA.
Singapore is a first-class economy. It is the largest U.S. trading partner and destination
for U.S. investment in Southeast Asia. Last year, two-way trade between the U.S. and
Singapore reached $34 billion, double the figure of the early 1990s. Singapore is the
tenth largest U.S. export market worldwide, and with a population of four million,
receives more U.S. exports than China, four times more than India, and more than many
European markets, including Italy, Switzerland, and Spain. At the end of 1999, U.S. direct
investment in Singapore stood at more than $24 billion. This is an increase of more than
500% since the beginning of the 1990s.
This burgeoning commercial relationship can be even closer. U.S. business interest in the
USSFTA range from financial services and engineering-construction to pharmaceuticals and
software to airlines and air services, including the air express industry. In these and
many other areas, investment protection, rules of origin, mutual recognition of standards,
competition policy, and procurement transparency, the USSFTA can serve as a model for
other bilateral agreements.
We also believe that a USSFTA guided by the detailed recommendations we have made to USTR
can positively impact the prospects for a new WTO round and serve as a model for
multilateral agreements and multilateral organizations. For several years, members of the
trade policy community here and abroad have favorably discussed, without much movement,
the possibility of a Pacific-5 Agreement (P-5) encompassing the economies of the U.S.,
Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and Chile. Singapore has recently concluded a trade
agreement with New Zealand and has proposed an agreement with Australia. These agreements,
the proposed US-Chile FTA, and the USSFTA can serve as building blocks for the P-5. The
USSFTA can also serve as a building block for an eventual US-ASEAN FTA -- the origins of
which also go back many years.
Beyond all of the tangible commercial benefits of a USSFTA, we believe that the rigorous
pursuit of an agreement with Singapore will send a strong signal of U.S. commitment to
Asia. Singapore is a vital U.S. strategic partner in the region. Not only have we worked
together closely in multilateral trade forums to further our mutual interests, but
Singapore is a leading voice in Asia for the U.S. presence in the region. An advocate
ourselves for U.S. economic engagement in Asia, we believe improving the position of the
U.S. business community vis-à-vis its many international competitors is essential to our
own nation's security and well-being.
Thank you for your consideration of our views.
Sincerely,
ABB
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
AmCham Indonesia
AmCham Singapore
AmCham Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City Chapter
American Express Company
American International Group, Inc.
American President Lines, Ltd.
Amway
AOL Time Warner
Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce
Automotive Trade Policy Council
Avon Products, Inc.
Bankers' Association for Finance and Trade
Black & Veatch Corporation
The Boeing Company
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
The Business Roundtable
Chicago Bridge and Iron Company
Citigroup, Inc.
The Chubb Corporation
Coalition of Service Industries
Computer Sciences Corporation
Direct Selling Association
Edison Mission Energy
Eli Lilly & Company
Federal Express
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Guardian Industries Corp.
General Electric Company
General Motors Corporation
Herbalife International
Hills Enterprises, Ltd.
International Business Machines Corporation
Johnson & Johnson
J. P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Lockheed Martin Corp.
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.
Motorola
National Association of Manufacturers
National Foreign Trade Council
Oracle Corporation
PhRMA
Securities Industry Association
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
United Airlines
Unocal Corporation
US-ASEAN Business Council
U.S. Council for International Business
Verizon Communications
Warnaco, Inc. |
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